Ownership

Who owns, controls, or influences media and telecommunications outlets.

From big tech to the media, the rush to kiss Trump’s ring is on

Donald Trump is undergoing quite the fêting ahead of his second term—and it’s a whole lot cozier than his descent into Washington eight years ago. Tech titans are pouring millions of dollars into his inauguration and parading through West Palm Beach for meetings with the president-elect. 

Conterra Networks Sells Fiber Assets in Parts of New Mexico to Ezee Fiber

A sale with the potential to spur the growth of high-speed bandwidth in some New Mexico markets was announced this week between Charlotte (NC)-based Conterra Networks—a provider of fiber-based telecommunications services to enterprise, carrier, education, government, and data center customers—and Houston (TX)-based Ezee Fiber, a broadband fiber provider. The transaction involved Conterra Networks selling its Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and Los Lunas, New Mexico, fiber assets and network to Ezee Fiber.

The Great Upheaval

Governance, media, business and global geopolitics are all being reordered at breakneck speed—all simultaneously.

America's tectonic shifts

America witnessed tectonic shifts in politics and society in 2024 that will reshape elections, business, culture and the nati

Trump’s staffing picks and a new tech consensus

With two key staffing picks—Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as the new chair of that agency, and U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commissioner (and Palantir senior adviser) Jacob Helberg as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment—President-elect Donald Trump is giving some early hints as to how his second administration will try to forge a new Republican consensus on tech. The two men will be responsible, in part, for enacting a sea change from the Biden administration in how government relates to tech — and turning the diverse, heter

Appeals Court Upholds U.S. Ban of TikTok

 A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that TikTok can be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns, upholding a federal law requiring the popular social media app to shed its Chinese ownership to keep operating. The court said Congress has the power to take action against TikTok to protect U.S. interests.

Critics said Musk 'overpaid' for Twitter. Thanks to Trump and xAI, it could actually be a steal.

When Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, it was panned as one of the worst tech acquisitions in history. Two years, an election, and a generative-AI boom later, it's starting to look like more of a bargain. Shortly after the deal closed in October 2022, the Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives said it would "go down as one of the most overpaid tech acquisitions in the history of M&A deals on the Street." Yet the deal has provided significant benefits for Musk.

Musk could use the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ for Starlink, self-enrichment

Elon Musk, named by Donald Trump to co-lead a commission aimed at reducing the size of the federal government, is poised to undermine funding for rural broadband services to benefit his satellite internet services company, Starlink. Musk has long been a critic of the Biden administration’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (Bead) Program, which provides $42.45bn through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill to expand high-speed internet access in rural communities.

Supreme Court wants US input on whether ISPs should be liable for users’ piracy

The Supreme Court signaled it may take up a case that could determine whether Internet service providers must terminate users who are accused of copyright infringement. In an order, the court invited the Department of Justice's solicitor general to file a brief "expressing the views of the United States." In Sony Music Entertainment v.

The Gigapower Gamble

In 2023, AT&T announced a 50/50 joint venture with the investment firm BlackRock to form an open-access fiber network company called Gigapower, with AT&T Fiber as the anchor tenant. The Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents the majority of AT&T’s frontline workforce, has closely tracked the Gigapower build-out in several markets. This report is the first in a series of market spotlights looking at Gigapower’s deployments nationwide, and finds the following: