Reporting

The National Hispanic Media Coalition, Color of Change, NAACP and the Benton Foundation are among the organizations concerned about proposed changes to the Lifeline program, which is on the docket for the Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming open meeting. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai -- who has long called for reforms to deter waste, fraud and abuse in Lifeline -- is seeking a vote at the agency’s Nov. 16 meeting on a major overhaul of the program, which subsidizes phone and broadband service for the poor.

Apparently, the Justice Department has called on AT&T and Time Warner to sell Turner Broadcasting, the group of cable channels that includes CNN, as a potential requirement for approving the companies’ pending $85.4 billion deal. The other possible way for the merger to win approval would be for AT&T to sell its DirecTV division, apparently.

Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) wants the Federal Communications Commission to tap into more state and local government input on broadband deployment, suggesting the FCC’s goal now is to serve industry and tie the hands of those local governments. That came in a letter Rep Eshoo sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and the other commissioners Nov 7. Rep Eshoo wants to see more state and local officials on the FCC's Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC).

Aldo Soledad relies on his phone's data plan to take care of his internet needs. When it comes to living without home internet, he isn't alone. Millions of Americans are without broadband, either because of a lack of access or because they can't afford it.

Connecticut has been building its digital infrastructure to get more households online. Those efforts rely on federal funding to help the state address these gaps, particularly in places with limited access to affordable high-speed internet. But a federal program reducing monthly internet bills and providing device subsidies for lower-income households will sunset at the end of April if Congress does not renew funding.

Net neutrality, a set of policies designed to prevent internet-service providers from playing favorites among the websites they carry, is coming back. In a vote on April 25 the Federal Communications Commission classified internet service as a public utility. The definition is part of a new framework the FCC will use to regulate broadband networks. Net-neutrality rules typically bar internet-service providers from assigning priority to certain web traffic or creating so-called fast lanes for certain websites.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, "Broadband is now an essential service. Essential services, the ones we count on in every aspect of modern life, have some basic oversight. So let's be clear about what we are doing today. This agency, the nation's leading communications authority, believes every consumer deserves Internet access that is fast, open and fair.

A bill that would force a sale of TikTok by its Chinese owner, ByteDance—or ban it outright—was passed by the Senate on April 23 and signed into law April 24 by President Joe Biden. Now the process is likely to get even more complicated. Congress passed the measure citing national security concerns because of TikTok’s Chinese ties. Both lawmakers and security experts have said there are risks that the Chinese government could lean on ByteDance for access to sensitive data belonging to its 170 million U.S. users or to spread propaganda.

Thousands of Pennsylvanians could soon be hit with higher internet bills when the Affordable Connectivity Program starts to run out of money next month. Unless Congress approves more funding, April 2024 will be the last time many residents receive the benefit in full. The looming end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) comes as Pennsylvania starts to spend an unprecedented surge of federal investment intended to bring high-speed internet access to every U.S. resident.

Californians spend an average of $84 per month to connect to the internet—and some of the most vulnerable groups, including older adults, veterans and people with disabilities, tend to pay even more. So the state is spending billions of dollars to make broadband more affordable and available under its Broadband for All plan.