Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021

“One more thing” is the line that Detective Columbo typically uttered in the eponymous 1970s detective series; it signaled that Columbo was on the brink of solving the episode’s puzzle. If Columbo were around today, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) may have vexed him had he pondered its impact. Did it move the broadband adoption dial? If so, by how much?

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $276 million to 44 Tribal entities to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption. The funding from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Internet for All Initiative.

Thanks to Congress’ work on the infrastructure law, America has the funding to make internet coverage reliable nationwide. Where broadband goes, economic growth and educational opportunity follow. But despite the federal government’s efforts, including decades of work and billions of dollars, too many Americans still lack reliable connection, an unacceptable fact in today’s digital world. The problem boils down to bureaucratic disorganization. Today, over 100 separate initiatives, managed by 15 individual federal agencies, have been deployed to address the digital urban-rural divide.

In 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched the Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP) to bridge the connectivity gap in unserved communities, including rural communities, in America.

In May 2022, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published an oft-quoted report that described federal funding for broadband as a “fragmented, overlapping patchwork.” Despite more than 100 broadband-related programs investing millions of dollars into deployment, affordability, planning, digital skills, and connective devices, GAO found that “millions of Americans still lack broadband, and communities with limited resources may be most affected by fragmentation.” GAO asked the National Telecommunications and Information Administra

Merit Network and Michigan State University have completed the MOON-Light initiative, a multi-million-dollar project funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Infrastructure Program. This effort established Michigan’s Open Optical Network, addressing critical infrastructure gaps by deploying middle-mile fiber optic technology across 74 counties. By connecting local internet service providers (ISPs), MOON-Light brings affordable, high-speed broadband to underserved areas, benefiting over 28,000 homes.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) announced that certain Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) census block groups (CBG) are now eligible for other funding programs.

Each year, the Federal Communications Commission must adopt a schedule of regulatory fees to be collected by the end of September. For fiscal year (FY) 2024, the FCC is required to collect $390,192,000 in regulatory fees, pursuant to section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934 and the Commission’s FY 2024 Further Consolidation Appropriations Act. In this Report and Order, the FCC adopts the regulatory fee schedule to assess and collect $390,192,000 in congressionally required regulatory fees for FY 2024.

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.

This is the third Federal Broadband Funding Report produced by NTIA, showing fiscal year (FY) 2022 data reported by 12 agencies across 70 programs making investments in broadband. This is the first Federal Broadband Funding Report to highlight trends across three fiscal years of data collected. For the first time, this report not only will release a dashboard of major findings but will also include a comprehensive view of broadband investment data reported across the last three data collections—reflecting broadband investments from FY 2020 to 2022.