The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is seeking public comment on one of the most challenging aspects of the Internet for All initiative: projects serving the most difficult and remote locations to connect. Connecting everyone in America will require a variety of technologies. As states and territories begin selecting providers to build these networks, NTIA is seeking public comment on proposed guidance for how states and territories can fund a broad range of technologies to ensure connectivity for the most remote and expensive locations. Fiber is a future-proof technology that will grow with families’ data needs over time. It is the gold standard. But where fiber is not economically feasible, states and territories have other options. NTIA is releasing draft policy guidance, consistent with the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), that provides states and territories additional clarity as to how to consider projects using alternative technologies. The NOFO outlines a clear cascade of options for states and territories to follow when choosing providers to receive Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program funding.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced the sixth round of recommended awardees, including three Tribes, for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program. This program aims to expand internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California. This sixth round of funding recommendations includes two Draft Resolutions for proposed awards up to $174.4 million for 15 Last Mile Federal Funding Account broadband infrastructure grant projects in Del Norte, El Dorado, Humboldt, Santa Clara, and Siskiyou counties. The recommendations include grants to three Tribal entities in Del Norte and Humboldt counties—the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Karuk Tribe, and Yurok Telecommunications Corporation.

The reasons why municipalities and cooperatives build community-owned broadband networks are numerous, often fueled by years of frustration with the spotty, expensive service offered by the big monopoly incumbents. In northern Minnesota, we came across yet another example of why an increasing number of localities are finding publicly-owned, locally-controlled telecommunication infrastructure so appealing: the “profits” don’t get funneled into the pockets of distant shareholders but are instead reinvested back into the local economy. In the case of Paul Bunyan Communications, the “profits” are shared with its members. The Bemidji-based telephone cooperative announced it is returning over $3 million to its members in 2024. For members with an allocation of $100 or less, the cooperative is offering a credit on their August bill. For members with an allocation of $100 or more, the cooperative is sending those members checks for their proportional share.

The Federal Communications Commission announced a $950,000 settlement with AT&T to resolve an Enforcement Bureau investigation into whether the company violated FCC rules by failing to deliver 911 calls to, and failing to timely notify, 911 call centers in connection with an outage AT&T experienced on August 22, 2023, in parts of Illinois, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin. As part of the settlement, AT&T will implement a three year compliance plan designed to ensure future compliance with the FCC’s 911 and outage notification rules. The 911 outage occurred during testing of portions of AT&T’s 911 network. During the testing, an AT&T contractor’s technician inadvertently disabled a portion of the network, and AT&T’s system did not automatically adjust to accommodate the disabled portion of the network, resulting in the outage. The testing was not associated with any planned maintenance activities and, thus, did not undergo the stringent technical review that would have otherwise been conducted. The 911 outage lasted for 1 hour and 14 minutes, resulting in over 400 failed 911 calls.