The Broadband Data Task Force announces that the sixth Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window for submitting broadband availability and other data as of December 31, 2024, will open on January 2, 2025. In addition, the December 2024 update of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) is being made available to existing Fabric licensees in advance of the opening of the window. Beginning on January 2, 2025, facilities-based broadband service providers may submit data into the BDC system at https://bdc.fcc.gov/bdc, specifying where they made mass-market broadband Internet access service available as of December 31, 2024.

One in four Americans list “saving money” as a top 2025 New Year’s resolution, and nearly a quarter of a million people ask Google about internet costs every month. Auditing your internet bill is a simple way to start. HighSpeedInternet.com’s latest report reveals average internet costs by state and provides tools you can use to compare providers and save money. An analysis by the experts at HighSpeedInternet.com found internet access is the most expensive for what you get in Alaska, Montana, and West Virginia—states with wide open spaces, winding dirt roads, and low population density. Internet plans are cheapest for what you get along the eastern seaboard and in more heavily populated states. But there is some variance. Outlier states like Hawaii, Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota aren’t known for big city living, for example, but each made our 2024 list of top 10 cheapest states to buy internet. In other words, you can get fast internet for a great bargain if you live in one of our top 10 cheapest states, but you’ll probably have to pay a lot for slower speeds if you live in the 10 most expensive states.

By the end of 2024, more than 3,000 miles of the backbone “middle mile” broadband network will be under construction and expansion, paving the way to connect millions of Californians to high-speed internet. This publicly funded, owned and open-access network is set to be the nation’s largest. The California Department of Technology (CDT) recently sealed two more joint-build agreements with the Karuk Tribe in the northern part of the state and the Gateway Cities Council of Governments in the southern part of the state. These joint-build partnerships pave the way for 46 miles across county and tribal lands and a 73-mile stretch of network in southeast Los Angeles County, connecting 26 cities, many of them historically underserved communities. Expanding the state’s broadband network is a key part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s build more, faster agenda delivering infrastructure upgrades across the state. Find projects building your community at build.ca.gov. 

Through the Connect Baltimore Broadband Grant Program, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity—a division of the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology—have awarded Waves a $2 million grant as part of the Scott Administration’s efforts to improve internet access, adoption, and utilization in underserved neighborhoods. Waves, a division of the nonprofit Digital Harbor Foundation, is an internet service provider based in Baltimore. The Connect Baltimore Broadband Grant Program, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and overseen by the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs, supports the development of gap and community networks to provide affordable, reliable internet access in neighborhoods most affected by the digital divide. This grant complements funding Waves has received from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office of Statewide Broadband, the West Baltimore Renaissance Foundation, and the France-Merrick Foundation.