Internet/Broadband

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked her fellow Commissioners to support a formal Notice of Inquiry to learn more about how broadband providers use data caps on consumer plans. In particular, the agency would like to better understand the current state of data caps, their impact on consumers, and whether the FCC should consider taking action to ensure that data caps do not cause harm to competition or consumers’ ability to access broadband Internet services. Specifically, the Notice of Inquiry would:

On June 14, 2023, Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel delivered remarks to the Center for Democracy and Technology Forum on data privacy, announcing a Privacy and Data Protection Task Force at the FCC. "First, we live in an era of always-on connectivity," said Rosenworcel. "Connection is no longer just convenient. It fuels every aspect of modern civic and commercial life. But too often this always-on connectivity—which has brought so many benefits—can mean a sacrifice of our privacy. Second, the monetization of data is big business.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel established the new Privacy and Data Protection Task Force. This FCC staff working group will coordinate across the agency on the rulemaking, enforcement, and public awareness needs in the privacy and data protection sectors. This will include data breaches – such as those involving telecommunications providers and related to cyber intrusions – and supply chain vulnerabilities involving third-party vendors that service regulated communications providers. FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A.

Today kicks off the Biden-Harris Administration’s Affordable Connectivity Program Week of Action. We have more than 300 organizations from across the country committed to raising awareness about ACP. The Internet is now the essential tool for communications in our modern world. It is essential for access to work. Access to education. Access to healthcare.

The US Department of the Treasury approved $119.9 million in federal funds for broadband infrastructure projects in Montana and $68.3 million for multi-purpose community facility projects in North Dakota under the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF):

As the production of fiber continues to increase, so do improvements to its physical properties. Service providers are buying more quantities of bendable fiber and looking towards the next generation of 200-micron fiber which will provide increased density and likely reduce material usage. “If you break it down, you’ll see that [North America] fiber demand has tripled since 2015,” said Greg Williams, Business Unit Director, Fiber Cable Systems, Prysmian Group. “And it’s doubled since 2018.

Altafiber, formerly Cincinnati Bell, has agreed to acquire the broadband infrastructure assets of Bridgewired, a Ohio-based company that operates a fiber optic network delivering gigabit Internet speeds to locations in portions of Warren County, Greene County, and Clinton County.

The drumbeat of artificial intelligence (AI) corporate chieftains calling for government regulation of their activities is mounting. As Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL) observed, it is “historic” to have “people representing large corporations… come before us and plead with us to regulate them.” There are three challenges for AI oversight: dealing with the velocity of AI developments, parsing the components of what to regulate, and determining

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will announce the allotment of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds to the US states and territories in June 2023. And NTIA has indicated it wants areas that are unserved with broadband to receive the funds first. Jonathan Chambers, a partner with the fiber construction company Conexon, says that in terms of deploying fiber to unserved rural areas, deployments are going to be mostly aerial deployments as opposed to trenched deployments.

The US Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission, non-profit group Civic Nation, and broadband operators joined hands to launch a “Week of Action” designed to boost sign-ups for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).