Data & Mapping

Comcast has fessed up to another mistake on the national broadband map after previously insisting that false data it gave the Federal Communications Commission was actually correct.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is the most ambitious federal initiative put into place to bridge the broadband connectivity gap for low-income Americans. The ACP launched in January 2022, serving almost 10 million households that were transitioned from the Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB). By the end of 2022, it had enrolled another 5.4 million households for a total of about 15.4 million subscribers in December 2022. Using data from the ACS 2021 1-year estimates, our estimation is that about 55.3 million households are eligible for ACP.

In parts of Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District, more than half of the state’s rural residents don’t have access to a broadband connection, said House Science Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK), who represents the district in Congress. Oklahoma is not alone. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), echoed that view at a House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing: “It’s clear traveling in my district [that] too many Americans still lack access to the internet." Even as House Republicans call for more internet access in rural areas, their counterparts in the Senate are holding up the confirmation o

Representatives Troy Balderson (R-OH), Susie Lee (D-NV), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced bipartisan legislation to expand and improve access to telehealth services for all Americans. The "Knowing the Efficiency and Efficacy of Permanent (KEEP) Telehealth Options Act" requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) to each conduct a report and issue recommendations on telehealth.

Roger Timmerman, CEO of Utopia Fiber, called out the "army" of lobbyists that are keeping broadband speed standards down in the US. "The problem is we've got an $8 million a week lobbying effort from big telecom, and so anytime the federal government – or even now at the state level – when any of them try to raise that bar for the standard of what consumers need for broadband, there's an army of lobbying that goes up and opposes that.

Evan Feinman, director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, said states have the opportunity to correct some of the deficiencies of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map by running their own challenge process. He noted, for example, that “communities will be able to bring forward large numbers of speed tests” – a move that could address concerns about the accuracy of the availability data that service providers are reporting.

The Federal Communications Commission, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) (collectively, the Agencies) entered into an interagency agreement to share information and coordinate for the distribution of funds for broadband deployment. The FCC’s experience with the Interagency Agreement, as well as the record, demonstrate that the Interagency Agreement has significantly facilitated efficient use of federal funds for broadband deployment.

Peter Dresslar, a broadband and digital equity consultant for both the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and American Samoa, is of two minds. While he knows that the Federal Communications Commission is working as hard as it can to deliver accurate broadband maps to the country, some of the oversights in the mapping of the Pacific Territories have been darkly comic.

The Illinois Office of Broadband and the University of Illinois System announced the launch of the Connect Illinois Broadband and Digital Equity Planning Initiative. This year-long local coordination, engagement, and planning project will enable the state to receive the historic federal Digital Equity (DE) and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funds in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The initiative will leverage growing capacity within the Illinois Broadband Lab, which leverages $12.5 million in state and federal funding to support and sustain current programming

Here is an overview of the major federal funding vehicles for broadband that are helping to fuel the broadband investment cycle and are aimed at closing the digital divide so that all Americans have access to high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband: