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The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity today posted Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program scopes of work to expand high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved homes and businesses at approximately 93,674 eligible locations. The CAB program creates a partnership among state government, county leaders and internet service providers to identify eligible project areas, develop the scope of work and fund broadband deployment projects with $400 million from the American Rescue Plan.
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Fifty-Three More North Carolina Counties to Receive Expanded High-Speed Internet Access
Tom Wheeler | Chinese spies and the security of America’s networks (Brookings)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 16:27Chinese ship linked to cable sabotage urged to move into Swedish waters (Financial Times)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 16:26Lobby groups for Internet service providers claim that ISPs' customer service is so good already that the government shouldn't consider any new regulations to mandate improvements. They also claim ISPs face so much competition that market forces require providers to treat their customers well or lose them to competitors. Cable lobby group NCTA-The Internet & Television Association told the Federal Communications Commission in a filing that "providing high-quality products and services and a positive customer experience is a competitive necessity in today's robust communications marketplace. To attract and retain customers, NCTA's cable operator members continuously strive to ensure that the customer support they provide is effective and user-friendly. Given these strong marketplace imperatives, new regulations that would micromanage providers’ customer service operations are unnecessary." Lobby groups filed comments in response to an FCC review of customer service that was announced last month, before the presidential election. While the FCC's current Democratic leadership is interested in regulating customer service practices, the Republicans who will soon take over opposed the inquiry.
ISPs say their “excellent customer service” is why users don’t switch providers
BoomerTECH Adventures and Coastal Maine Regional Broadband (CMRB) held their first round of free workshops providing digital literacy training and education with the goal of helping Midcoast libraries and organizations support their clients to access and utilize high-speed internet effectively. The purpose of these “Helping The Helper” sessions was to provide library staff, volunteers, and other community support groups with resources, strategies and personal connections to better assist their clientele in understanding and making the most of their digital devices when accessing high-speed internet in their homes, libraries and communities. BoomerTECH Adventures is partnering with CMRB to help participants develop their digital expertise while modeling and encouraging compassion, honesty, fairness, respect for diversity and adherence to ethical behavior. The organization offers online classes through Maine Adult Education as well as workshops in collaboration with community groups looking to help Mainers thrive on and offline.
[BoomerTECH Adventures helps boomers and older adults navigate the digital world with confidence and competence.]
BoomerTECH Adventures: Getting there from here — bridging Midcoast Maine’s digital divide
An $11 million investment in regional infrastructure is planned to bring high-speed, low-latency connectivity to more than 6,600 locations in western Maine. These are sites that either don’t currently have access to the internet or have access to slower broadband or copper-based connections. The funding for the project, which entails building more than 450 miles of fiber, was announced by FirstLight, a provider of digital infrastructure services. The Maine Connectivity Authority made the agreement with FirstLight to receive the funding. The grant is part of a statewide initiative in Maine called the Partnerships for Enabling Middle Mile (PEMM).
Maine Middle Mile Fiber Award Will Benefit 6,600+ Locations
Attorneys general in multistate push to make it easier for people to change cell phone providers (MassLive)
Submitted by Grace Tepper on Tue, 11/26/2024 - 15:30TAC will consider and advise the Commission on topics such as continued efforts at looking beyond 5G advanced as 6G begins to develop so as to facilitate U.S. leadership; studying advanced spectrum sharing techniques, including the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the utilization and administration of spectrum; and other emerging technologies.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) seems to hate many things about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Congress passed in 2021 with bipartisan support. Cruz’s hatred could presage rocky times for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program in 2025 because he is likely to head up the Senate Commerce Committee when Republicans take majority control of the Senate in January. Sen. Cruz seems intent on disrupting the program.In response to Cruz’s letter about the Digital Equity Grant Program, Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband, posted on LinkedIn, “Not wasting any time, Senate Commerce Chair-to-be Sen. Ted Cruz wrote a long screed urging NTIA to halt its Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, which would provide resources to organizations that help the country's most vulnerable populations get online. I won't get into his novel theory as to why the entire program is unconstitutional. I'll just say that everything he complains about is MANDATED BY THE LAW. No, he didn't vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but that doesn't give him the ability to undermine it.”
Ted Cruz hates a lot of the Infrastructure Investment law, including BEAD