One of the things that I don’t hear discussed enough is that some of the internet service providers (ISP) chasing rural broadband grants have high broadband rates. I’m curious how much emphasis State Broadband offices will put on the retail rates of grant applicants when evaluating grant winners. The two most easily identified ISPs with high broadband rates are Charter and Comcast. Charter rates for standalone basic broadband are now over $90 in many markets, and Comcast is nearing $100 per month. Both ISPs don’t give any indication that they are going to slow down with annual rate increases. In fact, now that broadband customer growth has slowed, rate increases are the best path for these companies to satisfy Wall Street expectations. But these two companies aren’t the only expensive ISPs that are winning grants. Any other big cable companies that will be pursuing grant funding have rates similar to Charter and Comcast. We already know that the high broadband rates of the cable companies in cities are a major factor in the growth of broadband deserts where many households can’t afford broadband. Numerous studies have shown a direct correlation between household income and broadband adoption – high rates make it harder to afford broadband. A  lot of ISPs participate in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) plan that gives low-income subscribers a $30 monthly discount. But the funding for that program will be gone around the end of the first quarter of 2024, and it’s anybody’s guess if a divided Congress will approve the continuation of a low-income program. What is not being discussed enough is that most of the ISPs that participate in ACP or have their own low-income plan don’t aggressively push saving to low-income households.

The Bell Charitable Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to create digital equity in the communities it serves over the next five years through a series of focused grants to organizations that are expanding access to broadband Internet. The Foundation will make digital equity grants in the Midwest and Hawaii markets, where it also supports organizations that focus on Economic & Social Mobility, Technology, Environmental Sustainability, and Health & Wellbeing initiatives. Christi Cornette, Chief Administrative Officer of Altafiber and Bell Charitable Foundation Board Member, said increasing access to broadband connectivity is critical to maximizing the impact of organizations that the Bell Charitable Foundation funds. Altafiber, which formerly did business as Cincinnati Bell in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, launched the Bell Charitable Foundation in 2022. To date, the Bell Charitable Foundation has provided more than $400,000 in grants to 23 organizations.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to help ensure that the public has access to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if a service outage occurs. The new rules:

• Require service providers that have a role in delivering 988 calls—including cable, satellite, wireless, wireline, interconnected VoIP providers, and those that provide capabilities to the 988 Lifeline—to report outages that potentially affect the 988 Lifeline to the Commission’s Network Outage Reporting System, similar to the Commission’s existing reporting requirement for outages that potentially affect 911.
• Require service providers to provide notice of such events to SAMHSA, the VA, and the 988 Lifeline administrator as well as updates on outages that last longer than two hours.
• Define reportable outages as those that result in a loss of the ability of the 988 Lifeline to receive, process, or forward calls, potentially affecting at least 900,000 user minutes and lasting at least 30 minutes in duration.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the leadership team of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. The Bureau plays a key role in promoting the deployment of innovative spectrum-based services across the country, as it develops, recommends, and administers the policy and licensing programs relating to terrestrial wireless communications, including mobile broadband, fixed access, private wireless, and personal radio services. “I am pleased to recognize the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau’s leadership team,” said WTB Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt. “The breadth, depth, and diversity of their experience will be invaluable to the Bureau and to the Commission.” Chief Taubenblatt announced the Bureau leadership team, which is made up of both longtime WTB staff members and new additions. The team includes Barbara Esbin, Kari Hicks, and Susan Mort as Deputy Bureau Chiefs; Amy Brett as Chief of Staff; Jessica Greffenius and Jessica Quinley as Assistant Bureau Chiefs; Arpan Sura as Senior Counsel to the Chief; Janet Young as Chief Engineer; and Cameron Duncan and John Lockwood as Legal and Policy Advisors. These appointees join Jean Kiddoo, WTB Deputy Chief and Chair of the Broadband Data Task Force and the Incentive Auction Task Force, Ed Mozee, Assistant Bureau Chief (Management and Resources), and Connie Diaz, Assistant to the Chief, in the WTB front office.