Impeachment Trial Continues, House Returns

The House will return to Washington next week as the Senate carries on with its impeachment trial. While Senate committee hearings are largely on hold, House committees will resume business as usual and examine topics including U.S. competitiveness in critical technologies and the rise of mobile payments.

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

On January 30, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on final rules for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, a program to distribute more than $20 billion to help telecom providers expand broadband internet connections in rural areas. The funding, which will be allocated over the next ten years, will not be restricted to phone companies, but also be available to cable providers, public utilities, and wireless companies, which have traditionally been excluded from such government subsidies.

Read more in McGuireWoods Consulting’s Emerging Technologies Washington Update.