December 2023

Counties are partners, not barriers to broadband. It’s time to tell Congress the same

Recently proposed legislation in the House of Representatives has sought to up-end the role of local governments in the siting decisions process of both wireless and wireline broadband infrastructure. The legislation, The American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023 (H.R.

Counties urge Congress to extend Affordable Connectivity Program

Elected officials at the local and federal level are urging Congress to extend funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which offers discounted broadband service to low-income households, providing access to healthcare, education and employment. Lake County (IL) Board Member Jennifer Clark, who is also chair of the county’s special committee on broadband, said the program is “absolutely vital” to bridging the digital divide. Clark said that because Congress has not yet extended the funding, Lake County has seen a stagnation in people signing up for the benefits. “A lot of peop

Takeaways from the FCC’s LTD Decisions

In a one-two punch, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rejected LTD’s appeal of the earlier decision declaring it to be in default for its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) winning bids and proposed to fine LTD over $21 million for its defaults.

Removing Broadband Construction Barriers

One of the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a directive that states should take steps to reduce costs and barriers to fiber deployment.

Op-ed

Takeaways from the FCC’s LTD Decisions

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Thursday, December 7, 2023