Wireless Internet

In November 2024, Nguyen Thi Que’s mobile phone suddenly stopped working as telecom companies in Vietnam permanently shut down the 2G network. “I thought of buying a new phone, but I don’t have money,” said the 73-year-old, who sells iced tea at a bus stop in Hanoi. Vietnam’s plan was simple: Offer free 4G feature phones to help low-income 2G consumers adapt to the change.

On March 4, the House of Representatives' Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), held a full committee markup to consider twelve bills in total––the committee's first legislative markup of the 119th Congress. "This Committee has a rich, bipartisan history, which we will continue in that spirit with the bills we are considering today," said Rep Guthrie in his opening remarks.

US cable operators have been struggling to regain their footing in broadband as they try to grow subscribers again in the midst of an array of pressures including fiber and fixed wireless access competition, a slow housing move market and the impact of the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program. Several US cable operators are responding by leaning into convergence.

The Trump administration will overhaul a $42 billion federal grant program aimed at expanding high-speed internet to the nation, including easing some rules that could benefit Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink. The program will be revamped to “take a tech-neutral approach” in its distribution of funds to states, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that his department is “ripping out” the “pointless requirements” inserted by former President Joe Biden into a major broadband program that is set to deliver high-speed internet to millions of Americans. Some broadband analysts have shared Lutnick’s frustration with the requirements in BEAD, which has been in planning and contracting for three years.

SpaceX’s Starlink is dipping its toes into the affordable broadband market, with the launch of its “Residential Lite” service in 15 U.S. states. While it’s cheaper than Starlink’s standard residential plan, the move is hardly a gamechanger for rural broadband connectivity.

It looks like Elon Musk’s Starlink service is going to get a big boost from the U.S. government. States will be able to award more Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds to satellite-internet providers like Starlink, as well as to more fixed wireless access (FWA) providers, rather than mainly to companies that lay fiber-optic cables. Personally, I think it will be a shame to squander this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach as many homes as possible with fiber via the $42.5 billion in BEAD funds.

The House Communications and Technology Subcommittee met on March 5 in a hearing titled "Fixing Biden’s Broadband Blunder." Republicans on the panel seem most focused on concerns raised by states and broadband providers about the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Established by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the BEAD Program is distributing $42.45 billion to states to provide grants for last-mile deployment in unserved and underserved areas.

Rep Tom Kean (R-NJ-7) introduced the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill that would bolster American technological leadership by bringing key trusted leaders together and encourage U.S. participation in global standards-setting for 5G networks and for future generations of wireless communications networks. This bill would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to:  

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the federal government would take steps to hire more air-traffic controllers and spend billions of dollars to upgrade the nation’s aviation system. Duffy said he would ask Congress to fund upgrades to the technology underpinning the nation’s air-traffic control system, pointing to its reliance on decades-old copper wire, floppy disks and phone jacks. Duffy said he hadn’t made a decision about whether to use the Starlink satellite communications system to improve air-traffic-control technology.