States across the country are working to finalize their final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by the September 4, 2025, deadline. The state of Louisiana is leading the charge to close the digital divide as the first state in the nation to release its final draft […]
States Should Refrain from Bulk Billing Bans
Providing broadband service at the lowest price to the largest possible number of Americans should be a bipartisan effort, and laws or regulations that impede that objective should be avoided. In one of his first decisions as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Brendan Carr withdrew a March 5, 2024, notice of proposed rulemaking […]
NTIA’s New Administrator Will Connect More Americans
After Arielle Roth was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), closing the digital divide may be closer than ever. Her confirmation comes at a critical time for the agency, as it begins to send out funding to states […]
FCC Proposes Accelerating Copper Wire Retirement
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continues to move ahead with its plans to delete and modernize regulations. It was therefore encouraging to see among the items listed for the agency’s July 24, 2025 monthly meeting, an item entitled “Accelerating Upgrade Away from Old Copper Line Networks,” Continued reliance on aging infrastructure is a significant impediment […]
CAGW Declares Victory Over Biden’s Broadband Regulators
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) applauds a major victory for taxpayers, consumers, and rapid broadband deployment to close the digital divide as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) rescinds broadband price controls and other non-statutory guidance following a strong push for these changes by CAGW. On June 6, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information […]
NTIA Revamps BEAD Program to Speed Up Deployment
Since the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued its first Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) guidance for the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that was created in the 2021 Instructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has raised concerns about the non-statutory prescriptive requirements that have […]
This Week in Waste – May 30, 2025
Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted in the federal, state, and local levels of government and efforts to fight back against this spendthrift behavior. Congress to Vote on Codifying DOGE Cuts Congress is expected to take up a recissions […]
House Reconciliation Package Restores Spectrum Auction Authority
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has supported spectrum auction authority for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for many years. H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (reconciliation) passed by the House of Representatives restores this authority through fiscal year (FY) 2034, more than two years after it expired on March 9, 2023. The renewal […]
This Week in Waste – May 16, 2025
Welcome to This Week in Waste, a series by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) that highlights how taxpayer dollars are being wasted in the federal, state, and local levels of government and effort to fight back against this spendthrift behavior. Missouri Senate Rejects Stadium Funding Bill In the final days of their session, the Missouri […]
Senate Votes to Repeal Taxpayer Funded Wi-Fi Hotspots for Home Use
Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding included the repeal of a regulation that expanded the use of the E-Rate program under the Universal Service Fund (USF) to allows tax dollars to be used for the installation of Wi-Fi hotspots in school buses. The […]