Is Broadband Reaching All Americans?

On September 6, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission launched its latest (and 18th overall, if you're scoring at home) inquiry into the state of broadband in the United States. In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress instructed the FCC (also known as "the Commission" to friends) to annually conduct an inquiry “concerning the availability of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans (including, in particular, elementary and secondary schools and classrooms)” as part of an effort to “determine whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” In August 2022, the FCC released the Report on the Future of the Universal Service Fund and adopted the "goals of universal deployment, affordability, adoption, availability, and equitable access to broadband throughout the United States as the Commission’s universal service goals for broadband." Earlier this year, the FCC found "that these universal service goals, which are not limited to the narrow question of physical deployment of service, are consistent with those adopted in the Report on the Future of the Universal Service Fund (Future of USF Report), and accurate indicators of whether [broadband] is universally available." The September 6 Notice of Inquiry marks the first proceeding after the FCC's findings on affordability, adoption, availability, and equitable access. Here we look at the questions the FCC is asking now about broadband availability.