The End of ReConnect?
The USDA’s FY2025 budget proposal slashes discretionary spending by $4.9 billion, a 19% cut, and proposes eliminating the ReConnect rural broadband grant program. The agency argues that existing BEAD and other federal initiatives make ReConnect redundant, leaving only $230 million for new broadband loans and telehealth grants. While Congress could restore funding—senators have introduced a bill for $650 million annually through 2030—the program faces likely termination in October if no legislative action occurs. The loss would leave a critical gap in federal broadband assistance.
Broadband Shorts April 2026
Congressional leaders announced a hearing to assess the 1996 Telecommunications Act three decades after its passage, signaling potential regulatory modernization. Lawmakers expressed concern that SpaceX’s Starlink could abandon its BEAD broadband grant obligations, prompting scrutiny of reporting waivers. AT&T warned...
Spectrum Relocation Costs
The FCC has been tasked by Congress to clear 800 MHz of mid‑range spectrum for a new auction, requiring existing federal, military and commercial users to relocate. The Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act created the Spectrum Relocation Fund, which must raise at...
California’s Middle Mile Fiber Network
California’s Middle‑Mile Broadband Initiative, funded with $3.25 billion under Senate Bill 156, has activated its first phase of a statewide fiber backbone. The network’s inaugural live customer is the Bishop Paiute Tribe, which will use the middle‑mile capacity to extend last‑mile service...
Leftover Copper Customers
T‑Mobile is weighing a purchase of UNITI’s fiber assets, which include former Windstream lines, leaving the legacy copper customers behind. Lumen previously sold its fiber subscriber base to AT&T while retaining its copper‑based services, citing ongoing cash flow. The FCC...
Hydrogen Generators
Hydrogen fuel‑cell generators are beginning to replace diesel backup units at telecom sites, offering silent, heat‑free, zero‑emission power. Diesel generators, common at data centers and remote cabinets, generate loud noise—up to 110 decibels—and oily smoke, especially in cold weather. Early...
The Regulatory Death Knell for Copper?
In March, the FCC issued an order aimed at accelerating the shift from copper‑based telephone networks to all‑IP fiber and other modern technologies. The order consolidates rules, grants carriers blanket authority to discontinue copper services, and preempts state regulations that...
A Peek Into the Latest Merger
Google’s fiber arm, now rebranded GFiber, announced a merger with Astound Broadband, a conglomerate of former cable operators. The combined entity will serve roughly 2 million broadband customers across 7.1 million passings, positioning it as the seventh‑largest ISP in the United States....
Supreme Court Rules on ISPs and Copyrights
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Cox Communications, holding that internet service providers are only liable for copyright infringement if they intend their service to be used for that purpose. The decision overturns earlier rulings that found...
Americans and Our Smartphones
A Reviews.org survey of 1,000 Americans in Q4 2025 shows the average user spends 5 hours 1 minute on their smartphone each day, checking it 186 times. Over 80% glance at their phone within ten minutes of waking, and 29% admit to using it...
Impacts of the RAM Shortage
Since late 2025, a global RAM shortage has emerged as leading chipmakers pivoted to higher‑margin AI data‑center memory, curtailing production for smartphones, PCs and other consumer devices. In Q4 2025, demand outstripped supply by roughly 10%, pushing RAM prices up...
A Rural Cellular Story
A review of FCC cellular maps for a fringe neighborhood in Buncombe County, North Carolina, reveals only marginal 4G coverage from AT&T and Verizon, with no viable 5G service. EchoStar’s Project Genesis was the sole provider promising usable 5G speeds,...
Broadband Subscribers 4Q 2025
Broadband subscriber data for Q4 2025 shows fixed‑wireless access (FWA) cellular providers achieved the largest net customer gain ever recorded for the segment, while cable operators continued to shed subscribers. Telcos grew overall by adding more fiber connections than they...
States Addressing Affordability
State legislatures are launching new low‑income broadband subsidies as the federal Affordable Connectivity Program winds down. New Mexico’s LITAP offers up to $30 monthly, funded by a $1.50 telecom surcharge, while Oregon increased its subsidy to $15 and added a...
Broadband Shorts March 2026
Broadband providers are reshaping the market through a series of high‑value acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Verizon closed its $20 billion purchase of Frontier, adding 2.2 million fiber subscribers, while AT&T acquired over one million Lumen customers and secured Starry’s millimeter‑wave technology. The...
Light Spectrum Licensing
The FCC is weighing a "light licensing" approach that would let satellite operators register additional ground stations in the upper‑microwave (mmWave) bands, a spectrum currently held by major cellular carriers. AT&T, T‑Mobile and Verizon each spent roughly $2 billion acquiring 24‑50 GHz...
Fixing Federal Permitting
The House passed H.R. 5419, the Enhancing Administrative Reviews of Broadband Deployment Act, directing the Interior and Agriculture departments to assess and report on administrative barriers to broadband permits on federal lands within a year. The bill follows previous executive...
Where’s the Growth?
The Census Building Permit Survey shows a pronounced regional split in new‑home construction, with South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Idaho and Delaware topping single‑family permits per 100,000 residents, and Washington, D.C., South Dakota and Colorado leading multifamily permits. North Carolina’s...
The Human Touch
Consumer Cellular, an AT&T‑based MVNO targeting seniors, has surpassed 4.4 million subscribers while many rivals shrink. The carrier maintains a $30 average revenue per user and attributes growth to live‑person customer service and a rapid rollout of brick‑and‑mortar stores. Since opening...
FCC Alert on Cybersecurity Risks
The Federal Communications Commission issued an unprecedented cybersecurity alert for telecom operators, noting a fourfold rise in ransomware attacks from 2022 to 2025. The agency urges carriers to patch systems promptly, enable multi‑factor authentication, segment networks, and monitor vendor security...
Onshoring Customer Service
The FCC is set to vote on rules that would curb overseas customer service for ISPs, cable and cellular carriers, encouraging onshoring of call‑center jobs. Proposed measures include English‑proficiency standards, mandatory location disclosure, a right to transfer to U.S. agents,...
A New Voice Feature
T‑Mobile is beta testing a real‑time translation service that supports fifty languages and is marketed as the first agentic AI platform on a wireless network. Unlike existing translator apps, the feature is embedded in cellular plans and runs from the...
The Rapid Evolution of Transport Lasers
Transport lasers have accelerated from 1 Gbps in the early 2000s to emerging 1.6 Tbps solutions today. IEEE standards progressed through 10 Gb (2002), 40 Gb (2010), 100 Gb (2010), 400 Gb (2017) and now 800 Gb and 1.6 Tb lasers are in limited deployment. Digital Signal Processing...
Technology Shorts March 2026
Researchers unveiled four breakthrough technologies that could reshape communications and data‑center infrastructure. Columbia University’s "rainbow chip" creates a frequency‑comb, allowing dozens of precise light channels to travel simultaneously through a single fiber, promising massive bandwidth gains for broadband networks. The...
Rising Costs of Broadband Construction
The Fiber Broadband Association’s 2025 annual report shows median fiber construction costs climbing to $18 per foot for buried lines and $8 per foot for aerial routes, marking 3% and 14% increases respectively. Labor remains the dominant expense, representing roughly...
New Mexico’s New Broadband Affordability Plan
New Mexico’s legislature approved the Low‑Income Telecommunications Assistance Program (LITAP), a state‑run broadband subsidy mirroring the expired federal Affordable Connectivity Plan. Eligible households receive a $30 monthly discount, rising to $75 for tribal residents, with funding drawn from the State...
A Telehealth Success Story
The San Francisco Tech Council launched a state‑funded program that teaches low‑income, limited‑English‑proficiency patients how to use online medical portals. Participants received a 45‑minute hands‑on session with a digital navigator, enabling them to schedule appointments, view results, and request prescriptions. Feedback...
Broadband Shorts February 2026
Amazon One has asked the FCC for a two‑year extension to meet its 1,600‑satellite launch deadline, currently operating only 212 satellites, while the FCC approved an additional 4,500 satellites for its constellation. The NTIA quickly rebuffed Starlink’s push to loosen...
Broadband Grant Deadlines
Federal broadband grants from programs such as CAF II, RDOF, ReConnect, the Capital Projects Fund, ARPA, and NTIA face hard completion deadlines, many of which fall on December 31, 2026. The federal government has signaled no appetite for extensions, meaning...
Cellular Backup for Broadband
Amazon introduced the eero Signal, an add‑on for its eero Wi‑Fi mesh that automatically switches to cellular broadband when the primary internet fails. The 4G‑only device retails for $99.99 and includes six months of service, after which a $99.99 annual...
Broadband Usage in 4Q 2025
OpenVault’s Q4 2025 Broadband Insights Report shows U.S. households downloaded an average 59 GB more and uploaded 10 GB more per month than a year earlier. Upload growth outpaced downloads, driven by video calls, cloud backup and IoT traffic. Fiber subscribers uploaded 93 GB...
Unintended Consequences
EchoStar exited the facility‑based cellular market after FCC pressure to monetize its spectrum, selling valuable bands to Starlink and AT&T while walking away from thousands of tower lease payments. The lease abandonment has prompted tower owners to seek FCC intervention,...
The FCC 2024 Broadband Report
The FCC released its Internet Access Services report for December 31, 2024, intended to update Congress on broadband availability. The analysis highlights persistent flaws: inconsistent location definitions, reliance on ISP‑self‑reported marketing speeds, and omission of significant Fixed Wireless Access customers. Moreover, the...
Revamped Opportunity Zone Financing
Opportunity Zone financing is being overhauled under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, creating OZ 2.0 effective Jan 1, 2027. The new rules make the program permanent, introduce a rolling five‑year deferral, a 10% basis step‑up after five years, and a 10‑year...
Financial Limitations on Growth
Rural ISPs repeatedly cite financing caps as the primary barrier to expanding broadband, not a lack of willingness. Lenders impose strict borrowing limits based on cash flow, debt ratios, and broader market conditions, which many small providers cannot exceed. Grant...