Broadband
Connecting the Swamp: How Arielle Roth Exposed DC’s BEAD Fraud
By James Erwin It is rare to see great shoe-leather investigative reporting these days. It is all the rarer for that reporting to come from a government official who should the one the press is holding accountable. In an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal this week, NTIA…
FCC Moves to Modernize Networks through Deregulation
By James Erwin Yesterday, the FCC announced plans to scrap old regulations standing in the way of network modernization. Peeling back layers of reporting requirements and government approvals will speed up the transition from copper to all-fiber networks. Given the recent rise in copper theft, this comes not a moment…
Senator Cantwell is wrong: internet costs are going down
By Nate Norris During the December 14th Senate Commerce oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell used her openings remarks to spread misinformation about the costs of media and telecommunications services. Senator Cantwell’s remarks that basic cable and streaming costs have increased and that the…
BEAD funds should not subsidize ISPs forever
By James Erwin A bipartisan group of 14 senators is lobbying NTIA to let states keep the $20 billion in BEAD savings Administrator Arielle Roth has been able to find in the program. As we have argued before, this money should return to the taxpayer, and it certainly should not…
The FCC should Approve the Charter-Cox Merger
By Rohan Naval A free market is the best way to provide goods and services. The best use of government is in enforcing contracts, not drafting them. As Charter Communications and Cox Communications enter an agreement for a merger, the Federal Communications Commission should approve this deal that will…
Maine Town Unintentionally Spotlights the Folly of State-Funded Providers
By Nathan Seibert As private broadband service progresses up to rural parts of Maine, an ironic story emerged from the town of Arrowsic. In 2020, the town formed a government-owned network (GON) called Arrowsic Broadband Authority in an attempt to provide service when no private providers offered coverage in the…
Olivia Trusty is the Right Choice for the FCC
By James Erwin The FCC is responsible for overseeing America’s vast communications infrastructure, including everything from broadband internet to broadcast television and radio. It can impact millions of American households and businesses by regulating one of the most important sectors of the economy, playing a pivotal role in how Americans…
From CHIPS to BEAD, Biden’s politics infected federal spending
By James Erwin President Biden’s team were eager to popularize “Bidenomics” when they saw marginal improvements in inflation, but it is more likely the term will become a by-word for politicized slush funds. There will be manifold retrospectives on the Biden Administration in due course. Most of these will focus…
House Oversight Sheds Light on Biden-Harris Administration’s Broadband Deployment Failures
By Lawson Faulkner On Thursday, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled “A Legacy of Incompetence: Consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Policy Failures.” During the hearing, lawmakers took aim at the disastrous mismanagement of the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which…
The Problem(s) with Poles
By James Erwin If you want to make any telecom expert’s fingers curl, mention pole attachments. It is an incredibly niche policy area, but exorbitant pole attachment fees and burdensome terms from municipally-owned poles could undermine federal broadband deployment efforts, possibly wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. If Congress and the…