As our Nation honors Native American Heritage Month, the Department of Commerce remains committed to building back a better, more equitable economy where no one is left behind. By implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will help ensure every person in this country, especially those living on Tribal land and other underserved areas, has access to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet. Indigenous communities are among the most unserved and underserved populations for broadband deployment and adoption in the country, which has been devastatingly evident throughout the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Roughly half of the households in tribal lands lack broadband service at home. Fortunately, more help is on the way. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes a $42.45 billion infrastructure program and important measures on affordability and digital inclusion, as well as an additional $2 billion for NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP). The TBCP is designed to help tribal communities participate more fully in today’s modern economy. Grants are available to eligible Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian entities for broadband deployment, digital inclusion, workforce development, telehealth, and distance learning. 

Out of the $65 billion allocated to broadband in the recent infrastructure law, the bulk — $45 billion — is for installing broadband, compared with $17 billion for ongoing access and subsidy grants. “Our economy evolves and changes,” said Todd Schmit, an associate professor of applied economics and management at Cornell University, “and it’s really necessary now to think about broadband in an infrastructure space.” The billions in federal funding may build access to broadband, but it offers no guarantee to sustain it, which is especially crucial for the rural broadband access that this legislation tries to address. Schmit studies broadband access in areas of upstate New York with fewer than 10 subscribers per mile, where offering service often isn’t cost-effective. “If we can agree that access to broadband is a public good — for educating our children, for access to health care, for expanding business opportunities — there should be a defensible basis for government assistance in funding the operations of those programs,” he says. “But I think that’s a harder story to tell.”

Co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen John Thune (R-SD) introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen the funding mechanisms for the Universal Service Fund (USF), which promotes universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. The USF -- which includes programs to support broadband access in rural communities, facilitate rural health care, and expand access to affordable broadband service for low-income families, schools, and libraries -- is largely funded by fees imposed on landlines. As the use of landlines continues to decline, this places a disproportionate impact on seniors, who are significantly more likely to use a landline than younger adults. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to reform the contributions system, taking into account the fairness and the relative burden any changes in fees will have on consumers and businesses, as well as the impact the proposed changes to the contribution system will have on seniors.

For nearly a decade, New York has pledged to provide universal high-speed broadband access, allocating over a half-billion dollars into expanding rural networks in some of the most remote areas of the state. While the efforts have yielded results — New York ranks second in the US in the percentage of the population with broadband available in their neighborhood — universal access remains elusive. Now telecom leaders hope $65 billion in broadband funding contained within the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill will put the state over the finish line when it comes to both building out rural networks and ensuring lower-income households can afford the service. An initial portion of $100 million will be allocated to each state to be used for broadband infrastructure grants. That funding will build upon the $670 million in state and federal funding that has already been allocated to build out networks as part of the New NY Broadband Program.

Online courses are an increasingly important part of students’ college experience, but how does this impact what students glean from their college experience? In our study, just published in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (EEPA), we analyzed six years of institutional data (all before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic) for three cohorts of students (N=10,572). Overall, our study finds that online course-taking is associated with more efficient college graduation. Students who are given the opportunity to take classes online graduate more quickly compared to students in departments that offer fewer online courses. We also find that online course-taking is associated with a higher likelihood of successfully graduating college within four years. Importantly, our findings seem robust for students who are generally considered at-risk in college environments. The analyses that focused on the online course experiences of first-generation college students, low-income students, and students with weaker academic preparation indicated smaller, but still positive, benefits of online course enrollments regarding both graduating within four years and the overall time it takes to receive their college degree.

[Christian Fischer is an Assistant Professor at the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology at University of Tübingen, Germany. Rachel Baker is an Associate Professor at the School of Education at University of California, Irvine. Qiujie Li is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the School of Education at University of California, Irvine. Gabe Avakian Orona is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of California, Irvine. Mark Warschauer is a Professor of Education at University of California.]

Public safety officials fear the nation's 911 centers will continue to languish in the analog era, after Democrats slashed proposed funding for a digital makeover in their social spending bill. The House Energy & Commerce Committee advanced a proposal that would have spent $10 billion on next-generation 911 centers in September, but that funding was reduced to $470 million for deployment in the final House version of the Build Back Better Act. Next-generation 911 would allow centers to accept multimedia from those in need and let centers share data among themselves easily to ensure the best response. The proposed $10 billion in Build Back Better funding was cut as part of the negotiations with the Senate to bring down the total. Funding next-generation 911 and public safety is a bipartisan issue that ended up in a partisan spending bill.

Gigi Sohn, a progressive nominated by President Joe Biden for an open seat on the Federal Communications Commission, is facing some friction in her confirmation bid. Here's what you need to know about Sohn's prospects for joining the FCC heading into Thanksgiving weekend. The Senate Commerce Committee explore Sohn's qualifications to fill the fifth and final FCC seat in a session directly following the vote. Sohn, who was nominated in late October, will be questioned alongside Alan Davidson, the nominee to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and two other Department of Commerce appointees. Republicans are likely to spend the hearing probing whether Sohn is seen as too progressive to be a palatable partner on what so far have been bipartisan initiatives like broadband mapping and 5G deployment. Democrats, on the other hand, will probably be supportive of Sohn's bona fides as an adviser to the FCC during the Obama administration and her ties to the public interest sector. 

While her final vote totals in the Senate remain to be seen, Sohn is supported by net neutrality advocates and public interest groups, independent programmers and even some conservative voices. "I would be shocked if the confirmation is not readily quick," said Pantelis Michalopoulos, a Steptoe & Johnson LLP partner who has represented pro net neutrality clients. Given the number of angles from which Sohn could appeal to stakeholders, Perkins Coie communications industry group chair Marc Martin said she will likely garner a majority vote in the Senate. "I would not be surprised if she's developed positive relationships with both sides of the aisle," Martin said. "People may disagree with her on her policies like net neutrality, but I think that many fairminded people will say, 'I still respect her.'"