The Department of the Treasury announced the approval of $22.5 million in federal funds for a multi-purpose community facility providing health care, education, and workforce services in Washington (DC) as a part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. These federal resources will go towards the expansion of Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center at the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus—an organization that provides critical health care services to underserved communities, particularly to the LGBTQ community. This funding, part of the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund, will enable the center to increase access to health care services for residents through telehealth and in-person visits, accepting an estimated 10,000 new patients by 2025, in addition to the 5,000 patients currently served. Specifically, part of this investment will allow the Center to build two multipurpose community spaces that will support community health and wellness initiatives, as well as 63 exam, therapy, and consult rooms which will enable expanded telemedicine services. The expanded center will also provide public access to computer terminals and high-speed wireless broadband internet throughout the building. Community space in the center will be used to host resume building and interview skills workshops as well as education and training programs focused on community residents. 

The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board (IBAB) has awarded $120 million in funding from the Idaho Capital Projects Fund (CPF) to 18 broadband projects across Idaho, connecting over 30,000 homes and businesses. The IBAB and the State of Idaho funded broadband projects that assist with or improve distance learning, telehealth, telework, economic development and public safety. These awards meet the federal CPF criteria and improve internet connectivity in unserved and underserved locations. 

The telecommunications industry continues to watch SpaceX Starlink’s expansion and performance closely, as the number of subscribers to its broadband service grows and other satellite providers enter the fray. While median download performance remains a key benchmark, we see strong demand to understand how Starlink is balancing net new additions with its network capacity as the service scales, and how LEO Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) performance stacks up against the competition, particularly in rural locations. Key takeaways include:

• Starlink isn’t shooting for the stars, but is successfully managing to balance capacity and demand. Starlink median download performance in the U.S. was 64.54 Mbps in Q3 2023, a marginal decline quarter on quarter, though Starlink did show strong increases in September, October and November.
• Starlink’s US LEO broadband performance eclipses that of geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite internet providers. Starlink offers a significant boost on GEO satellite broadband speeds, but its multi-server latency is where Starlink really shines.
• Starlink’s performance in rural US locations orbits at a similar level to the competition. While it can’t match leading cable or fiber providers on median speeds or multi-server latency, Starlink offers a very viable alternative in locations where cable and fiber access networks aren’t present. 
• The constellation of Speedtest Starlink samples highlights significant urban LEO broadband demand. While still skewing towards rural locations if we adjust for population, almost 60% of Speedtest Starlink samples were recorded in urban locations in the US. 

Despite negative headlines and growing concerns about social media’s impact on youth, teens continue to use these platforms at high rates—with some describing their social media use as “almost constant." Here’s a look at the key findings related to online platforms:

• YouTube continues to dominate. Roughly nine-in-ten teens say they use YouTube, making it the most widely used platform measured in our survey.

• TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram remain popular among teens: Majorities of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use TikTok (63 percent), Snapchat (60 percent) and Instagram (59 percent). 

• Teens are less likely to be using Facebook X (formerly known as Twitter) than they were a decade ago: only 33 percent reported using Facebook, which once dominated among teens. 

• Teens’ site and app usage has changed little in the past year. The share of teens using these platforms has remained relatively stable since spring 2022, when Pew last surveyed on these topics.