New York released its revised draft BEAD proposal Wednesday for public comment after receiving an extension from NTIA to complete the new subgrantee selection process (see 2509080012). Comments are due to the state's ConnectALL office by Sept. 24 at 3:59 p.m. ET. New York plans to spend about $391 million of its allocated $650 million on deployment projects. More than half of New York's funding will be awarded to fiber providers. SpaceX will receive about $20.4 million to deploy low earth orbit satellites, while CBN and IBT Group will get funding to deploy wireless services.
The Arizona Corporation Commission unanimously approved a July settlement between Attorney General Kris Mayes' (D) office and Verizon and Frontier regarding investments in Navajo and Apache counties, Mayes said Thursday. She said the commission approved the settlement Wednesday night (see 2507300040).
A bill that headed to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) desk Tuesday would prohibit the California Public Utilities Commission from sharing the immigration status of FCC Lifeline applicants or subscribers with other government entities without a valid subpoena or warrant. AB-1303, which passed the state Senate last week, requires a "court-ordered subpoena or valid judicial warrant" for an individual's personal information to be released. It also clarified that Lifeline is a state law "that may provide assistance and services for individuals not lawfully present in the United States" under federal statutes.
Oregon released its revised final BEAD plan late last week, including a roughly even mix of technologies in its subgrantee selections. The state will award about 53% of its funding to fiber, 46% to low earth orbit satellites and 1% to wireless. The seven-day public comment period on the proposal ends Friday at noon PT.
NTIA's management of BEAD under the agency's revised rules is "no way to run a railroad, and no way to connect Americans to the fast, affordable, reliable internet we need," wrote Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in a blog post Monday. Citing concerns from public interest advocates about another possible round of subgrantee selections, Prasad warned that the agency is going "off track" amid claims that it's requiring several states to revisit "some of the most expensive locations to connect and to do so in 72 hours."
Michigan released its draft final BEAD plan for public comment Thursday, with comments due Tuesday. The state was among 20 entities to receive an extension of NTIA's Sept. 4 deadline to submit revised plans (see 2509080012). Michigan awarded about $924 million to 30 providers with $547 million in matching funds from subgrantees. Included among the providers selected were Amazon's Kuiper, Brightspeed, Comcast, SpaceX's Starlink and Spectrum.
The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved Verizon's acquisition of Frontier on Thursday. The agency also adopted a recommended decision to approve the deal "without modification." Commissioner Kathryn Zerfuss cited Verizon's commitment to ensuring that Frontier customers continue to have phone and internet access following the close of the transaction. The company will offer discounted broadband to eligible low-income households in Frontier's service territory for "at least four years" and provide tariffed rates for residents and small businesses until January 2028, the commission said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) warned older residents Wednesday of a three-part scam targeting individuals' bank and retirement accounts. James said the scam, known as "Phantom Hacker," is targeting individuals by either call, text or email, claiming their account was hacked. The campaign is in three steps, James noted: First, a victim receives a call, text or email instructing them to contact a customer service phone number. Then, a new caller claiming to be the individual's financial institution contacts them. Finally, another scammer may impersonate a government agency to "lend legitimacy to the prior two phases," said a news release. More than $1 billion has been stolen since 2024 from individuals "nearing or over their retirement age."
Pennsylvania lawmakers on the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would bar telemarketers from spoofing phone numbers. Sen. Michele Brooks (R) led a group of eight other bipartisan lawmakers in introducing the bill, S-992, earlier this year. The legislation, which now goes to the full state Senate, would prohibit telemarketers from using phone numbers that appear as though the call is coming from the same area code as the recipient. Calls could also be banned between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m., expanding on the current prohibition of calls between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Wisconsin submitted its revised BEAD plan to NTIA with the majority of its funding going to fiber, said Gov. Tony Evers (D) (see 2509050028). Wisconsin PSC Chairperson Summer Strand criticized the Trump administration's changes to the program, noting the effect that NTIA's revisions had on its final plan. "Due to the regressive changes made by the Trump Administration in the eleventh hour, the Final Proposal submitted last week does not reflect all aspects of Wisconsin’s carefully crafted BEAD Program developed through a robust and inclusive public and stakeholder engagement process to ensure the deployment of reliable high-speed internet throughout the state." Still, Strand applauded the state broadband office's efforts.