1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2021

May 2021

Digital Divide Tops North Carolina Governor's Recommendations on How to Use American Rescue Plan Money

Governor Roy Cooper (D-NC) shared his recommendations for how North Carolina can most effectively invest in its recovery through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The $5.7 billion in federal funds offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in North Carolina and ensure a shared recovery from the global pandemic. The Governor’s recommendations include assisting families most impacted by the pandemic, upgrading our infrastructure, helping more people get a degree or trade after high school, preparing the state’s workforce and promoting business development and innovation.

FTC Sues Frontier Communications for Misrepresenting Internet Speeds

The Federal Trade Commission, along with law enforcement agencies from six states, sued Internet service provider Frontier Communications, alleging that the company did not provide many consumers with Internet service at the speeds it promised them, and charged many of them for more expensive and higher-speed service than Frontier actually provided. In a complaint, the FTC and its state partners allege that Frontier advertised and sold Internet service in several plans, or tiers, based on download speed.

Sens Hassan, Capito Introduce Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act to Spur Investment in Rural Broadband

Sens Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to help states, cities, and towns spur investment in rural broadband projects. The bipartisan Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act would allow state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance rural broadband projects, including public private partnerships, as well as allow the federal government to assist state and local governments in bond payments. In addition, it would create a federal tax credit that states and localities could direct toward rural broadband projects.

Changing lives by connecting all Americans to broadband internet

Jackson County Kentucky has one stop light in its 347 square miles—but also high-speed fiber optic internet service to rival any big city. In the coal country of eastern Kentucky, the 800-person town of McKee is the hub of a one-thousand-mile fiber-to-the-home network covering two of the nation’s poorest and most remote counties. The fiber link was built almost entirely with dollars from the federal government. It is a powerful example of the infrastructure of the 21st century and the importance of extending those connections to all Americans.

$288 Million in Funding Available to States to Build Broadband Infrastructure

The US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced the availability of $288 million in grant funding for the deployment of broadband infrastructure. Grants will be awarded to partnerships between a state, or political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service. NTIA’s Broadband Infrastructure Program was established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

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