The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from New Jersey, allowing the state to request access to more than $18 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. New Jersey will use the $18,094,857 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:  

• Establishing standards in digital literacy for the state’s adult learners and offering a tool for measuring skills and progress in learning digital literacy; and  
• A competitive subgrant program to awards to increase the skills and confidence of residents in need in using the Internet and devices.

Rural broadband providers just got a couple of early Christmas gifts in the form of regulatory relief. But whether the moves will amount to anything once Trump takes office remains to be seen. The U.S. Senate passed legislation that would essentially simplify financial reporting requirements for rural telecommunications providers. The bill, referred to as the ACCESS Rural America Act, increases the shareholder registration threshold for providers that “receive support through certain Federal universal service support mechanisms.” While it doesn’t sound too exciting at first glance, the legislation underscores the regulatory headache smaller broadband providers face when dealing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said Mike Romano, EVP of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association. 

The Oregon Broadband Office issued Notices of Intent to Award the second tranche of funding for the Broadband Deployment Program. In tranche two, $9,488,246 will be awarded to Home Telephone Company's project, "Nyssa Regional Link Expansion." It will provide 100/100 service at $49.99/month to 800 currently unserved locations in Malheur county. Additionally, $3,359,260 will be awarded to the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians' project, "Expanding Broadband Access for the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians." It will provide 100/100 service to 81 currently unserved locations in Lincoln County.  Oregon Broadband Office is distributing a total of $141,560,998 through the Office’s Broadband Deployment Program (BDP), part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The initial tranche of funding press release can be found here. It will support the construction and deployment of high-speed, reliable wired broadband internet at speeds of 100/100 Mbps to unserved and underserved locations across the state. Awardees were ranked based on a composite score that prioritizes outcomes:

• Social Vulnerability Index - Applicants receive a 5% score bonus if 80% or more of their proposed project service locations are located within areas designated as “Moderate to High” or “High” on the state of Oregon’s Social Vulnerability Index.
• Unserved Locations— 5 points for other eligible locations where wired 25/3 service already exists).
• Affordability - Applicants with projects that can offer service at $30/month or less receive an additional 5 points per location. Applicants with projects that can provide service at $50/month or less receive two additional points per location.

Scientists at University College London recently achieved a speed on a wireless link of 938 Gbps. That’s over 4,000 times faster than the current average speed being delivered by T-Mobile, the current fastest cellular provider in the U.S. The team is researching techniques for multiplexing multiple radio transmissions into a coherent transmission. The scientists achieved the speeds by utilizing a huge span of spectrum between 5GHz and 150 GHz. They also had to combine multiple techniques to create and join the signals. For now, these fast tests represent scientists pushing the edge of radio technology. These tests are not going to produce any usable technology for many years. The University of College London used a wide swath of spectrum that would never by allowed by any government. But the early success of these various tests show that faster radios will somebody be possible.

Rural Americans encounter substantial healthcare disparities when compared to urban counterparts, including provider shortages, less access to specialists, and higher mortality risks from various chronic and acute conditions. While 13.8% of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, rural regions comprise two-thirds of healthcare provider shortage areas. Accordingly, broadband-enabled telehealth that mitigates barriers to healthcare access can be a transformative solution for patients and physicians in rural areas. Emerging telehealth platforms extend beyond traditional video consultations, incorporating extended reality (XR) technologies comprising virtual reality (VR) and alternative reality (AR) solutions. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) promises unique diagnostic and epidemiological benefits for care management. These technologies collectively offer advancements for mental health treatment, physician training, and personalized care management. Rural broadband infrastructure is critical to enabling these technological healthcare innovations, representing a key pathway to improving medical access and patient outcomes for rural users.

Sen Edward Markey (D-MA) today reintroduced the Generating Resilient and Energy Efficient Network (GREEN) Communications Act to sustainably defend communications networks against climate change and extreme weather disasters. The GREEN Communications Act would specifically:

• Authorize $5 billion for a new program at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide grants and revolving loans for projects designed to strengthen the resiliency of communications networks and increase the energy efficiency of communications infrastructure
• Prioritize funding for low-income, rural, and minority communities, and for projects that demonstrate the greatest overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, benefit the most vulnerable areas, or utilize green solutions to increase resiliency
• Require recipients of energy efficiency funding to annually report on the electrical consumption—by energy source—of the communications infrastructure that is the subject of their project, as well as develop a comprehensive plan for achieving net-zero carbon emissions from their overall communications infrastructure
• Require recipients of resiliency funding to participate in the Federal Communications Commission
• ’s Disaster Information Reporting System, submit new reports on the number and impact of network outages, and develop a comprehensive resiliency plan for protecting their overall communications infrastructure from severe weather, natural disasters, and climate change
• Direct the FCC to issue rules and establish a regulatory resiliency framework designed to minimize the number, duration, and impact of future communications network outages, as well as help plan for long-term disruptions to communications networks and support the communications needs of first responders
• Require a variety of studies and reports from relevant federal agencies.

Two years ago, a New York company enforced an “attorney exclusion list” at its venues, including Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, sparking a civil rights clash. Using artificial intelligence-enabled facial recognition technology, MSG Entertainment identified lawyers from firms involved in litigation against the company and barred them from entering concerts, shows and ice hockey and basketball games. Naturally, being lawyers, they sued, denouncing the ban as dystopian. The incident neatly illustrates how our uses of technology can lead to messy wrangles over commercial interests, personal gripes, legal precedents and civil rights. One concern about the accelerating use of AI is that the technology might strip humans of agency and the ability to arbitrate in such disputes by enforcing rigid algorithmic rules. However, tech entrepreneur and investor Reid Hoffman recently argued that rather than eroding human agency, AI could be designed to enhance it. Its purpose should be to empower humans, giving them “superagency."

Sens Edward Markey (D-MA) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Rep Alma Adams, Ph.D. (D-NC) introduced the Public Archives Resiliency Act, which would authorize grants to promote preservation, climate resilience, adaption, and continuity of vital government records and protect other records of historical or cultural significance. The legislation would provide funding for public archives, libraries, museums, institutions of higher education, or non-profits that protect these valuable records. As the climate crisis worsens, the need to protect vital government records from damage and destruction is more urgent than ever. Government records are generated through birth, death, marriage, taxes, military service, education, immigration, property ownership and much more. Far too many institutions that manage these records are at risk of environmental damage and lack resources to protect themselves and their communities. When records are destroyed or become inaccessible, it can delay an individual’s ability to access key government benefits and services, as well as result in the loss of irreplaceable cultural artifacts.

President-elect Trump and Elon Musk are finding a wellspring of unexpected cooperation from Democrats in their plans to crack down on government waste and inefficiency. Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE, has been a mostly Republican brainstorm so far, but centrist and progressive Democrats have begun offering ideas for it. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), the lone Democrat to join Congress' new DOGE caucus, said he thinks "more Dems will join the caucus." Doing so "gets you a voice to fight for the things where there's bipartisan agreement and fight against the irrational things that will probably get proposed," he said. Moskowitz's big idea is to shrink the sprawling Department of Homeland Security, including by making the Secret Service and FEMA independent agencies that report to the White House.

Right now, fiber-to-the-home providers have a unique opportunity to become market leaders in small cities, large towns, and high population density rural areas where cable modem currently is the only option. We call these areas “fiberhoods” because they are neighborhoods large enough to support a privately funded fiber deployment but small enough that the incumbent cable provider is not motivated to upgrade on their own. The first company to deploy fiber to such a market typically captures the majority of customers in short order. The ideal fiberhood has:

• No existing fiber
• High population density
• A large footprint

CTIA, the wireless industry association, and CTIA President and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker announced she will retire from CTIA in 2025 with the end of her contract. Baker has served as the head of the wireless association since 2014. Baker joined CTIA after years of distinguished public service, serving as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission and leading the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. She is one of the nation’s most prominent experts on spectrum and telecom policy matters and also served in the private sector in senior roles at NBC Universal and Covad. CTIA has selected Korn Ferry to assist with the nationwide CEO search, and Baker will continue to lead CTIA in the interim to ensure a smooth transition.