Ownership

Telecommunications giant Verizon is ending several internal programs that foster—or simply mention—a diverse workforce, following a federal probe and threats from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr. After President Trump issued an executive order to rid the federal government of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives, the FCC launched a formal investigation into Ver

America’s cable giants are being squeezed from all sides. Competition from wireless carriers is surging. Government subsidies are on hold. The onetime fortress of cable TV has all but crumbled. Those forces propelled the $21.9 billion deal Charter Communications struck to buy Cox Communications. A decade ago, broadband providers pursued big mergers to protect their ailing TV businesses.

Elon Musk has enthusiastically posted, reposted and endorsed incorrect or inflammatory claims on X that Social Security is fraudulent, that the Democrats are importing immigrants to win elections and that the federal judges who are ruling against the Trump administration should be impeached. There are plenty of precedents for what Mr. Musk is doing with X. But he has taken the process to a level unimaginable even a short time ago. The site says he has 220 million followers, an assertion impossible to verify.

The Milken Institute Global Conference gathered top players in business, technology, and politics at a chaotic moment for the global business ecosystem. POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger cornered some big names in industry and government to ask them the question on everyone’s mind: What’s the biggest threat to the future for tech?

Rep Kat Cammack (R-FL) introduced the App Store Freedom Act, which seeks to promote competition and protect consumers and developers in the mobile app marketplace by prohibiting certain anticompetitive practices by dominant app store operators. The bill supports interoperability and consumer choice by requiring large app store operators (100 million+ U.S. users) to allow users to set third-party apps or app stores as default; install apps or app stores outside of the dominant platform; and remove or hide pre-installed apps.

Public Knowledge joined 16 other public interest, consumer rights, and library groups in a letter urging Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson to protect consumers in the digital marketplace by establishing clear ground rules for digital ownership and sales of goods.

Visionary Broadband has acquired Montana-based MTWeb. Visionary says that the deal will expand its presence in the village of Whitehall and provide expanded services in the Twin Bridges, Pipestone, and Cardwell areas. The areas impacted are in the central area of the state.

Just when we were wondering what’s been going on with Dish, apparently it went and sold its fiber business. Mereo Networks, a bulk broadband provider, announced it acquired Dish’s fiber unit. Dish Fiber is a bulk fiber business launched in 2019 aimed at multi-family communities. According to Mereo, Dish’s fiber biz serves over 25,000 residential units across 33 states.

PhireLink announced that it will acquire Arkwest Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spectracomm, Inc. The acquisition will expand PhireLink’s business into the Arkansas market. The company already has broadband business in Louisiana, Colorado, and Kansas. Arkwest Communications has a fiber network covering more than 900 route miles.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules to codify certain foreign ownership requirements and streamline its review processes. To account for increasingly complex foreign ownership structures over the past decade, the FCC has employed certain practices but has never codified them into its rules. Without clear definitions, it’s harder for entities to understand and navigate FCC requirements, which puts them at risk for inconsistent outcomes and can needlessly raise costs. This action takes steps to define and simplify these requirements.