1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2021

May 2021

Congress could spend big on broadband. Tribal nations say it can't come soon enough.

Affordable high-speed, broadband internet is rare across Navajo Nation, the reservation that stretches across three southwestern U.S. states and is larger than state of West Virginia. And its absence for many families, especially over the past 15 months, has further exposed how critical access to it is for residents to participate in basic elements of society. It’s a problem the Biden administration is looking to tackle as part of its infrastructure push.

Florida, in a First, Will Fine Social Media Companies That Bar Candidates

Florida became the first state to regulate how companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter moderate speech online, by imposing fines on social media companies that permanently bar political candidates for statewide office. The law, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), is a direct response to Facebook’s and Twitter’s bans of former President Donald Trump in January.

Redzone flags $500,000 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund funding mix up

Maine-based fixed wireless access (FWA) provider Redzone Wireless followed Charter Communications in seeking a waiver from commitments made in the Federal Communication Commission’s recent Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction on the grounds its promised deployments would be redundant. In December 2020, Redzone won $507,752 in RDOF support to cover 755 locations in its home state with broadband service.

AT&T eyes higher fiber target and fixed wireless access as DSL replacement

AT&T CEO John Stankey conceded the operator’s plans for fixed wireless access (FWA) technology may not be as ambitious as those of its competitors, but he noted the technology could end up being a good replacement for legacy DSL connections.

Ending Big Tech's Free Ride

The Federal Communications Commission's current model for funding internet builds is now hopelessly outdated. The dominant platform for communications has shifted from the telephone network to the internet. Indeed, the revenue base associated with the traditional telephone network has fallen sharply from a peak of around $80 billion in the 2000s to less than $30 billion today as more and more services—including those now offered by Big Tech—are delivered over the internet instead.

Sponsor: 

Schools Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition

Date: 
Wed, 06/09/2021 - 13:00 to 16:00

The Federal Communications Commission recently announced the rules to apply for the E-rate Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), an historic opportunity for schools and libraries to connect students and patrons to home broadband. Unlike traditional E-rate funding, the $7 billion ECF program will allow schools and libraries to pay for off-campus connectivity and internet-enabled devices, such as laptops and tablets.


America’s lack of universal broadband is an outrage

When it unveiled its National Broadband Plan in 2010, the Federal Communications Commission declared that every American should have access to affordable and robust broadband service by 2020, along with “the means and skills to subscribe.” It was the right goal; as the COVID-19 pandemic has made painfully obvious, broadband is key not just to economic growth and productivity, but also to equal access to education, jobs, healthcare and an array of opportunities.

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