June 2024

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Proposes Final Rules to Support Wi-Fi Hotspots Through E-Rate Program

Millions of students, school staff, and library patrons around the country are on the wrong side of the digital and educational divide and, as a result, lack the same access to educational resources as their peers.

Digital Equity Act at a Glance

The third grant program funded by the Digital Equity Act of 2021 is the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. This information can guide organizations as they Get Ready to prepare their applications. The grant's purpose is to create the conditions where individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in the society and economy of the United States. Allowable uses of grant awards include:

American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Island, and the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Digital Equity Plan Accepted

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Digital Equity plans from American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each territory received $150,000 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program to create a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state. NTIA has now accepted digital equity plans from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S.

Biden-Harris Administration Awards $9 Million to Nevada to Advance Digital Inclusion Efforts

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $9 million to Nevada to implement its Digital Equity Plan.

Sponsor: 

House Commerce Committee

Date: 
Thu, 06/27/2024 - 10:00

Agenda includes

  1. H.R. 7623Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024 (Reps. Carter and Blunt Rochester) 


Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Biden Administration’s Contacts With Social Media Companies

The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Biden Administration's contacts with social media platforms to combat what administration officials said was misinformation. The lawsuit, spearheaded by Republican state attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana, had fared well in the lower courts, at one point resulting in an unprecedented injunction that blocked top government officials from communicating with social-media

Competing Against FWA

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, T-Mobile and Verizon together have accumulated 8.6 million customers nationwide on fixed wireless access (FWA) cellular home broadband. This is amazing success for a product that was just launched in 2021. The combined FWA customers represent 7 percent of the entire U.S. broadband market. Nobody knows exactly where the companies are finding the new customers because they aren’t telling, and the companies losing customers are mum about it. The appeal of FWA is obvious.