Op-Ed

The collaboration that’s connecting the unconnected

When I launched Broadcom in the early 1990s with the goal of revolutionizing digital connectivity, it was necessary to work closely with governments around the world, starting with cable set-top boxes.

The Potential Fallout Of Changing FCC's Broadband Definition

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently proposed that the FCC adopt new standards for what qualifies as broadband internet access service and for determining whether broadband deployment is sufficient to meet American needs. Chairwoman Rosenworcel is proposing to raise the minimum speed for broadband to 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. This would be consistent with the standard adopted in the most recent FCC universal service auction, which required participants to offer the same downstream and upstream speeds.

Connecting Low-Income Families Using Broadband Vouchers

Major federal broadband consumer subsidy programs that have been implemented, in the U.S. (the Lifeline, the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB), and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)) are rebates administered through broadband providers. Yet, uptake in these programs among eligible households has been modest. Direct-to-consumer voucher subsidies have been widely applied to non-broadband social benefit programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), yet there is limited implementation for broadband.

The national broadband rollout has a blind spot: Lack of accurate, transparent data about internet access speeds

Unlike other advertisements for goods and services, there are no federally set standards for measuring broadband service speeds. This means there is no clear way to tell whether customers are getting what they pay for. To protect consumers, the FCC will need to invest in building a set of broadband speed measures, maps, and public data repositories that enables researchers to access and analyze what the public actually experiences when people purchase broadband connectivity.

Who benefits from America’s enormously complex broadband infrastructure plans?

The US broadband effort is massive and complex. Much of this confusing intricacy is unavoidable given the Federal structure, size and complexity of the United States and the fact that almost everything in education, health care, farming, transportation, defense, employment, shopping, entertainment, civic affairs, the arts, regulation, banking and much more may now involve broadband.

Solving Baltimore’s digital divide requires all voices at the table

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will provide massive opportunities for local and state organizations across the country.

Bringing mobile connectivity to nowhere

T-Mobile and Space X announced their “Coverage Above & Beyond” partnership to bring about the “end of mobile dead zones.” It is one of a growing number of announced partnerships, ventures and rumors of similar nature and purpose of expanding the frontier of connectivity where it hasn’t gone before. “Coverage Above & Beyond” promises to provide satellite-based cellular connectivity directly to T-Mobile’s current smartphones thereby providing coverage anywhere in the U.S., its territories, as well as the vast unregulated oceans. However, much of the technical burden seems to rest on t

Getting a BEAD on Community Asset Mapping

Digital equity is a key promise of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. If successful, the new law will lead to everyone and every community around the country having the connections and skills they need to fully participate in our increasingly digital economy and society. It seems like a tall order.

Against Digital Redlining: Lessons from Philadelphia’s Digital Connectivity Efforts during the Pandemic

Internet service providers’ discriminatory underinvestment in broadband infrastructure and services—referred to as “digital redlining” for disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color—is drawing increased public scrutiny, including from policymakers.

Protecting students from exposure to harmful online content

Over the past two years, school districts have sent kids home with laptops and tablets in unprecedented numbers. Thousands of these devices and the internet connections that power them have been purchased through two federal subsidy programs overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) known as E-Rate and the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF).  Giving students these devices has led to a dramatic increase in screen time and made it more difficult for parents to protect their children from exposure to objectively harmful online content.