Reporting

The faulty Federal Communications Commission national broadband map has essentially made millions of Americans without fast internet "invisible," as Microsoft put it, and unless the data improve, they're likely to remain so. But there's reason to be hopeful. Thanks to $65 million in funding from Congress in Dec, the FCC now will require internet service providers to share more detailed data, giving a better picture of what areas are unserved by broadband.

Gov Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) has approved a bill that allows municipalities to go into the broadband business. The bill, which amends the Telecommunications Regulatory Reform Act of 2013, was signed on Feb 4. Under the new law, local governments "may acquire, construct, furnish, equip, own, operate, sell, convey, lease, rent, let, assign, dispose of, contract for or otherwise deal in facilities and apparatus for" broadband services.

A new Opensignal report shows that rural areas are benefiting most from boosts in 5G availability after T-Mobile’s launch of a nationwide standalone (SA) 5G network last year, but a focus on low-band 600 MHz for SA has left speeds lacking. Compared to urban users, 5G consumers in rural locations are spending a greater percentage of time connected 5G since T-Mobile’s August SA launch, according to Opensignal's analysis, though both geographies saw increase

The debate over reopening schools amid the ongoing pandemic is spilling into negotiations over billions of dollars in new money to help students who lack home internet access. As Democrats in Congress push forward with a plan to provide $7.6 billion for a program that provides discounted laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots to schools and libraries, Republicans are questioning whether the funding is necessary when President Joe Biden has said he wants to reopen a majority of public schools in the coming months.

House Republicans have unveiled their plan for "boosting" broadband connectivity and competition, and one of the key planks is prohibiting states and cities from building their own networks. Rep Billy Long (R-MO) is the lead sponsor. The bill "would promote competition by limiting government-run broadband networks throughout the country and encouraging private investment," without explaining how limiting the number of broadband networks would increase competition.

Federal Communications Commissioners appeared divided on Feb 17 over how the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program funding should be distributed to Americans hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic — either by evenly prioritizing the funding to affected groups or targeting the money specifically to students.

Appalachia represents a key test for President Joe Biden's $20 billion plan to get broadband access to communities that don't have it. President Biden, who said during his campaign that rebuilding the middle class in America is the "moral obligation of our time," faces a myriad of challenges in closing the gap, from actually laying down fiber-optic lines to educating consumers and ensuring that prices are affordable. In 127 of Appalachia's 420 counties, less than 75% of households had a connected device.

A growing mosaic of state-level internet privacy proposals in lieu of a nationwide framework could provide new protections for consumers and additional question marks for businesses. Lawmakers in Virginia are nearing passage of data protection legislation in a rapid-fire legislative session slated to conclude in Feb. Washington state officials are considering compromises over enforcement of a potential privacy law for the third time. States including NY, MN, OK, and FL are pushing ahead with similar proposals of their own.

Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel didn't make any big news at her first post-meeting press conference Feb 17, but she did confirm that she is still a fan of network neutrality rules and no fan of the Trump Administration petition to the FCC to regulate social media using Sec. 230. With the commissioner currently at a 2-2 political tie, she pointed out that will obviously have an impact on big ticket items. Chairwoman Rosenworcel pointed out that she had made it clear she did not favor FCC action the Sec.

Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel  announced the establishment of a Task Force dedicated to implementing long-overdue improvements to the agency’s broadband data and mapping tools. The Acting Chairwoman also named Jean Kiddoo as Chair of the new Broadband Data Task Force and announced other senior staff. The announcement was accompanied by a staff update on the agency’s current broadband data collection efforts. The Broadband Data Task Force will also feature Chelsea Fallon as Senior Implementation Officer and C. Sean Spivey as Senior Counsel. Ms.