Affordability/Cost/Price

I want to focus on one critical aspect of moving through and forward from this difficult time: bringing high-quality, affordable broadband into every home—something that’s at the heart of so many of the economic development priorities you are exploring during 2021’s conference. We can no longer defer the hard work on digital equity and believe that a future group and time will solve this issue.

NCTA members have connected over 10 million consumers to broadband internet through low-income broadband programs. The Federal Communications Commission is currently seeking public input on the program and will adopt program rules by the end of February. To rapidly connect more Americans to broadband using the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, NCTA recommends that the FCC:

Federal Communications Commissioners appeared divided on Feb 17 over how the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program funding should be distributed to Americans hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic — either by evenly prioritizing the funding to affected groups or targeting the money specifically to students.

Appalachia represents a key test for President Joe Biden's $20 billion plan to get broadband access to communities that don't have it. President Biden, who said during his campaign that rebuilding the middle class in America is the "moral obligation of our time," faces a myriad of challenges in closing the gap, from actually laying down fiber-optic lines to educating consumers and ensuring that prices are affordable. In 127 of Appalachia's 420 counties, less than 75% of households had a connected device.

The Federal Communications Commission heard presentations from staff on the newly established emergency broadband program for struggling households, the next phase of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, and the Commission’s efforts to collect more precise and granular broadband availability data:

Verizon's $6.2 billion bid to buy wireless company TracFone has raised concerns that the deal could cut off access to affordable mobile phone service. The deal has flown under the radar, but TracFone is one of the nation's largest providers of subsidized cell phone service for low income people, an especially important program during the coronavirus pandemic — and one that Verizon hasn't traditionally focused on. The Justice Department declined to dig deeper into the deal in November, signaling that it didn't raise competition concerns.

A $1.3 million state grant is helping Longmont (CO) expand broadband service to K-12 students enrolled in the National School Lunch Program.  The project involves a partnership between NextLight, Longmont’s fiber-optic broadband system, and the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD).

Free Press and Access Now filed reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission urging strong and rapid implementation of the Emergency Broadband Benefit program.

As many of the nation’s pupils close in on a year of virtual remote learning, public policy analysts are highlighting the scope of the digital divide and ways in which policymakers can close it. While policymakers have made efforts to expand access to computers and broadband since the COVID-19 pandemic began, analysts say up to 12 million K-12 students remain underserved.

Sufficient access to and utilization of broadband is an ongoing concern for rural economic development. Using a rural region in Northern New York, we consider the investment and operational costs of a broadband cooperative and determine service prices for which it is financially viable. Service prices need to increase 75%–131%, depending on grant restrictions, relative to existing market prices for a new broadband cooperative to become financially feasible.