Margaret Harding McGill

The White House-backed infrastructure bill moving toward Senate approval divvies up $65 billion in broadband funding in ways that largely please the big cable and telecommunications companies. President Biden's spending blueprints and talking points stoked 

House Republicans launched a GOP caucus on Big Tech, seeking to build support for antitrust changes despite a divide among Republicans. The "Freedom from Big Tech Caucus" is co-chaired by House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee top Republican Ken Buck (R-CO) and Rep Lance Gooden (R-TX), and counts Rep Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) as a vice chair.

The Biden administration is gearing up for a showdown with cable and telecommunication companies over plans to bring back Obama-era net neutrality rules.

President Joe Biden will encourage the Federal Communications Commission to reinstate net neutrality rules and make it easier for consumers to comparison shop for internet service as part of a wide-ranging executive order expected to be signed July 9. The White House wants internet service providers to offer a "broadband nutrition label" detailing their internet packages to give consumers more transparency when they're buying service. The executive order will also encourage the FCC to reinstate net neutrality rules prohibiting the blocking, throttling or paid prioritization of web traffic t

Congress's record $65 billion for broadband infrastructure funding has the potential to make the White House's goal of connecting all Americans a reality—unless it gets mired in squabbling. The way the money will be divided up is still very much in flux as the Senate considers how to turn the framework into legislation.

Key Republicans are warming to an idea that was once anathema to the party—leveling taxes on big American companies to pay for internet subsidy programs. An idea from GOP Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr to force tech companies to pay into a pool of money used to fund broadband programs is gaining steam with some key lawmakers, including GOP Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Republican support of taxing Big Tech could help shore up the struggling Universal Service Fund; Commissioner Carr argues that Congress should direct the companies that benefit from using internet networks

A bipartisan pair of Colorado lawmakers want the Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate T-Mobile's plans to shut down a network used by Dish customers. T-Mobile agreed to help Dish stand up its own 5G network as a condition of obtaining approval for the Sprint merger, but Dish argues that T-Mobile is putting its customers at risk with its shutdown plans.

Groups representing broadband providers questioned the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's new "Indicators of Broadband Need" map, with various statements on its efficacy. Cable trade group NCTA - The Internet and Television Association argues that the interactive tool has "obscured, rather than clarified, the true state of broadband with [a] mashup of disparate, and often inaccurate, data sources." NCTA also supports federal efforts to create a "relia

President Biden's plan to boost broadband across the country could also be a boon to Google's internet ambitions. Biden's plan emphasizes building fiber and steering funding to community-owned networks to ensure widespread connectivity and increase competition.

President Joe Biden's promise to cut the price of Americans' internet bills has provoked a fierce lobbying campaign by cable and telecom companies to prove that the cost of broadband has already dropped. Internet providers are desperate to fend off any move to regulate the prices they charge, while the government is increasingly viewing connectivity as an essential service.