Introducing Your Senate Commerce Committee
Friday, February 10, 2023
February 2023
EU Warns Twitter Over Incomplete Content-Moderation Report (Wall Street Journal)
Submitted by benton on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 06:43Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Authorization and Oversight Plan of the Committee on Energy and Commerce US House of Representatives, 118th Congress
The committee's oversight plan for the 118th Congress. Concerning "Communications and Technology Issues," the committee will focus on the following:
Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Taxation of Broadband Grants Reintroduced in the Senate, House
Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) along with Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) reintroduced the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (BGTTA) — legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that funding for broadband deployment from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will not be considered taxable income.
Verizon’s Visible aims to help people who are laid off
Verizon’s all-digital Visible prepaid brand is trying to give back to communities, and one way is through Connection Protection, a new program designed to help people keep a wireless connection when they’re laid off. The program provides three months of free Visible service to people who qualify through its partner, Empower Work, a non-profit providing resources for people who are laid off.
Alaska Communications Expansion
Alaska Communications expanded broadband availability and boosted speeds to almost 5,000 homes in the Interior region of the state in 2022. The company used a wide range of last-mile technologies – from XGS-PON to fixed wireless, even some DSL — to achieve that. The Alaskan Interior can be thought of as the center of the state – the area most removed from the state’s lengthy coastline. Much of the area is wilderness.
T-Mobile expands participation in dwindling Affordable Connectivity Program
T-Mobile is expanding its participation in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) through its Lifeline Assistance brand – Assurance Wireless. Lifeline is a Federal Communications Commission program for low-income consumers, which provides a discount on qualifying monthly phone and broadband services. T-Mobile said that it is offering ACP in seven more states, bringing the total number to 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Biden-Harris Administration to Give $3 Million in an Internet for All Grant to Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded Universidad del Sagrado Corazón a $2,978,187.00 grant from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC). This grant will help fund Universidad del Sagrado Corazón’s "Accessing Broadband Connectivity (ABC): A Pilot Project Catalyst in a Hispanic Institution and Communities Setting." The project aims to expand educational instruction and remote learning opportunities, spur economic development, and create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship by buildi
SHLB Meets with FCC Broadband Data Task Force
The American Library Association and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition spoke with the Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Task Force staff and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s advisor on Feb. 6, 2023 about including community anchor institutions (CAIs) on the FCC’s National Broadband Map. The groups expressed concerns about the current treatment of libraries and said CAIs that purchase mass-market broadband service should be included on the map.