October 3, 2023 – Broadband service provider WOW!, originally Wide Open West, announced Tuesday plans to expand broadband deployment along the west central coast of Florida.

Construction is set to begin in the coming months in Hernando County, Florida, and, according to a press release, will add 44,000 subscribers to WOW!’s existing user base.

This deployment project follows WOW!’s announcement to deploy similar services in both Michigan and Minnesota.

“We’re pleased with our progress toward meeting our Greenfield expansion goals as we close in on identifying the new service areas that will bring us to our milestone of 400,000 new homes passed by 2027,” said WOW! CEO Teresa Elder.

Ziply adding fiber to Grandview, Washington

Ziply Fiber, an internet service provider, announced Friday that it started the construction of a new fiber optic network in Grandview, Washington, which it said will serve more than 1,300 homes and businesses.

The ISP’s fiber network already has infrastructure to service 500 homes in Grandview, while the remainder of the homes it intends to reach will be able to go online within the coming weeks, the provider said in a press release.

Grandview mayor Gloria Mendoza said that she was happy to have Ziply Fiber come to Grandview.

“Having choices for internet providers is excellent for our residents,” Mendoza said. “Internet access is essential for us to interact with our loved ones, pursue education, shop and network.”

“It’s been exciting to see the positive reception we’ve received from residents and businesses alike as we’ve continued to expand our presence and ultra-fast fiber network to more and more of Yakima County,” said Harold Zeitz, CEO of Ziply Fiber.

Fall ‘23 VON: Evolution to take place November 1-2 in NYC

Telecom conference Fall ‘23 VON: Evolution is set to take place from November 1, 2023, to November 2, 2023, in New York City, with a pre-conference event on October 31, 2023.

This years’ attendees will have the chance to meet and engage with professionals in the telecom, artificial intelligence, 6G and blockchain industries, according to its website.

Through a series of events and networking opportunities, attendees will be able to connect with telecom “industry disruptors,” which include voices like Larry Irving, chairman and board of directors at PBS, as well as Dean Tribble, CEO of Agoric.

Events at the conference will include fireside chats as well as panels with topics like “Bringing Back Trust in Communications Industry”, and “Transforming the Digital Workspace” being covered.

Present at the event will be Drew Clark, CEO of Breakfast Media LLC, hosting a Broadband Breakfast Panel.

October 2, 2023 – Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks will serve another term as commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission following a unanimous vote from the Senate this weekend. 

With Carr and Starks to continue serving, the FCC will have full membership for the foreseeable future, after Anna Gomez was confirmed as the fifth commissioner in September, breaking the agency’s party deadlock. 

In a statement about the appointments, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash, underlined that it is crucial for the FCC to be equipped with a full staff to avoid “deadlock or delay.” 

“Today’s confirmation of Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr allows the FCC to have full membership and move forward,” added Cantwell. 

The commissioners received congratulatory remarks from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel as well. “With a complete Senate-confirmed Commission, the FCC is now ready to take on our full slate of work and fulfill our commitment to ensuring Americans everywhere have access to the best, most reliable communication services in the world,” said Rosenworcel. 

Supreme court to review social media laws in Texas and Florida 

The Supreme Court on Friday announced it will look into whether social media laws in Texas and Florida, which limit the ability of technology platforms to moderate certain content, violate the First Amendment.

In 2021, two social media laws were signed in both Texas and Florida, which allowed users to take legal action if they were censored online and prohibited the suspension of political figures‘ social accounts, respectively.  These laws were challenged by tech associations NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, who claimed they were unconstitutional. The discrepancy in outcomes likely led to the Supreme Court’s decision to accept review of the case. 

In Florida, it was argued that “the legislation compels providers to host speech that violates their standards – speech they otherwise would not host – and forbids providers from speaking as they otherwise would.” The law was ruled by the 11th Circuit Court to be unconstitutional. 

In Texas, the tech associations’ similar lawsuit was filed, but the Fifth Circuit Court held that that the law was not unconstitutional. It did not reverse a previous stay, meaning that the law has not gone into effect pending Supreme Court review. 

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar had urged in August that the Supreme Court look into the discrepancies between the case outcomes and argued that social platforms are protected by the First Amendment when they moderate content. 

Microsoft dismisses Google claim of ease of search engine switching 

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified Monday in Washington that Google’s claim that it is easy for users to change the default search browser on their devices is not that simple. 

Nadella argued that it is most difficult to change the default search browser on a smartphone, thwarting a claim by Google, which was sued by the Federal Trade Commission over its alleged dominance in the search engine space. 

The Department of Justice, which represents the FTC in court, filed the initial lawsuit in 2020 alleging Google has made a series of illegal agreements with phone manufacturers and wireless service providers to make it the default search engine. The trial began last month. 

Nadella added that Microsoft was “rebuffed” when it tried to make Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, the default on Apple smartphones.  

Google has argued that the popularity of its search engine is because of the quality of the product, not any illegal activity. The company currently has a 90 percent market share on search engines in the United States. 

It has argued that all its agreements are legal and it did not hamper other companies from developing their search engines.  

September 28, 2023 – Rep. Cathy Rodgers, R-WA, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sent a joint letter on Tuesday to newly minted FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, urging her to reject proposed expansions to a school broadband subsidy.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced plans in June to expand the program –which provides monthly internet discounts for schools and libraries – to fund Wi-Fi on school buses and Wi-Fi hotspots for students to check out from libraries and schools.

The GOP lawmakers expressed “strong opposition” to the plan, calling it a “mockery of the law.”

They argue the Communications Act of 1934 limits E-Rate benefits to school and library property, making both proposed expansions ineligible for the subsidy.

Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass., supported Rosenworcel’s June announcement.

The proposal will be up for a vote among the five FCC commissioners at the regulator’s October 19 open meeting. Gomez’s recent confirmation gives Democrats a 3-2 majority.

E-Rate is among four programs funded by a portion of the roughly $8 billion in annual money from the Universal Service Fund. Lawmakers are looking to reform the USF’s funding mechanism, which is currently a tax on voice providers.

NTIA announces latest tribal grants

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced on Wednesday $74 million in tribal broadband grants.

The money comes from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. It can be used to expand infrastructure or to fund other connectivity efforts like feasibility studies and broadband adoption initiatives.

Over $1.8 billion has been allocated under the program with the latest round of awards, which goes to 28 tribal governments in 11 states.

The NTIA said the awards comply with its “equitable distribution” requirement. The agency is required to give smaller grants – up to $500,000 – to tribal governments who do not receive the full grant amount they apply for.

The Government Accountability Office has pushed the NTIA to offer feedback to tribes who are given these significantly reduced grants, saying it would help tribal governments submit more competitive applications in the future.

The remaining $970 million in the program is still up for allocation. Applications are due to the NTIA by January 24 of next year.

Oregon gets $156 million from Capital Projects Fund

The Treasury Department announced Thursday the approval of over $156 million from the Capital Projects Fund for broadband projects in Oregon.

The money will fund a competitive grant program for last-mile infrastructure which the state expects to ultimately connect over 17,000 locations. The program will prioritize projects in areas with current internet speeds of 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload and below and will require all projects to deploy at least 100 * 20 Mbps.

Most of the funding – $149 million – will go to grant awards for successful bidders, with the remaining $7.7 million set aside for administrative costs. Oregon will not receive any additional money from the CPF.

Projects funded by the program will also be required to participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program, a monthly internet subsidy for low-income and Tribal households. The ACP’s future is uncertain, though, with its $14 billion set to dry up in April of next year.

This allocation puts the total CPF awards over $8.4 billion to date. A response to the Covid pandemic, the fund set aside $10 billion for projects enabling work, education, and health monitoring.

Arkansas fiber training program

The Arkansas Community Colleges recently announced a free training program for jobs in broadband infrastructure deployment.

The Arkansas Fiber Academy, subsidized by a partnership with the state’s Office of Skills Development, offers three training programs preparing participants to work as aerial linemen, telecom tower technicians, and underground fiber technicians.

Courses range from 11 days to over three weeks and can be attended at three colleges and universities across the state.

A shortage of qualified workers to deploy broadband infrastructure has been cited by the industry as a potential obstacle to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.