Delaware Converting Broadband Deserts
Friday, April 7, 2023
April 2023
Daily Digest 4/7/2023
Submitted by dclay@benton.org on Fri, 04/07/2023 - 11:43Daily Digest 4/7/2023 (Affordable Connectivity Pilot Programs)
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Fri, 04/07/2023
Friday, April 7, 2023
Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Local Carrier A2D Sets Path to Bring Digital Equity to Georgia’s Clayton County (Broadband Communities)
Submitted by Grace Tepper on Thu, 04/06/2023 - 17:55
Congressional Action Needed to Boost Efforts to Expand Broadband Access
The federal infrastructure bill enacted in late 2021 included resources and funding requirements to significantly narrow the gap between American households that have access to affordable, high-speed internet and those that do not. Although much of the implementation effort is in the hands of state governments, Congress’ work on expanding broadband access is far from over.
FCC Announces Final List of Entities Selected for Affordable Connectivity Pilot Programs
The Federal Communications Commission announced the final list of 34 entities selected for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Pilot Programs, which are aimed at providing ACP outreach and application assistance to eligible households. The two ACP Pilot Programs are: (1) the Your Home, Your Internet Pilot Program, which is focused on ACP outreach and application support to recipients of federal housing assistance; and (2) the ACP Navigator Pilot Program, which provides selected entities access to the National Verifier to help low-income households complete and submit their ACP applica
Verizon built a walled garden with Fios, but it badly needs watering
They don’t talk about it much these days, but Verizon is a veritable fiber powerhouse and, as telecommunications consultant Sean McDevitt put it, the OG fiber-to-the-home player. Because it was among the first to move on fiber and has deployed significant density across its footprint, Verizon has built something of a natural immunity to risk-averse overbuilders. Verizon first deployed Fios in 2005, originally aiming to reach 18 million passings across a service territory which then included more than 30 million serviceable locations.
Each state must set an extreme high-cost threshold for BEAD money
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has expressed a preference for fiber when it comes to dispensing $42.5 billion from the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding. But the NTIA rules allow U.S. states some leeway in regard to areas where it will be extremely expensive to deploy fiber. Specifically, states and territories must define their thresholds for extreme high-cost locations.