Morning Consult

To Close the Digital Divide, Congress Must Also Close the Device Divide

The “device divide” is one of the top reasons why individuals aren’t connected to the internet. That’s why it won’t matter how much Congress invests in connecting everyone to affordable, reliable high-speed internet (and it is investing a lot) — Congress won’t be able to achieve universal connectivity without making sure that low-income consumers can afford to purchase a device.

Community-Based Internet Providers Deliver World-Class Innovation to the Unserved

For the past two decades, community-based providers – that is, thousands of upstart internet service providers – have crisscrossed America, delivering internet access services with adeptness and skill. Using a potent combination of wireless spectrum and fiber, they deliver fixed connectivity to distant rural and hard to serve urban environments. In short, they’re small innovators and entrepreneurs offering needed choice for communities that have been effectively abandoned by legacy phone and cable providers.

Are We Messing Up 5G on Our Way to 6G?

Spectrum policy leadership and planning are critical to complete the US 5G ecosystem while planning for the next-generation wireless technology, 6G. It’s also essential to shed some mistakes of the past. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has indicated that a “whole of government” effort is critical to 5G leadership, and she’s right.

State leaders step up broadband mapping efforts

With the federal government slow to produce better maps of broadband internet coverage, state leaders are stepping up with their own efforts that they say will yield more granular information that leads to better decisions on the infrastructure buildout. Virginia became the latest state to unveil an effort to revamp its statewide broadband map in summer 2021, following Georgia's map launched in 2020.

America’s Students Need Broadband Access Now

Broadband access is a critical component of high-quality education. Connecting “last-mile” rural communities will require smart policies to make certain investments in broadband infrastructure are maximized for actual and timely deployment so that our truly unserved students and communities receive broadband access without delay. This includes pole access reform; the complex and costly process for broadband providers to attach to utility poles is one of the single greatest barriers to rural broadband deployment.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Package Has True Bipartisan Backing

Throughout lawmakers’ partisan wrangling to iron out the details of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the popularity of major provisions held strong among voters according to new polling from Morning Consult and Politico. All of the six potential investments included in the survey received over 50 percent support from voters of all parties.

Make Broadband More Affordable and Accessible for All Americans

The pandemic made it clearer than ever how much we depend on a fast, reliable broadband. But getting online for millions of Americans is too costly and in many cases the service is inadequate. Robust competition creates scrutiny and accountability that can prevent big telecommunications companies from expanding data cap limits when people are more dependent than ever on an internet connection. Even during the pandemic, Comcast and other internet service providers still enforce these data caps in markets where they face little or no competition.

About Half the Public Thinks Local Governments Should Be Able to Pursue Their Own Broadband Network Build-Outs

As the pandemic continues to underscore the importance of reliable, at-home internet service, debate rages over whether local governments should be permitted to build out and run their own broadband networks, either on their own or with the help of a private partner. The White House, in its infrastructure proposal released earlier this month, has thrown its support behind allowing municipalities to explore such options.

An Inclusive and Effective Approach to ‘Community-Based’ Broadband

To truly unleash the power of localized broadband deployment, we should ensure all community-based providers have a seat at the table.

Timing of $7 Billion E-Rate Expansion Has Education Advocates Eyeing Long-Term Connectivity Planning Over Quick Fixes

The latest COVID-19 relief package includes over $7 billion to expand E-rate to better tackle students’ at-home internet needs. But with the dollars doled out so far into the crisis and the end of the school year fast approaching, expectations for how the additional funding will be spent have shifted among school officials and advocates from getting quick fixes, like mobile hotspots, to more long-term projects that will ensure that schools can sustain the progress they’ve made to become more digital-learning friendly.

FCC’s New Broadband Subsidy Hits Sweet Spot for Lower-Income People of Color’s Internet Bill Needs

According to a new Morning Consult poll, 27 percent of Black, Hispanic and other non-white adults who make less than $50,000 annually said they have missed at least one internet bill payment since January 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak started spreading in the United States, compared to 16 percent of lower-income white adults.

With a Biden Administration, Broadband Advocates Have Hope for Lifeline Reform

With President-elect Joe Biden and his to-be-determined administration preparing to take office in January, broadband and consumer advocates are optimistic about the prospects of modernization reforms for Lifeline and other federal programs aimed at making internet and phone services more affordable under a potentially Democratic-led Federal Communications Commission.

‘Just Good Enough’ Broadband Isn’t Good Enough

The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a bright spotlight on the fact that we still need to connect all Americans with the best possible broadband, no matter whether they live in urban or rural areas or upper or lower-income neighborhoods. The problem is that too many have a shortsighted view of what “the best broadband” means. To some, it means “just good enough” – speeds or latency that may appear okay today but will fall short tomorrow.

The Digital Divide May Be News, But It’s Not New

Low-income Americans; Black, Hispanic and Native Americans; the elderly; Americans with a high school education or less; and rural Americans are much more likely to be on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Civil Rights, Labor and Anti-Poverty Groups Demand FCC Amend Lifeline to Help Low-Income Americans Pay Their Bills

As the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic continues throughout the United States, a coalition of 25 organizations including the NAACP, the National Consumer Law Center and the Communications Workers of America is urging the Federal Communications Commission to make a number of changes to the Lifeline voice and broadband subsidy program to help low-income Americans pay their phone and internet bills. Among its requests, the coalition is calling on the FCC in a 

New Broadband Maps Are Coming. They’ll Be Useless Unless We Also Invest in Research and Analytical Capacity.

New, more accurate and detailed broadband maps are on their way. The telecom policy crowd fervently hopes the data upgrade will help us better address digital divides and other issues. But maps and data alone won’t solve anything. Skill, expertise and time will all be required to study and use the new maps, and the resources required grow as the datasets become larger and more complex.

Congress Can Help America Stay Connected During the COVID Crisis

We served together on the Federal Communications Commission for nearly four years as commissioners: a Democrat from South Carolina and a Republican from Virginia. While we sometimes disagreed, we worked hard with our colleagues to expand broadband deployment and adoption to all Americans — especially the unserved and underserved. And the need to do so is made more acute by the current pandemic. In the midst of this scourge, the importance of broadband to help save lives, jobs and the economy has never been clearer.