Level of Government

Olivia Trusty was nominated to serve as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission by President Donald J. Trump. She was confirmed by the United States Senate in June 2025. Prior to joining the Commission, Commissioner Trusty served as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services under the leadership of Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS). She previously served as a Policy Director on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and a Legislative Assistant in the Office of Sen Wicker.

The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) published a Notice of Funding Availability requesting applications for the Building the Texas Broadband Workforce Grant Program. The program makes $25 million in grant funding available for successful applicants to build or expand accessible educational opportunities to grow a skilled and robust Texas broadband workforce. To learn more about the program, visit the Electronic State Business Daily posting. Clarifying questions will be accepted through June 30, and applications will be accepted no later than July 31.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced that he is leading a coalition of 21 Attorneys General and the state of Pennsylvania in suing the Trump Administration over its unprecedented and unlawful attempts to invoke a single provision buried in the federal regulations to strip away billions of dollars in critical federal funding for states and other grantees.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration recently announced sweeping changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program.

As broadband officials dig into the fine print of updated guidance governing a $42.45 billion federal broadband expansion program, many raised concerns about new advantages carved out for low-Earth orbit satellite providers. One of the clearest examples, they argued, was a provision under revised rules for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program, that gives satellite providers up to 10 years to meet performance benchmarks—more than double the four years allowed for fiber and other technologies to comply.

When the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released new guidelines for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program, the deadline for applying for funding had already passed in Vermont and administrators were about to begin the scoring process. Nevertheless, Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont broadband office, says that the changes won’t be tremendously disruptive — at least not in Vermont. Initial BEAD rules prioritized fiber and allowed the use of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and u

In recent days, major new proposals from the Trump Administration and the majority in Congress are damaging further mechanisms that would have provided low-cost broadband to households in need. The Department of Commerce issued radically revised guidance for states implementing the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program, and the Senate Commerce Committee released its part of the highly problematic reconciliation budget bill.

At Connect Humanity, we’ve long understood capital as the missing puzzle piece in the effort to close the digital divide. Without the right financing, even the most promising broadband projects can stall. That’s why I’m excited to share that we now have a new set of targeted funds available to invest in community-focused broadband infrastructure.

The NC Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity announced its plans to launch a revised Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program in compliance with the 

A group of 23 internet service providers in Texas, backed by the industry group Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, sent a letter to two Senators with concerns about proposed changes to a widely used stretch of shared spectrum featured in the president’s budget bill. The letter notes several concerns about the spectrum policy proposals included in the Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, championed by the Trump administration.