1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2019

September 2019

FCC Invests $950 Million to Improve Broadband in Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands

The Federal Communications Commission approved $950 million in funding to improve, expand, and harden communications networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Two years ago, communications infrastructure on the islands was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The FCC responded, among other steps, by creating the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund. To date, the FCC has provided about $130 million in additional, one-time Universal Service Fund support to assist with network restoration.

Sen Durbin, Maloney Introduce Bicameral Bill To Increase Access To Broadband Service For Low-Income Americans

Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) introduced a bicameral bill that would increase access to broadband service for low-income urban and rural Americans.  The Promoting Access to Broadband Act would help states increase awareness of, and enrollment in, the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program, which aims to help low-income households pay for their telephone and broadband service charges by providing a monthly subsidy of $9.25.  Enrollment in the Lifeline program remains extremely low nationwide. The Promoting Access to Broadband Act wo

Rep. McNerney Introduces Legislation to Close the Digital Divide

Rep Jerry McNerney (D-CA-09) introduced HR 4486, the Digital Equity Act of 2019, along with his colleagues Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-NM-03) and Rep Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-09), Vice-Chair of the House Commerce Committee. The legislation seeks to close gaps in broadband adoption and promote digital skills training and digital literacy. ​The Digital Equity Act would establish two grant programs that would be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to promote digital equity nationwide.

Can a new space race connect the world to the internet?

More than a dozen companies have asked US regulators for permission to operate constellations of satellites that provide internet service. Not all are aimed at connecting consumers, but some have grand and global ambitions. It’s a huge potential market. And there’s the obvious benefit on the ground: Not having internet access makes it difficult or impossible to apply for many jobs, for kids to do homework, for people in remote areas to get medical care, and to participate in the global economy. But this new wave of spaced-based internet faces hurdles.

SES, Viasat say FCC’s rural broadband latency requirements unfair to satellites

Satellite operators want to participate in a newly proposed $20.4 billion rural broadband program, but say the Federal Communications Commission’s scoring criteria for signal lag puts them at a disadvantage. The FCC is seeking to connect upwards of 4 million US homes and small businesses through a new program called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that would subsidize broadband in underserved regions from 2020 to 2030.

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