Universal Broadband

Healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients are increasingly relying on telehealth services (healthcare provision over the internet) to provide and seek care. It turns internet access disparities into a health equity concern, i.e., poor internet access can contribute to poor health. In response, two Federal Communications Commission programs in the United States—Healthcare Connect Fund and the Telecom Program—subsidize internet access for HCPs in rural or remote areas.

Three local providers were the big winners in the latest round of Minnesota’s Line Extension Connection broadband funding program. Two larger companies—Mediacom and Midco—also won funding in this round of the program, which awarded a total of almost $4.4 million. Mediacom won $190,501 to extend service to 37 locations and Midco won $166,800 to extend service to 21 locations.

Internet speeds have come a long way since the days of the dial-up modem, but sometimes you can’t beat the millennia-old method of carrier pigeon. At certain data volumes and distances, the pigeon is a quicker option for large swaths of rural America, where internet speeds can lag far behind the national average. Whether a pigeon can best the internet depends on three things: internet speed (check your own here), distance and data. It doesn’t make a difference online whether you’re sending a file across town to your neighbor

Governor Roy Cooper (D-NC) launched North Carolina’s Digital Champion Grant program, which will help North Carolinians afford high-speed internet, obtain digital devices, and access digital literacy resources.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) released the state's draft Digital Equity Plan with one goal in mind: to fulfill Oklahoma's Digital Promise. That promise, more specifically, is to ensure all Oklahomans can access and use affordable internet to advance health care, education, business, agriculture, public safety, and community development.

I write regarding reports from my home state—the commonwealth of Pennsylvania—of payment issues with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). As my colleagues and I work to find long-term funding solutions for ACP, both the FCC and companies that administer and benefit from ACP must do right by Americans who rely on the it. I’ve heard from constituents across the commonwealth that some of these households have encountered issues receiving their benefits. Specifically, some service providers are requiring that users show proof of one month of service before qualifying for the discount.

On October 17, 2023, Republican Members of the House Commerce Committee wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressing their disappointment and opposition to the FCC opening a proceeding to reclassify fixed and mobile broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. On October 31, Chairwoman Rosenworcel replied saying "Everyone, everywhere in this country needs access to broadband to have a fair shot at 21st century success...

As the past few years have made clear, access to high-speed broadband is critical to daily life. While the biggest broadband provisions of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) focused on building physical broadband networks, legislators clearly understood all the infrastructure in the world would be meaningless if those struggling financially couldn’t afford connectivity.

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office MIHI announced its second round of recommendations for the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) grant program, which will provide $238 million in federal funding through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund to support the deployment of high-speed internet to approximately 100,000 unserved locations throughout the state. Not all second round grant recommendations are expected to be funded or receive their full funding pending the outcome of a 45-day comment and objection window, where anyone may file a comment or object

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to vote Nov 15 on an order on preventing digital discrimination, but a new round of industry filings, plus commentary from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, suggests there may be legal challenges ahead to the new rules. According to filings with the FCC, industry groups and service providers are taking issue with the agency’s definition of digital discrimination, along with other aspects of the draft order.