California fights "preposterous" Trump admin demand to scrap state broadband laws
State tries to obtain broadband funds despite rejecting Trump admin condition.
California has accepted $1.42 billion in broadband grant funding from the Trump administration, but refuses to comply with the administration's demand to cease enforcing net neutrality laws and other telecommunications regulations. This stance could lead to numerous legal conflicts involving the state, federal government, and internet service providers vying for government funding.
Although California has agreed to receive the money, it maintains the option to contest the condition set by the US. The state might postpone or abandon its plans for distributing broadband grants depending on the outcome of the process. Last year, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) ruled that states must refrain from implementing any rate regulation or net neutrality rules on internet service providers that receive funds from the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
California faced the decision of accepting its portion of the fund while adhering to this restriction. The state aims to utilize $1.42 billion to extend broadband connectivity to 270,571 locations, potentially receiving up to $1.86 billion from BEAD for a combination of deployment and non-deployment initiatives.
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