Press Release

Rep Brandon Williams (R-NY) has introduced a bill to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) through Fiscal Year 2024. H.R. 8466, the Affordable Connectivity Program Improvement and Extension Act of 2024, will replenish the Affordable Connectivity Fund with $6 billion by amending Section 521(4)(a) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the June Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 6, 2024: 

Governor Moore (D-MD) announced $19.6 million in Fiscal Year 2024 awards through a new Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development program to help more Marylanders access high-speed, affordable internet. Home Stretch for Difficult to Serve Properties, administered by the department’s Office of Statewide Broadband, will provide internet access to approximately 2,400 unserved Maryland households in its first round. Home Stretch for Difficult to Serve Properties is part of the department’s new initiative to serve remaining Maryland households without internet access.

Forty-four addresses in two rural areas of York County (SC) have gained access to Comporium’s fiber-based multi-gigabit internet service. Over the past few months, Comporium placed two miles of fiber-optic network to reach addresses off Hands Mill Highway and Kingsburry Road. This project, extending the company’s fiber-optic network, provides customers the ability to access internet speeds of up to five Gigabits per second. Comporium continues to work with state and federal agencies to find ways to upgrade service to more rural customers.

FOCUS Broadband is accepting orders for high-speed internet service in the first phases of their Perquimans County (NC) broadband project. In 2022, FOCUS Broadband partnered with Perquimans County government to apply for a grant through the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant Program.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, reintroduced legislation to reinvigorate America’s antitrust laws and restore competition to American markets.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed requiring the largest broadband providers to file confidential reports on Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) security so the FCC and its national security partners can for the first time collect more up-to-date information about this critical internet routing intersection.

AT&T and AST SpaceMobile have entered a definitive commercial agreement to provide a space-based broadband network direct to everyday cell phones. This agreement extends until 2030. Previously the companies were working together under a Memorandum of Understanding. This is not just one small step, but one giant leap towards enhanced connectivity for consumers and businesses across the country. In the summer of 2024, AST SpaceMobile plans to deliver its first commercial satellites to Cape Canaveral for launch into low Earth orbit.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) new round of funding from the $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund presents a unique opportunity to advance spectrum-sensing technology, in turn potentially driving more efficient use of airwaves for the public and private sectors. Spectrum sharing is an effective way to increase commercial access to spectrum resources while protecting and enhancing government operations. One objective of this funding opportunity’

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel established the Spectrum Steering Team, which will lead the FCC’s efforts to develop and implement forward-looking spectrum policies and execute the National Spectrum Strategy.  The Spectrum Steering Team brings together policy experts, economists, and engineers from across the FCC—including the Office of Economics and Analytics, Office of Engineering and Technology, Space Bureau, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau—to drive spectrum policy and planning efforts that will ensure U.S.