This webinar will cover program updates, the FY2024 competitive bidding process and a walk through the FCC Form 465. Join us to get your Telecom program questions answered and get live assistance from subject matter experts.
On November 15, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Report and Order establishing the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Transparency Data Collection to collect information related to the price, subscription rates, and plan characteristics of the internet service offerings of participating providers, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Recognizing the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on financial markets and on the ability of providers to successfully conduct their operations, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) waived the FCC’s letter of credit (LOC) rules for Connect America Fund Phase II auction (Auction 903) and Rural Broadband Experiments (RBE) support recipients in 2020 and 2021. Recipients of support from both programs were permitted to comply with the less extensive letter of credit rules established by the FCC for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
Officials from New Mexico and Minnesota are the latest to declare that federal and state funds currently available to them will not be enough to bring broadband to the underserved and unserved in their states. Bree Maki, the executive director of Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development, said the state’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) allotment of about $651.8 million is “very close to” what her office expected. “However, we have statutory goals that are different when we talk about what unserved is,” said Maki.
Portable mobile hotspots have arrived in Maui (HI) to help bring internet service to the thousands of people who may have been unable to call for help since the wildfires started to rage out of control on the island. Verizon is currently deploying the first batch of satellite-based mobile hotspots at evacuation sites in areas of greatest need, particular
Broadband operators are looking for some movement on broadband “nutrition” labels. Congress mandated the labels so consumers can better gauge just what kind of broadband service they are getting, including price, speed and quality. The Federal Communications Commission then came up with rules for the program, which it released in a Nov 2022 Report and Order.
The basic tenet of universal internet service—that the government should assist those who cannot afford basic access to the network—has long been a cornerstone of American telecommunications policy. Unfortunately, it is far from clear whether Lifeline, the federal program tasked with getting low-income households online, actually addresses this problem. The recently enacted Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) threatens to compound Lifeline’s errors. The advent of ACP provides a unique opportunity to rethink our approach to broadband affordability initiatives.
Rural electric cooperatives, rural telephone companies, and Comcast were the biggest winners in the latest broadband funding announcement from the state of Minnesota. The awards were made on June 30, 2023, although it isn’t clear if an announcement was released at that time. The biggest winner was Federated Rural Electric Association, which was awarded a $7 million grant in the Low Density Broadband Grant Program. The next biggest winners were Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone and Comcast, both of whom will receive about $5.5 million.
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