In the midst of this historic time, I sometimes lose sight of the fact that the official broadband speed definition, at least according to the Federal Communications Commission, remains at 25/3 Mbps. I’m not sure there is anything more absurd in the broadband industry than this outdated definition. Some would argue it was already outdated when it was established back in 2015, as a benchmark to measure national broadband progress.
To understand what’s “likely the most unreliable,” level of broadband coverage in the country, Alaska should open a statewide broadband office and prioritize data-driven infrastructure spending, a task force of state legislators, agency executives, rural officials and tribal leaders concluded.
The CEOs of 13 large European telecommunications companies called on tech giants—presumably including Netflix and other big US companies—to pay for a portion of the Internet service providers' network upgrade costs.
The Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act (HR 4374) would establish or reauthorize programs administered by the Department of Agriculture to increase broadband connectivity in rural areas and would authorize the appropriation of specific annual amounts over the 2022-2029 period. Because specific amounts are already authorized for most of the programs, this cost estimate accounts for the difference between the amounts specified in the bill and those authorized under current law. On net, H.R. 4374 would authorize the appropriation of about $42.3 billion.
254 organizations are calling on broadband policymakers to repair the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution mechanism. The USF is one of our nation’s most important tools for addressing the digital divide, but its outdated funding mechanism puts the program in danger of collapse and inequitably burdens the consumers who most often end up contributing.
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