Friday, June 21, 2024
Headlines Daily Digest
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Washington State's Plan for Affordable Broadband
North Carolina Communities Awarded $30 Million to Help Close the Digital Divide
With Funding for ACP Up, Supporters Push for New Money, Better Access for Low-Income Families
Digital Equity
Video | Jails across America replace in-person visits with expensive video calls | NBC
State Initiatives
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Now that the federal Affordable Connectivity Program has run out of money, advocates for it are calling on the passage of a new funding bill—and some changes to the program. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was part of the landmark 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It earmarked $14.2 billion to help lower the costs of broadband. As of May 31, 2024, the program is out of money. “I think rural America will be quite harmed by the sudden loss of the Affordable Connectivity Program, both internet service providers who are counting on this to help them pay for big investments they’ve made, and obviously the homes that are disconnected,” said Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced into Congress to extend funding but it has not gotten anywhere. Mitchell said he doesn’t like to be partisan but sees that Republican lawmakers are stopping the legislation from moving forward.
To bridge the digital divide in Washington and strive to meet the state's universal broadband goals, the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) recognizes the intrinsic link between affordability and accessibility. The State of Washington is committed to investing in universal broadband access that is affordable, reliable, scalable, and sustainable to support equitable economic development and connect every community throughout the state, enriching the lives of all Washington residents and businesses. A key objective in Washington's Internet for All plan is that every business and household in Washington state should have affordable access to the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, etc. This includes reducing barriers to access through policy and programs, such as:
- Increasing awareness of benefits and enrollment of eligible households in Lifeline, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), or any successor program.
- Expanding the availability and awareness of non-federally funded subsidy and grant programs to increase the affordability of broadband.
Affordability is part of the scoring criteria WSBO will use to evaluate proposals for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding.
Across North Carolina, 63 community service, nonprofit, higher education and regional organizations will get $30 million in Digital Champion grants to help North Carolinians access and use high-speed internet. The grant program, funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, will expand digital equity programming and advance digital inclusion and opportunity across North Carolina. Digital Champion grants are being awarded to 63 organizations by the NC Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Office of Digital Equity and Literacy. Program grantees will partner with the NC DIT's Office of Digital Equity and Literacy to help people from target populations identified in the Digital Equity Act, including low-income households; rural residents; aging residents; incarcerated or justice involved people; veterans; individuals with disabilities; individuals with a language barrier; and individuals who are members of a racial or ethnic minority group.
The abrupt failure of Massachusetts’ 911 system on June 18 was a stark example of the disastrous consequences that can occur when an emergency network that is supposed to be reliable is, without warning, suddenly unreliable. The outage, lasting two hours, prompted a scramble among emergency agencies as they directed the public to reach out directly to the local authorities at less-familiar phone numbers or, as a last resort, go in person to their local firehouse. The Massachusetts State 911 Department said that while operators did not receive calls during the outage, they were able to see the numbers of people who had tried to reach 911 and were able to call them back. The failure was caused by a firewall that was supposed to help prevent cyberattacks but instead blocked calls from getting through. The state is reviewing why the firewall activated, but said the interruption was not caused by any cyberattack.
T-Mobile says it will comply with an advertising watchdog’s recommendation that the company discontinue or adjust its price lock claims for its Internet service in response to a challenge brought by AT&T. The watchdog, BBB’s National Programs National Advertising Division (NAD), uses these challenges to self-regulate service providers’ advertising claims. In this case, it recommended that T-Mobile “explain how T-Mobile’s ‘Price Lock’ policy differs from a ‘price lock’ which locks the price for the term of a service.” The advertising in question, which appears in print, online and on television, features actors Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Jason Momoa. The text promises a free month of service if T-Mobile raises its prices and certain conditions are met. The use of the term “price lock” could be misleading as it is not consistent with the generally accepted definition of a price lock, the watchdog said.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and Zoe Walker (zwalker AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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