Comcast’s effort to stifle an organization for criticizing its political work created a bigger problem for the media giant. And North Carolina’s broadband future is looking grim with a new law that severely restricts community broadband networks.

Google’s announcement that Kansas City, Kansas, is the winner of its year-long search for a city worthy of a 1GB fiber network left hundreds of other cities disappointed. And some of the losers may have their state’s anti-municipal broadband laws to blame for their loss. And the problems with American media are no laughing matter. Yet somehow, comedians are making it funny.

Public interest groups are worried that the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan may already be headed down the wrong track. And a new bill in the Senate would curb mobile phone contract early termination fees and make their terms more transparent to customers.

Leaders in journalism, philanthropy and business gathered in St. Paul, Minn., to tackle complex questions facing the worlds of commercial and public media. And the FCC has floated an interesting prospect: Should we use local TV airwaves for wireless broadband?

An industry-backed bill in the North Carolina state legislature would squash attempts by cities and towns to follow the City of Wilson’s lead and build their own broadband networks. And local radio advocates lobbied Congress last week to pass the Local Community Radio Act.

In North Carolina, nearly 5 million people are without a broadband connection. Hundreds will meet in Durham for a town hall meeting on the future of the Internet. Megan Tady of Free Press recently spoke to people across the state about the importance of Internet access.