October 2023

Will BEAD Networks Offer Affordable Service?

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program—established by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—gives priority to projects that will result in broadband internet access service being offered in areas where service wasn't available before. Given that federal funds will provide 75 percent of the costs to deploy these networks, the chances that competing networks will be built at any time in the foreseeable future are very slim.

NTIA's Model Low-Cost Broadband Service Option

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress requires Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program subgrantees (the entities that will build and maintain the new broadband networks) to offer "at least one low-cost broadband service option for eligible subscribers." Congress tasked the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees the BEAD Program, to define who the eligible subscribers are—and left it to states, territories, and the District of Columbia (known as "Eligible Entities") to define what low-cost broadband service options a

Finding You: The Network Effect of Telecommunications Vulnerabilities for Location Disclosure

The information collected by, and stored within, mobile networks can represent one of the most current and comprehensive dossiers of our life. Our mobile phones are connected to these networks and reveal our behaviours, demographic details, social communities, shopping habits, sleeping patterns, and where we live and work, as well as provide a view into our travel history. This information, in aggregate, is jeopardized, however, by technical vulnerabilities in mobile communications networks.

President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence

President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order to ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence (AI). The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more. The Executive Order directs the following actions: