Broadband access is essential in the 21st Century. To achieve availability across the country, the Federal government must have accurate broadband access data to ensure that funds and resources are being spent to expand coverage to unserved areas. However, accuracy issues with the broadband map have plagued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)–the Federal entity tasked with compiling the data.

The state of Vermont agreed on Thursday to suspend enforcement of its net neutrality lawsuit until a suit against the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is resolved. Similarly, telecommunication sector trade groups, who were suing Vermont over the law, agreed to delay their litigation.

Several Democratic senators voiced concern today over impacts of T-Mobile’s $26 billion agreement to acquire rival wireless service provider Sprint, and requested a hearing on the merger. At the same time, rural wireless carriers expressed their opposition to the deal.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced Friday that FCC will investigate last week’s nationwide CenturyLink outage, which impacted 911 service across the country. The outage, which primarily impacted Western states, began shortly after 8 a.m. ET on Dec. 27 and was resolved by 9 p.m. ET on Dec. 28.

Today, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology took a deep dive into the RAY BAUM’S Act and examined how the legislation is helping to bridge the digital divide in the United States.

Microsoft today announced that it plans to expand its rural broadband initiative, dubbed the Airband initiative, to reach an additional 1 million rural Americans.

In a report released Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could do more to expand broadband access on tribal lands. The GAO offered three recommendations to the FCC, which the agency agreed with.

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has declined to hear a case regarding the legality of Obama-era Net Neutrality rules–putting an end to a lengthy legal battle by declining to hear USTelecom’s appeal. The telecommunication industry group originally sued the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) under the belief that the FCC lacked the authority to impose public-utility, common-carrier obligations on broadband internet access service. Under the Obama-era rules, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were barred from blocking or throttling web content or creating the so-called internet “fast lanes.”

California has agreed to delay enforcing its net neutrality law, signed in September, that put the state at odds with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and many telecommunications industry groups. The law reinstates Obama-era net neutrality rules and was scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.