Reporting

Millions of dollars are coming into Mississippi to get more families connected to high-speed internet. But there are still major gaps in the broadband coverage map. “We had the little Wi-Fi hotspot. But in order to use the Wi-Fi hotspot, you have to have a cell phone signal. And a lot of times we didn’t have a good cell phone signal where we were. So, it just washed everything completely out.

When Texas was awarded $3.3 billion in federal money toward expanding broadband infrastructure across the state, government leaders and telecommunication companies celebrated the news. With the federal funds, coupled with $1.5 billion from the state’s wallet, rural and underserved Texas communities finally saw a chance to catch up with technology in the rest of the country.

Congressional briefings are used to communicate information to policymakers in Washington, DC. Oftentimes, they highlight stakeholder views on government programs and proposals. However, they rarely include local officials who can provide community-based insights. On July 19, 2023, Next Century Cities invited broadband leaders from Texas, Ohio, Maryland, and Massachusetts to Washington, DC. Speakers shared community impact stories and administrative needs for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Key takeaways include the following: 

AT&T CEO John Stankey said Internet Air, the company's new fixed wireless access (FWA) product, is "performing well" in the early going. But Stankey stressed that Internet Air will continue to be used on a limited, targeted basis.

Verizon told the Federal Communications Commission that it supports the idea of creating an Office of Civil Rights within the FCC. The matter was discussed in a meeting between Verizon and the FCC, and then summarized in a letter, regarding the FCC's ongoing digital discrimination proceeding. That proceeding began in 2022, as mandated by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) presented a draft five-year plan to connect the state’s unserved with broadband using the $1.86 billion it received through the federal government’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. But the CPUC’s plan comes with a warning that the total $4 billion available in state and federal broadband funding won't be enough to completely bridge the digital divide in California. There is a significant need for broadband across all of California, said the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association’s (WISPA) state advocacy manag

Element8, a broadband provider with a focus on fixed wireless access (FWA), made a “transformational” investment in Wisper ISP, another broadband provider with an FWA focus.

A GOP consultant set to be the next deputy campaign manager for presidential hopeful Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was part of the infamous astroturfing campaign against net neutrality. Ethan Eilon, who Bloomberg reported is being promoted by Gov.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is expanding access to health care for more than 5 million people living in 39 states and Puerto Rico as part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda. USDA is awarding $129 million in Emergency Rural Health Care Grants to improve healthcare facilities in rural towns across the nation.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced how much Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding each of the 50 states would be allocated. The answer varies from state to state, but one thing they all have in common is that Volume 1 and Volume 2 of their initial proposals are due December 27, 2023. Once NTIA approves the proposal, the state will get 20 percent of its BEAD funding. Volume 1 must include: Existing broadband funding, Unserved and underserved locations, Community anchor institutions, Challenge process plans.