Today's top broadband news
A group of Internet service providers that won government grants are asking the Federal Communication Commission for more money or an "amnesty window" in which they could give up grants without penalty. The ISPs were awarded grants to build broadband networks from the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which selected funding recipients in December 2020.
NTCA –The Rural Broadband Association and the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) released the first module from their new “Playbook 3.0,” the latest iteration of their joint “Broadband Infrastructure Playbook.” The first module is dedicated to permitting and will be followed by other modules that will address issues like cybersecurity, supply chain risk management, and broadband coverage challenge processes. Since early 2022, NTCA and FBA have collaborated to help state broadband offices and interested stakeholders prepare for funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD)
It is critical that we address a pending issue that could negatively affect our efforts toward eliminating the digital divide. Funding for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program will expire in the summer of 2024 unless it is reauthorized. Granting access to high-speed internet without addressing affordability will prevent hundreds of thousands of Louisianians from maximizing the effects of this service on their lives. Thus, reauthorization of ACP funding is a crucial step toward eliminating the digital divide.
Small and midsized cable operators agree that broadband is as important as ever, but the way they are implementing their video strategies is still a mixed bag. While some operators are upgrading to new IP- and app-based services and platforms, others are also partnering with third-party streaming services or, in some extreme cases, exiting the video business altogether.
© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.
