March 2024

Delaware’s Digital Equity Plan Accepted

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Delaware’s Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.

NTIA, NASA, and NOAA File Comments to the FCC re Proposed 24 GHz OOBE Limits (National Telecommunications and Information Administration)

Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Fri, 03/01/2024 - 12:49

Louisiana’s Digital Equity Plan Accepted

The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy. Using $941,542 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, Louisiana created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state.

NTIA Asks the FCC to Remove Norfolk “CPA” from the 3.45 GHz Coordination Rules

The Department of Defense (DoD) recommends a modification to the coordination rules for the 3450-3550 MHz (3.45 GHz) band. Specifically, DoD recommends deleting the Norfolk (VA) Cooperative Planning Area (CPA). The Newport News, VA, Cooperative Planning Area/Periodic Use Area (CPA/PUA) geographically encompasses the entire area of the Norfolk CPA. The larger Newport News CPA/PUA commands the requisite coordination to protect DoD missions operating in the band, to include episodic DoD operations. The DoD therefore deems the Norfolk CPA redundant and unnecessary.

California Public Utilities Commission Delivers $7 Million Boost for High-Speed Internet Projects in Rural Communities

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) delivered a $7 million boost for high-speed internet projects in rural communities across the state. The newest multi-million-dollar grant award is a continuation of the CPUC’s work to support California’s Broadband For All initiative. Funding will go to three projects:

Wireless Carrier Aggregation

T-Mobile recently announced that it was able to aggregate six channels of spectrum into one bandwidth signal to a customer. The ability to wed channels together was one of the promises of the original 5G specification. The test combined two channels of 2.5 GHz, two channels of PCS spectrum, and two channels of AWS spectrum, creating an effective 245 MHz of aggregated channels. T-Mobile worked with Ericsson and Qualcomm to make this work and was able to create a single 3.6 Gbps connection from a cell tower.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Tens of Millions of Dollars to Help Close the Digital Divide in Pennsylvania as Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda

The Biden-Harris Administration announced the approval of $20 million for digital connectivity projects in Pennsylvania under the US Department of the Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The award will fund Pennsylvania’s Digital Access Opportunity Grant program, through which the commonwealth will partner with community anchor institutions (CAIs) to increase access to laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and Wi-Fi devices to individuals in Pennsylvan

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