Adam Bender, Senior Editor, is the state and local telecommunications reporter for Communications Daily, where he also has covered Congress and the Federal Communications Commission. He has won awards for his Warren Communications News reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, Specialized Information Publishers Association and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Bender studied print journalism at American University and is the author of dystopian science-fiction novels. You can follow Bender at WatchAdam.blog and @WatchAdam on Twitter.
Biography for Adam BenderRecent Articles by Adam BenderFederal law doesn't preempt New York state’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Friday. In a 2-1 opinion, the court reversed the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York, which had barred the state from enforcing the 2021 Affordable Broadband Act (ABA). The ABA required $15 monthly plans providing 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds for qualifying low-income households.Read More >>
Virginia broadband providers applauded a federal court for tossing a railroad association’s challenge of a 2023 state law that gave ISPs access rights to railroad property. In an opinion Monday, U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia Judge David Novak dismissed a lawsuit by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) against state officials including Virginia State Corporation Commission Judge Jehmal Hudson (case 1:23-cv-00815-DJN-WEF). The court rejected two counts for lack of standing, two for failure to state a claim and two as barred by sovereign immunity.Read More >>
CTIA still disagrees with a Kentucky 911 law that was upheld in court Friday, the wireless industry association said Tuesday. The U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky ruled that federal law doesn’t preempt the state from requiring Lifeline providers to directly pay state 911 fees. Kentucky’s policy is constitutional and doesn’t frustrate Congress’ universal service objectives, the court said.Read More >>
It’s unconstitutional for Washington state to tax federal Lifeline reimbursements, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously decided Thursday. Siding with T-Mobile subsidiary Assurance Wireless, the state’s high court reversed a lower court’s opinion because it found that the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) is the FCC’s instrumentality and thus immune from state taxes.Read More >>
An Ohio court can and should call Google Search a common carrier, the state argued Friday. In a separate opposition brief, Google protested that it’s nothing like a common carrier: "Google is not a 'dumb pipe' or 'mere conduit.' The Ohio Chamber of Commerce supported the company, arguing in a Thursday amicus brief that Ohio’s attempt to regulate the search company would be “anti-business.”Read More >>
Federal law doesn't preempt New York state’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA), the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Friday. In a 2-1 opinion, the court reversed the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York, which had barred the state from enforcing the 2021 Affordable Broadband Act (ABA). The ABA required $15 monthly plans providing 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds for qualifying low-income households.Read More >>
Virginia broadband providers applauded a federal court for tossing a railroad association’s challenge of a 2023 state law that gave ISPs access rights to railroad property. In an opinion Monday, U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia Judge David Novak dismissed a lawsuit by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) against state officials including Virginia State Corporation Commission Judge Jehmal Hudson (case 1:23-cv-00815-DJN-WEF). The court rejected two counts for lack of standing, two for failure to state a claim and two as barred by sovereign immunity.Read More >>
CTIA still disagrees with a Kentucky 911 law that was upheld in court Friday, the wireless industry association said Tuesday. The U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky ruled that federal law doesn’t preempt the state from requiring Lifeline providers to directly pay state 911 fees. Kentucky’s policy is constitutional and doesn’t frustrate Congress’ universal service objectives, the court said.Read More >>
It’s unconstitutional for Washington state to tax federal Lifeline reimbursements, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously decided Thursday. Siding with T-Mobile subsidiary Assurance Wireless, the state’s high court reversed a lower court’s opinion because it found that the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC) is the FCC’s instrumentality and thus immune from state taxes.Read More >>
An Ohio court can and should call Google Search a common carrier, the state argued Friday. In a separate opposition brief, Google protested that it’s nothing like a common carrier: "Google is not a 'dumb pipe' or 'mere conduit.' The Ohio Chamber of Commerce supported the company, arguing in a Thursday amicus brief that Ohio’s attempt to regulate the search company would be “anti-business.”Read More >>