1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2021

November 2021

High-speed internet could be coming to Antarctica

Despite its central role in Antarctic research, the McMurdo Station is lacking something most scientists working at 21st-century laboratories take for granted: high-speed internet. McMurdo sits on the only continent that doesn’t have a high-speed fiber optic cable connection to the rest of the world. In early 2021, the National Science Foundation began seriously exploring the possibility of building a fiber optic cable that would travel along the seafloor from Antarctica to neighboring New Zealand or Australia.

FCC watchdog warns against broadband subsidy fraud

Some broadband providers are falsely claiming their customers have children who attend high-poverty schools in order to qualify them for an FCC broadband affordability subsidy, the agency’s Office of Inspector General warned in a November 22 memo.

Analysis

Transition of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program into the Affordable Connectivity Program

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

To Bridge the Digital Divide, States Need to Allow Community Networks

The broadband funding included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a good and overdue start, but more solutions must be deployed and supported if we are to solve this persistent challenge of under-connected communities. Specifically, the bipartisan infrastructure law fails to recognize the important role solutions like municipal and community networks can play in building a stronger, more resilient post-COVID economy — particularly in the hardest-hit communities, which are disproportionately low-income communities of color.

FCC Commits Over $169 Million in Emergency Connectivity Funding

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is committing $169,297,501.79 million in its latest wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support, which will connect over 500,000 students in 47 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. These additional commitments bring the current total commitments to over $3.2 billion. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework and virtual learning, as schools and libraries continue to respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

© 1994-2025 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.