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Rural fiber penetration now stands at 23%, according to a study conducted by Pivot Group (parent company of Telecompetitor) and sponsored by Innovative Systems. The 6th Annual Rural Video and Broadband Industry Study from Pivot Group also found that cable broadband penetration leads all access technologies in rural America at 39%. DSL ranked at 14%, followed by fixed wireless at 10% and satellite broadband at 6%.

The proportion of people aged 75 and over using the internet has nearly doubled in the last seven years in the UK. Figures compiled by the Office of National Statistics show that while there has been little change in internet use for adults aged 16 to 44, the number of older people going online has shot up from 29% in 2013 to 54% in 2020. The information is based on figures from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) between January and March 2020 so it will not include changes due to the pandemic.

An infusion of federal money to expand broadband throughout the country could soon be headed to communities in need if Congress passes President Joe Biden’s $100 billion Internet plan. The question is what do states do until then? Several states have already crafted legislation to address the digital divide. For example, Kentucky's recently approved House Bill 320 will allocate $250 million toward expanding broadband throughout the state.

The Supreme Court said Google did not violate copyright law when it developed its Android mobile operating system using code from Oracle, a much-anticipated ruling in the tech world that saves Google billions of dollars in potential damages. The court ruled 6 to 2 for Google in the case, which has major implications for the software industry. Matt Schruers, president of the trade group Computer and Communications Industry Association, said the court’s ruling “that fair-use extends to the functional principles of computer code means companies can offer competing, interoperable products.”

As part of a $3.9 billion allocation of COVID-19 relief funding from the latest federal law, the American Rescue Plan, Maryland is committing $300 million toward broadband and digital equity initiatives. The package is part of an agreement reached between Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) and the Democratic legislative leaders of the Maryland General Assembly.

The Supreme Court vacated a lower court opinion that said President Donald Trump could not block critics from his Twitter feed, which since has been suspended by the company. The US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York had ruled that because the president had used the forum to regularly communicate with the public, he could not block critical individual users.

While antitrust lawsuits and Capitol Hill hearings get headlines, Big Tech's biggest threat in Washington may come from the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is gearing up to flex its muscle, by both enforcing current rules and trying to draft new ones.

The White House’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan proposes $100 billion for broadband. Right now, however, it is hard to get broadband to large expanses of this country unless the infrastructure is in space. Low-Earth-orbit satellite constellations could bring high-speed internet access to those areas. Elon Musk’s Starlink is the best known, but there are a few other companies in the mix. Who could benefit from this new version of satellite internet? Sascha Segan from PCMag says, "This is going to be transformative for people in rural areas.

Some key details of the broadband measures in the American Jobs Plan have internet service providers up in arms.

White House officials met privately with the CEOs of trade groups representing smaller internet service providers: America's Communications Association, the Competitive Carriers Association, NTCA, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Rural Wireless Association and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association. Although some bigger ISPs balk at Biden’s proposal, these smaller trade groups have been playing a more carefu