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Congress Rolls Back Biden’s Illegal E-Rate Expansion

By James Erwin Last week, Congress rolled back former president Biden’s illegal expansion of the E-Rate program. The Senate passed a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act despite an intense lobbying campaign from the American Library Association, which mobilized its state chapters to try and keep…

Lutnick is right about Spectrum – DoD should put it up for Auction

By James Erwin Yesterday, the Senate Commerce Committee held its confirmation hearing for Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick. Perhaps the most interesting insight Lutnick offered was to agree with Digital Liberty’s long-held position that the Department of Defense is sitting on too much spectrum that should…

USF Announces Another Rate Hike for Q1 2025

By Lawson Faulkner Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the USF was established to expand telecommunications access to rural and low-income communities. Funded by contributions from wireline and wireless service customers, the USF bankrolls a plethora of subsidiary programs, including Lifeline, E-Rate, High Cost, and Rural Health…

Draft NDAA Includes Partial Auction Authority

By Lawson Faulkner On Saturday, top lawmakers from the Senate and House Armed Services committees released a negotiated draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025. With American telecommunication security in mind, the proposed bill designates over $3 billion for a so-called…

Digital Liberty Congratulates Commissioner Brendan Carr for FCC Chairmanship Nomination

By Lawson Faulkner The incoming Trump administration has tapped commissioner Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), signaling a strong commitment to free-market telecommunications policy in the coming years. Digital Liberty congratulates Commissioner Carr for his selection. Prior to his commission appointment by President Trump…

Digital Liberty Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Broadband Taxes

On October 29th, 2024, Digital Liberty joined a coalition of 26 free-market organizations in a letter opposing increased taxes for broadband services. In particular, the coalition objected to any effort that would raise the quarterly contribution rate to the Universal Service Fund (USF), arguing that American consumers…

Hurricane Victims Suffer from White House Vendetta Against Elon Musk

By Lawson Faulkner While Hurricane Milton rips through the midsection of Florida, communities throughout western North Carolina are only beginning to reckon with the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene. Luckily, while rural Appalachia begins to put its pieces back together, Starlink, a satellite technology company owned by Elon…

FCC Quietly Expedites Soros-Backed Purchase of Over 200 Radio Stations  

By Lawson Faulkner Billionaire activist George Soros has been authorized to purchase Audacy, the second largest radio network within the United States, gaining access to the ears of as many as 150 million Americans on the eve of a consequential election cycle. On Monday,…

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)…