The Federal Communications Commission adopted a three-year, $200 million Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program.  This program will allow the FCC to obtain actionable data about which cybersecurity services and equipment would best help K-12 schools and libraries address the growing cyber threats and attacks against their broadband networks. From this program, the FCC aims to learn how to improve school and library defenses against sophisticated ransomware and cyberattacks that put students at risk and impede their learning.  The pilot program will allow the FCC to gather the data needed to better understand whether and how universal service funds could be used to support the cybersecurity needs of schools and libraries and to share lessons learned with our federal partners to jointly combat this growing problem. Modeled after the Connected Care Pilot Program, the pilot program will make $200 million in Universal Service Fund support available to participating schools and libraries to defray the costs of eligible cybersecurity services and equipment.  These funds are separate from the FCC’s E-Rate program, to ensure gains in enhanced cybersecurity do not undermine E-Rate’s success in connecting schools and libraries and promoting digital equity.

Results from the latest National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Internet Use Survey point to significant progress toward achieving Internet for All, as 13 million more people used the Internet in the United States in 2023 compared with just two years earlier. Working to achieve digital equity in the United States has long been at the core of NTIA’s mission. NTIA is committed to enabling widespread use of the Internet for communicating, learning, sharing ideas, and growing the economy. To reach this goal, we need solid, evidence-backed research to inform policies and programs. While we have data from dozens of questions to explore, we have found much to celebrate in our initial analysis:

• 83 percent of people ages 3 and older in the United States used the Internet in some fashion in 2023, compared with 80 percent in 2021. That’s the largest increase since the 2015-2017 period.
• These gains came in large part from segments of the population that historically have been more likely to find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide. For example, 83 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives used the Internet in 2023, up from 75 percent in 2021.  
• Internet adoption also increased among those in lower-income households, from 69 percent in 2021 to 73 percent in 2023 among those in households making less than $25,000 per year (see Figure 2).
• 72 percent of people lived in households with both fixed and mobile Internet connections in 2023, up from 69 percent in 2021.
• Just 12 percent of people lived in households without any Internet connection in 2023, compared with 14 percent in 2021.

As of June 1, the Affordable Connectivity Program has officially come and gone. Question is, now what? Some providers—like Astound, Frontier and Verizon—have announced either alternatives to ACP or that they would subsidize the $30 benefit themselves for a period of time. Despite attempts from carriers to provide discounted internet service, the ACP going away still puts both consumers and internet service providers in a “fairly precarious state.” The ACP’s expiration also doesn’t bode well for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. According to Kathryn de Wit, director of Pew’s Broadband Access Initiative, states in their initial proposals had to outline how a provider that wins BEAD funding would make a low-cost service option available to ACP-eligible households. “Not only is the ACP subsidy critical to the success of BEAD, but states are also relying on the administrative infrastructure of the National Verifier to determine which households are eligible for a low-cost service option,” said de Wit.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) approved an Order awarding a second round of Capital Projects Fund (CPF) grants designed to bring broadband to unserved and underserved areas of the state. The PSC received 60 applications for funding during the second round. As part of the grant review process, the Commission also received challenges from parities stating that they already served an area covered by a grant application, or that they plan to provide service to the area in the near future. Upon review of the applications and challenges received, the PSC determined 28 applications would be funded for a total of $30, 921.432. The awarded projects will bring broadband to approximately 1,640 unserved and 1,570 underserved locations.

I always find it interesting when old regulations bubble up into the news. As reported by Jon Brodkin in Ars Technica, an administrative law judge at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rejected a petition by AT&T to walk away from its carrier of last resort obligations for voice service. In the petition in California, AT&T requested to be relieved of carrier of last resort obligations, which would give it the ability to stop providing telephone service in rural areas. The AT&T petition was met with a lot of protests from rural residents asking the CPUC to not let AT&T kill their telephone service. The Administrative law judge rejected the AT&T petition. He ruled that he was unable to ignore the existing California rules that require carrier of last resort. He also ruled against the AT&T claim that California rules would require AT&T to keep copper. He noted that there is nothing in the California rules that would stop AT&T from decommissioning copper wires. To some degree, this ruling is too little, too late.

Private capital is opening fiber availability outside of traditional telecom models, with the Gigapower joint venture between AT&T and infrastructure investor Blackrock a prime example. Gigapower is focusing on an open access model that will initially pass 1.5 million homes nationwide and enable the network to be used and shared by multiple fiber-to-the-home service providers. The open access model will be built with XGS PON with upgrades possible to deliver 25G and beyond. An open access network model is capital efficient for internet service providers (ISPs) entering into new markets because they simply pay as they add subscribers; they don’t have the large upfront cost associated with building a dedicated network. Once subscribers are added, that’s when ISPs begin actually paying for services. Service providers can focus on marketing and customer service rather than planning, building, and operating the fiber network.AT&T will use the Gigapower network to offer fiber broadband services outside of its established territories, and CEO Bill Hogg expects other carriers, large and small, to do the same.