Agenda

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on reimposing Title II authority over broadband at its April 25 meeting. Here are just a few of the things that can happen after the FCC reintroduces Title II regulation:

Life Wireless, the Lifeline Assistance Program’s provider for Telrite Holdings, has vowed to continue accepting applications for their Lifeline Assistance Program after the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) runs out of funding in May. Life Wireless offers free service, data usage, and smartphones to low-income Americans. Subscribers are eligible for Lifeline Assistance Program help if they receive government assistance or if their income level is at or exceeds 135 percent below the federal poverty level.

The CHIPS and Science Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022, is supposed to promote investment in chip manufacturing plants, help ease supply chain woes and bring skilled manufacturing jobs back to the United States. 5G wireless chips will be part of that wider picture. Doug Kirkpatrick, former chief scientist at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), said, “There has been a general concern that the United States is falling behind in terms of chip production and technology.

Funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has helped nearly 23 million households across the nation connect to the internet, is expected to end soon. However, Verizon’s commitment to keeping families connected will continue.  In 2020, the company launched Verizon Forward to help customers access affordable and reliable broadband, and the company will continue to offer the program to customers who qualify. Verizon Forward offers Verizon Home Internet (Fios, 5G Home and LTE Home) for as low as $20 per month, and is available to new and existing Verizon customers.

To receive Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding, broadband providers will have to sign a contract with a state broadband office. The grant contract is the most important document in the grant process because it specifically defines what a grant winner must do to fulfill the grant and how they will be reimbursed. The grant contract is going to define a lot of important things:

The Mississippi broadband office is responding to allegations raised by a legal organization that claims the state is failing to conduct equitable local coordination and outreach with underrepresented communities in preparation of allocating $1.2 billion to expand broadband infrastructure.

Individuals are filing comments with the Federal Communications Commission about their experiences with bulk billing. They’re complaining that they’re forced to pay for cable TV when they don’t want it and they’re forced to get broadband from cable providers even if they currently have fiber broadband, which they love.

When Dorothy Burrell’s lupus flares, she has days she can’t walk or get out of bed.

It may seem as though the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) has been talking about the lack of adequate Rip and Replace funding for years—and it has been. But now things are really starting to hit the fan. Congress created the Rip and Replace program in 2020 to get Chinese components out of US wireless networks, but the funding fell $3 billion short of what’s needed to finish the job.