Public Notice

President Joe Biden directs that Government leaders account for the experiences of the public in seeking Government services. The Executive Order includes 36 customer experience (CX) improvement commitments across 17 Federal agencies, all of which aim to improve people’s lives and the delivery of Government services. The Executive Order also creates a sustained, cross-government service delivery process that aligns to the moments that matter most in people’s lives – like turning 65, having a child, or applying for a small business loan.

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking nominations for membership on the Telecommunications Interagency Working Group, a group that is being formed pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “to develop recommendations to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry.” The Act directs the FCC Chairwoman, in partnership with the Secretary of Labor, to establish this interagency working group by January 14, 2022. The Working Group must prepare a report with “recommendations to address the workforce needs of the telecommunications industry, including the

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in consultation with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, has appointed members to serve on the re-chartered Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. In its second term, the Task Force will continue its work to provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on accelerating the deployment of broadband Internet access service on unserved agricultural land to promote precision agriculture.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau waives certain provisions of rules governing the internet service offering, standard rate, provider participation, and election notice requirements for the end of the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program as a result of the text in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Bureau also provides additional guidance to help consumers, participating service providers, program partners, and other stakeholders prepare for the transition from the EBB Program to the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The Broadband Infrastructure Program is a $288 million broadband deployment program directed to facilitate partnerships between a state, or one or more political subdivisions of a State, and a provider of fixed broadband service to support broadband infrastructure deployment to areas lacking broadband. In their applications, which are currently undergoing review, applicants indicated their projects' proposed service areas using census blocks. On December 6, NTIA published additional proposed service areas of applications undergoing review for funding through the Broadband Infrastructure Pro

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau waives certain rules governing the enrollment freeze and notice requirements for the end of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which will cease no later than December 31, 2021 as a result of the text in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an advisory raising concerns with respect to Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program enrollments based on the USDA National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Households with a student enrolled in a school or school district participating in the CEP can qualify for the EBB Program.

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on the requirements for the Affordable Connectivity Program and a timeline for its rapid implementation. On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act or Act), which modifies and extends the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program) to a longer-term broadband affordability program to be called the Affordable Connectivity Program. The Infrastructure Act directs the FCC to undertake a proceeding to adopt final rules for this modified program.

On November 15, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal into law–historic legislation to rebuild crumbling infrastructure, create good-paying jobs, and grow the economy. To coordinate the law's effective implementation, President Biden signed an Executive Order outlining the Administration's implementation priorities and establishing an Infrastructure Implementation Task Force. The Executive Order lays out six main priorities to guide implementation across the Federal government.

The Federal Communications Commission said it is ready to authorize $709,060,159 in its fourth round of funding for new broadband deployments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Together with three prior funding wave announcements, the FCC has now announced over $1.7 billion in funding to winning bidders for new deployments.