Feb 9 2026 – NTIA Listening Session: Use of BEAD Funds
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On February 11, 2026 the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) held an online 'Listening Session on the Use of BEAD Funds Saved Through the Trump Administration's Benefit of the Bargain Reforms'.
Two questions were to be considered
1 .What guidance should NTIA provide to States and Territories in the use of their B
Trump Is Helping Elon Musk’s Starlink Get Billions In Taxpayer Dollars With No Oversight
Has anyone here completed the beaded fish tutorial by 'Mind of Julia'?
I'm struggling with it. I've watched various videos on peyote stitch and the zipping method, but I'm still struggling. I feel like the bead counts per row might be out?
I'm wondering if the square stitch method would work better for me?
Made this one today with some new beads I got :D I'm entering it into a beading contest. I have zero expectation to win, but hey, zero chance if you don't try :P Had loads of fun making this one 😊
#crafting #beads #art #mastoartist #bead #keychain #winterart
Who said you could get off your knees?
#briefs #tightywhities #bead #stache #bulge #treasuretrail #otter #abs #veinyarms #hairychest
Weekly output: LocalSend, Mark Vena podcast, AST SpaceMobile launch
I hope you all are enjoying the liminal time between Christmas and New Year’s–or, as I’ve come to think of it over the last 25-plus years, my last moments of occupational tranquility before work returns with force in the form of CES.
(I’ve used some of that semi-idle time to write an extra post for Patreon readers about the free trips that I didn’t take in the last quarter of this year.)
12/22/2025: This Free App Makes Transferring Files Between Devices Ridiculously Easy, PCMag
Quizzing LocalSend’s developer via e-mail taught me a lesson in how namespaces and nations can mix. As in: He goes by Tien Do Nam, in Vietnam last names come first, he lives in Berlin, so I thought to ask for his surname. He replied that the correct full name is Do Nam Tien, while his German documents list him as Tien Do Nam.
12/24/2025: Ep 117 SmartTechCheck Podcast — Trump’s impact on tech, AI data centers and energy, FCC and Google, Mark Vena
As the token Washingtonian on this podcast, I took up the first item on the agenda. My take on President Trump’s tech policy wasn’t all bad–it looks like the government is in line to save tens of billions of dollars in broadband-buildout costs, assuming that Amazon Leo satellite broadband comes online on schedule–but I can’t call it anything close to good overall.
12/24/2025: AST SpaceMobile Launches Its Most Powerful Direct-to-Cell Satellite Yet, PCMag
Was I going to use this post as an opportunity to remind PCMag readers about India’s impressive spaceflight ambitions? Absolutely.
#AirDrop #ASTSpaceMobile #BEAD #BlueBird #broadbandBuildout #D2D #directToDevice #directToCell #IndiaSpaceProgram #LocalSend #lowEarthOrbitBroadband #LVM3 #MarkVena #QuickShare #satelliteBroadband #Starlink #TienDoNam
Elon Musk’s Taxpayer-Subsidized Starlink Yanks Cheaper $40 Plan Because Network Couldn’t Handle The Load
Trump Pretends To Block State AI Laws; Media Pretends That’s Legal
More internet, more problems?
Broadband expansion is once again getting underway. But $21 billion in funds primarily used for education around the expansion are still in limbo.
Joly MacFie
Neil Moffatt
Techdirt
Clianthus 🏴☠️ 
Sam
Cruizing4Country
Rob Pegoraro
The Current