Affordability/Cost/Price

For some time, many experts have been warning that the universal service funding system is in a death spiral, as the base on which the fees are assessed—generally a telecom company’s interstate and international end-user revenues—is shrinking. The new Federal Communications Commission is forced to consider a rising assessment on a shrinking revenue base to address an increasing demand, with Ajit Pai’s FCC having not done any of the analytic, political, or legal work necessary to make adjustments. Pai was willing to spend billions to address the needs of rural communities lacking broadband.

Comcast made several announcements that build on its longstanding commitment to advancing digital equity, closing the digital divide, and addressing both digital literacy and the homework gap.

Rates for many of the communications and content services we’ve all grown to rely on over the last year have risen recently or will rise in 2021, and there’s little you can do about it. Pay-TV service providers have watched their revenue decline as a growing number of Americans cut the cable cord and rely instead on internet-based streaming services. To compensate, and to keep shareholders happy, the industry keeps steadily increasing the cost of broadband internet access — and claiming that the higher fees are justified by ongoing investments in data networks.

Executives from ACA Connects, NCTA-the Internet & Television Association, INCOMPAS, and WISPA (the wireless internet service providers association) met with staffers in the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau to present a unified front on some key elements of the proposed Emergency Broadband Benefit Program recently created by Congress. The executives want the FCC to allow providers who are new to participating in federal support programs to be eligible for the new funds and get the training to be able to participate in the applications process from "day one.

Currently, the Federal Communications Commission is trying to figure out how to operationalize the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, and early in Jan 2021 released a Notice of Inquiry to ask for public comments. While we applaud the Benefit Program, the FCC must ensure the eligibility and enrollment requirements are streamlined and build a path to make the benefit permanent through Lifeline. The FCC must not only clarify but take the lead on three key points: eligibility, responsibility, sustainability.

Federal support for expanding broadband access – long considered one of the biggest barriers to telehealth adoption in rural and underserved areas – is one of the few bright spots for connected health in recent months.

As President Joe Biden fills out his top administration posts and his digital agenda, advocates are rushing forward with ideas for just how his team and the Federal Communications Commission should proceed, touting structural reforms and emphasizing equity concerns.

As longtime Benton readers know, since 1996 Congress has charged the Federal Communications Commission with encouraging the deployment of broadband to all Americans on a reasonable and timely basis. Congress also requires the FCC annually to initiate an inquiry concerning the availability of broadband.

As remote learning dragged on through 2020, the coronavirus pandemic pitted Comcast against an unlikely opponent: a group of teenagers.

The National Urban League unveiled the framework of a comprehensive agenda for leveraging the tools of the information economy to create a more equitable and inclusive society. The Lewis Latimer Plan for Digital Equity and Inclusion would: