Affordable Connectivity Program (was Emergency Broadband Benefit Program)

Broadband programs included in the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could add $146 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new analysis from Keynesian Technology, which researches the impact of Keynesian economics on the technology industry.

US cable operators are struggling to return to broadband subscriber growth, but their mobile strategies continued to bear fruit in the second quarter of 2024. Cable's share of total mobile phone net adds (both post-paid and pre-paid) was roughly 54 percent in the quarter, MoffettNathanson found in its latest analysis of the US mobile market. Analyst Craig Moffett attributes the bulk of US cable's mobile growth to relatively lower pricing when compared to many of the plans offered by AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

According to the American Community Survey, 94.1 percent of Maryland residents have a home internet subscription of some kind which—while outperforming the national rate by 3.8 percentage points—still indicates that a sizable number of Maryland households are disconnected from the internet at home.

The number of unserved and underserved locations in Connecticut is estimated to be just under 8,000 (0.57% of all locations in the state).

Although broadband is widely available in Oregon, it is not universally available. Oregon and the Oregon Broadband Office (OBO) have been laying the groundwork for the delivery of affordable, reliable broadband internet to every household in Oregon.

On August 7, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the third funding report showing fiscal year (FY) 2022 data reported by 13 agencies across 70 programs making investments in broadband.

The relationship between broadband and other priorities for Utahns—such as employment, education, health, civic engagement, technology innovation, and entrepreneurship—is undeniably important and will only become increasingly so. Broadband infrastructure deployment and adoption are key components for accomplishing economic growth, accelerating educational innovation, expanding access to health care, and increasing personal connection. The State of Utah wants to ensure every resident has access to reliable and affordable broadband internet to enhance their quality of life.

Consumers and policymakers always care about broadband prices. The issue is of particular interest to policymakers now that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has ended and as states try to figure out what the “affordability” requirements of the BEAD grants mean and how to implement them. Such analysis should begin with an understanding of current prices and how they have changed. This analysis uses three sources to consider the cost of broadband to consumers: the Federal Communications Commission’s Urban Rate Survey (URS), the U.S.

In 2021 when the pandemic was raging, President Joe Biden led a bipartisan effort to pass the Affordable Connectivity Program as part of the Infrastructure Act so low-income families would have subsidized internet service. It was especially important to get low-income families hooked up since their children would need to do their schoolwork from home.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals threw federal broadband policy into chaos recently by declaring the Universal Service Fund unconstitutional. The decision threatens to shut down the Federal Communications Commission’s longstanding system of collecting fees from telecommunications customers to subsidize rural broadband deployment and Internet access for low-income households, schools, and other programs. For years, policymakers have acknowledged the need to overhaul the USF because of its ballooning fees, potential for waste, and outdated priorities.