Anthropic Gets Subsea Cable Security Wrong, Coalition Tells FCC
Anthropic submitted FCC comments claiming subsea cable operators could throttle or manipulate AI workloads, a stance the International Connectivity Coalition says is technically incorrect. The coalition—backed by Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Verizon— argues Anthropic’s concerns ignore existing FCC safeguards and would create redundant regulation. Anthropic, valued at roughly $965 billion, is the most valuable Silicon Valley startup, making its regulatory positions highly visible. The FCC is currently revising submarine‑cable licensing rules to address foreign‑ownership risks.
Federal Broadband Policy Is Increasingly Being Recast Around Satellite
The FCC is revising its $4.5 billion High‑Cost universal service program to treat low‑Earth‑orbit satellite providers like SpaceX’s Starlink as a viable substitute for terrestrial broadband in hard‑to‑serve rural areas. The agency’s May 20 rulemaking asks whether continued funding for fiber,...
Great Plains Communications Snaps Up Fastwyre's Nebraska Operations
Great Plains Communications (GPC) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Fastwyre Broadband’s Nebraska operations, adding service to 26 communities. The acquisition folds Fastwyre’s network into GPC’s MEF‑certified, 20,000‑mile fiber system and brings over two dozen Fastwyre employees into GPC’s workforce....
Is Broadband's ‘Price War’ Real? Not Everyone Agrees.
Wireline groups argue broadband prices are falling, citing an 8% year‑over‑year decline and a 9% drop in gigabit plans, while policy advocates report real‑term price increases of up to 12.8% for fiber. The FCC’s upcoming 2026 Communications Marketplace Report will...
House Bill Targets State and Local Tech Gaps With Federal Grants
The House introduced the State and Local Public Sector Innovation Act, a bill that would create federal grants for state and local governments to modernize technology, improve cybersecurity, and expand digital services. The Commerce Department would run the program, with...
Terrence Kelly: U.S. AI Leadership Demands a Modern Network
Terrence Kelly argues that U.S. AI leadership hinges on modernizing telecom networks. Current fiber penetration lags peers, limiting low‑latency, high‑bandwidth AI workloads. He proposes a dedicated high‑capacity fiber backbone operating alongside the public internet, leveraging transportation rights‑of‑way for redundancy. Such...
California Assembly Passes Amendment to Strip Telecom From CPUC’s Oversight
The California Assembly approved Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9, a 67‑1 vote, to strip telecommunications from the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) constitutional authority. The amendment would expand the CPUC to nine members, shift telecom and broadband oversight to a new...
FCC Considers Satellite Changes to Universal Service's High Cost Fund
The FCC launched a formal proceeding to reassess its $4.5 billion High‑Cost Universal Service Fund, signaling a possible shift toward low‑Earth‑orbit satellite services. SpaceX urged Chairman Brendan Carr to phase out most of the fund, arguing that satellite broadband has narrowed...
Shentel Completes Fiber Expansion in Campbell County, Virginia
Shentel completed a $20 million fiber buildout in Campbell County, Virginia, extending gigabit broadband to over 4,000 households. The project, financed in part by the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative and the county, marks the company’s latest rural expansion. The new network delivers...
Telehealth, Precision Ag, and Aging Share a Single Dependency: Reliable Connection
Medicare’s temporary telehealth flexibilities, which allowed rural patients to see specialists remotely during the pandemic, are set to expire as Congress has not acted to make them permanent. The $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program, a five‑year federal effort to improve...
FCC Expands Conditional Drone Approvals Under Covered List
The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau granted conditional approvals to drone systems from Swiss‑based Elevon Aerial AG and German‑based Air6 Systems GmbH. The approvals, which run through the end of 2026, come despite the FCC’s broader...
Operators: Smart Communities Need More than Fiber, They Need Government Engagement
Fiber operators are embedding school‑only wireless networks into residential routers to give public‑school students automatic internet access, regardless of household subscriptions. In Lincoln, Nebraska, ALLO Communications built the system into every city router, allowing Chromebooks to connect instantly. Panelists at...
Swedish Software Firm and AT&T Lead Open Access Standards Push in U.S.
AT&T and Swedish software firm COS Systems are co‑leading the Open Access Network Forum (OANF) within ATIS to create unified standards for open‑access fiber in the United States. The effort targets the costly, bespoke integration of billing and provisioning systems...
‘We Did Not Compromise’: Northern Mariana Islands Advances Fully Underground Fiber Buildout
The Northern Mariana Islands signed a four‑year agreement to construct a fully underground, climate‑hardened fiber‑optic network that will reach every resident, business and anchor institution. The build is financed by a $31 million federal BEAD grant matched by nearly $22 million in...
Arthur Sidney: Broadband Is Becoming AI Infrastructure. Who Actually Controls It?
Broadband is evolving from a pure connectivity network into the delivery platform for AI‑driven public services such as eligibility screening, fraud detection, and telehealth. As federal and state funds pour into broadband expansion, agencies are simultaneously embedding vendor‑supplied AI models...