Funding
Senate Bill Would Terminate USDA’s Community Connect Grant Program
The program supports broadband expansion in rural areas where service does not exist.
USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is a cabinet agency, and includes several broadband-related funding programs.
Fiber
Anchorage Update: Lessons from the Frontier State
Industry executives, tribal leaders and policymakers came together to connect more Alaskans.
Digital Inclusion
USDA Cuts Race and Gender Criteria From Rural Development Programs
Follows March rollback of equity scoring in broadband grants.
Congress
Senate Panel Advances USDA Budget, Trims ReConnect in FY26
Senate appropriators cut $56 million from House’s proposed ReConnect budget.
NTIA
Pew: Incomplete Federal Data Threatens Effectiveness of Broadband Deployment Programs
'Gaps in data collection can cause misallocation of public resources.'
House Appropriations
House Restores ReConnect Funding for FY26
House doubles funding for rural broadband program, despite Trump proposing cuts.
Rural
Stakeholders Protest Rural Utilities Service Budget Cuts
Loans are 'a win-win situation for rural consumers and American taxpayers' because they are paid back with interest, the groups said.
NTIA
USDA, NTIA Receive Budget Cuts in Fiscal Year 2026
ReConnect eliminated; Digital Equity funding cut short
Funding
Trump Plan Wants to Cut USDA Broadband Funding
Other broadband resources are doing the job, White House said
Broadband Mapping and Data
GAO Flags Gaps in Federal Broadband Coordination and Data Accuracy
Three years after GAO recommendations, federal broadband coordination remains fragmented.
SpaceX
Tom Reid: Common-Sense Solutions to Closing the Digital Divide in Rural America
The BEAD investment offers great hope to rural America where we have been stuck in the digital divide since the beginning of the Internet age.
Energy
Panelists Warn of ‘Choke Points’ in America’s Nuclear Energy Future
Permitting delays, transmission backlogs, siting fights, and supply chain gaps top the list.
Digital Inclusion
USDA Scrubs DEI Criteria from Rural Broadband Grant Programs
Removal of DEI scoring may shift broadband funds away from Tribes and disadvantaged areas.
Nuclear
Reps. Fleischmann and Weber to Headline Data Center and Energy Summit
Experts gather next Thursday to explore AI infrastructure challenges at the intersection of data centers, nuclear power, and broadband.
Rural
Clearfiber CEO Sentenced for Money Laundering
Hensen submitted false invoices to the USDA
ReConnect
Senate Confirms Brooke Rollins to Lead USDA
Was approved in a 72-28 vote Thursday; approach to rural broadband issues was not prominently discussed in hearings.
