Grace Tepper
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How Maryland is Working to Make Broadband More Affordable
According to the American Community Survey, 94.1 percent of Maryland residents have a home internet subscription of some kind which—while outperforming the national rate by 3.8 percentage points—still indicates that a sizable number of Maryland households are disconnected from the internet at home.
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Michigan Is on the Road to Closing the Digital Divide by 2030
The Michigan High-Speed Internet (MIHI) Office's Digital Equity Plan was finalized in March 2024. Four months later, on July 18, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded Michigan over $20 million from the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program for implementing this plan.
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When Will Nevada Implement Its Digital Equity Plan?
On June 26, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded the Nevada Governor's Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) over $9 million to implement the state's Digital Equity Plan, the first state to receive funding under the Digital Equity Capacity Grant program.
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Supporting Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Grantees
The National Telecommunications Information Administration's (NTIA) $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) aims to expand access to and adoption of broadband service on tribal land. NTIA is distributing these funds through two rounds of grant funding; NTIA finished announcing awards for the first round of funding in September of 2023, and the application period for the second funding round closed in March 2024.
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FCC Will Launch Cybersecurity Pilot Program for Schools and Libraries
In 2023, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called for a new Learn Without Limits Initiative spearheaded by the FCC. Initially, this meant expanding E-Rate––a Universal Service Fund program that helps to make telecommunications services more affordable for schools and libraries––funding to support Wi-Fi on school buses and Wi-Fi hotspots at libraries, school libraries, and schools for patrons or students in need.
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What Are ISPs Offering Consumers after ACP?
On May 31 as funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) expired, the White House highlighted the commitments of 14 internet service providers to offer plans at $30 or less to low-income households through 2024. These internet service providers (ISPs) collectively cover up to 10 million ACP households and are offering their current ACP subscribers and other eligible households a high-speed internet plan for $30 per month or less, with no fees and data caps, until the end of 2024. For each ISP, we are looking at what is being offered—and how easy it is for consumers to find the inf
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How the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives Connected Communities in 2023
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) has released its Annual Report for 2023.
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As ACP Funding Dwindles, What is the Future of Broadband Affordability?
Without congressional action, funding for the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will expire at the end of May 2024. With this in mind, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband convened a May 2 hearing on 'The Future of Broadband Affordability' to discuss congressional funding of U.S.
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Reactions to the FCC's Reinstatement of Title II Classification of Broadband and Net Neutrality Protections
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said, "Broadband is now an essential service. Essential services, the ones we count on in every aspect of modern life, have some basic oversight. So let's be clear about what we are doing today. This agency, the nation's leading communications authority, believes every consumer deserves Internet access that is fast, open and fair.
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Achieving Digital Equity in the U.S. Virgin Islands
The U.S. Virgin Islands' Next Generation Network (viNGN) released the draft U.S. Virgin Islands Digital Equity Plan (USVIDEP) for public comment. Being disconnected from a connected world is not new to the U.S. Virgin Islands.