From New Deal's Electrification Loans to a Rural Broadband Dispute

Nearly nine in 10 American farms lacked electricity in 1930. In response, Washington financed an unusual kind of utility: Cooperatives owned by the rural customers they served.

Louisiana Breaks Ground on Largest BEAD-Funded Fiber Build

Louisiana has begun construction on a BEAD-funded fiber project

BEAD Projects Likely to Generate Millions of 811 Tickets, Researchers Say

About 58 percent of the program’s fiber will be buried

FCC Considers Allows Political Robocalls Before Midterms, Including AI-Created

The Republican-led FCC advanced the request for public comment and could rule on it as soon as late October

USF Reform Could Put Hyperscalers, Data Centers on the Hook

AI companies could help reshape how broadband subsidies are funded.

Lesson 7: The New Deal and Rural Electrification

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration by executive order on May 11, 1935. Congress made the agency permanent in 1936

Ending E-Rate Would Reduce U.S. Real GDP by $4.2 Billion, Says Advocate

SHLB and other E-Rate supporters commissioned a new report from the Brattle Group

Falmouth Didn’t Build Its Own Network, But a Citizen-Led Effort Still Brought Fiber to Town

At long last, fiber-to-the-home connectivity is coming to Cape Cod.

BEAD Deployments to Flood 811 System Designed to Shield Buried Gas Lines from Damage: ACLP Study

Analysts say buried routes will generate about 1.4 million 811 tickets, triggering roughly 8.1 million facility locates, most of them for service drops

A $50 Billion Health Fund and Rural America’s Internet Gaps

The funds come from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Republicans passed in July 2025

FCC to Consider New Spectrum Auction, Slate of Other Wireless Initiatives

At its Oct. 29 meeting, the FCC will also consider blocking China-based labs from its equipment certification program

Google, Constellation Nuclear Deal Adds Capacity to Mid-Atlantic Grid

The agreement marks a major step toward securing reliable, carbon-free power as electricity demand from data centers grows