Press Release

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Department is investing $40 million to provide high-speed internet access for people living and working in rural areas in New Mexico. The three projects being announced today in New Mexico are:

The Federal Communications Commission announced a series of enhancements to the online consumer application system for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to make it easier for eligible consumers to apply and enroll in the program. The nation’s largest-ever broadband affordability effort, the ACP is now supporting internet connections in 17 million households.

EnerTribe, a Native American and woman-owned consulting firm specializing in telecommunications and infrastructure projects, and Tarana, manufacturer of the Gigabit 1 (G1) broadband platform, the first of its kind in next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA), announced their partnership to enable the rapid deployment of reliable, high-speed internet in tribal communities across the US. EnerTribe serves as a resource for operators, value-added resellers, and other organizations that provide essential services to tribal residents, governments, and enterprises.

The Federal Communications Commission announced it is committing over $2.8 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

A new best practice white paper explores micro-trenching, an advantageous fiber broadband deployment method. The report compares micro-trenching amongst other deployment methods as a valuable option in the fiber broadband construction toolkit and it also details the scrutiny that micro-trenching faces, success stories, and best practices.

Here is the agenda for the Federal Communications Commission's April open meeting:

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires the use of Made-in-America materials and products for federally funded infrastructure projects including high-speed Internet deployment in America. As a result, two key manufacturers near Hickory, North Carolina, announced new investments and partnerships. CommScope and Corning are investing a combined nearly $550 million and creating hundreds of new jobs in America to build the fiber optic cables that will help close the digital divide. CommScope announced an additional $47 million investment towards expanding its U.S.

Comcast’s new Pacific Northwest Region is investing $280 million in 2023 to offer multi-gigabit Internet speeds to more than four million locations, expand broadband and video services to more than 60,000 additional homes and businesses, and provide donations and in-kind services to communities throughout Oregon and Washington. The investment will significantly expand and evolve the availability of the Xfinity 10G Network across the Pacific Northwest in 2023.

The US Department of the Treasury announced the approval of high-speed internet projects in New York under the American Rescue Plan’s (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The state will use its funding to connect nearly 100,000 low-income housing units to affordable, high-speed internet.

On March 28, lawmakers from both the House of Representatives and US Senate reintroduced bipartian legislation to expand broadband access to rural communities. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act would strengthen funding mechanisms for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF), which promotes universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. Currently, the USF is primarily funded through landline fees, disproportionately impacting seniors, who are more likely to use landlines than other Americans.