Press Release

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is embarking on an inquiry into whether more privacy protections are necessary for people who have registered “.us” domains on the Internet. NTIA administers the contract for the country code top-level domain, for the United States, .us. The .us domain is used by American businesses, individuals, and localities. NTIA’s contractor, Registry Services, is required by the agency to maintain a publicly accessible database of .us domain name registrations.

Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD) and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development announced the latest ConnectSD broadband grants. These awards will make quality, high-speed internet available to underserved households in South Dakota. Over $32 million in grants were awarded for 13 projects from nine applicants.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit joined the 5th Circuit in rejecting an attack on the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF). The  USF is a critical means of reducing the cost of broadband and other telecommunications services for schools, hospitals and libraries, for low-income consumers, and for residents of rural America. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, MediaJustice, and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance are intervenors supporting the FCC in this case.

Gigi Sohn will serve as the Executive Director of the American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB). Sohn will ensure public entities will have a visible, powerful, and consistent voice that will make the positive case for states to fund and communities to choose public broadband and oppose barriers to local choice. Founded by state and local broadband officials, AAPB is a 501 (c)(6) non-profit organization that will build a diverse membership of public broadband networks nationwide and advocate for municipal broadband and local choice at the federal, state, and local levels.

Altice USA reports results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023:

Connect Humanity is investing in a fiber network in Macon County, Alabama. The Macon County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA) has been working diligently to expand internet access in the county, where 40% of families have lacked access to home internet at broadband speeds. With support from Rural LISC, MCEDA entered into a public private partnership with rural internet provider Point Broadband to build out a fiber network that would deliver quality, affordable broadband to families and businesses across the county.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to further promote responsible American innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and protect people’s rights and safety:

After four years at the helm, Francella Ochillo announced that she will move on from her role as Executive Director of Next Century Cities (NCC), an organization committed to bringing connectivity within reach for every resident in every community. Since joining Next Century Cities in 2019, Ochillo has been recognized as one of the most impactful digital rights advocates in the country.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed changes to the agency’s 2020 privacy order with Facebook after alleging that the company has failed to fully comply with the order, misled parents about their ability to control with whom their children communicated through its Messenger Kids app, and misrepresented the access it provided some app developers to private user data. As part of the proposed changes, Meta, which changed its name from Facebook in October 2021, would be prohibited from profiting from data it collects, including through its virtual reality products, from users under the a

Lumen Technologies reported results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. The company:

• Increased its Quantum Fiber-enabled location pacing, deploying approximately 120 thousand fiber locations during the first quarter of 2023;
• Increased Grow revenue to $1.128 billion for the first quarter of 2023, compared to $1.091 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022;
• Reported Net Income of $511 million for the first quarter of 2023, compared to reported Net Income of $599 million for the first quarter of 2022.