Data & Mapping

Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, February 17, 2021:

Probably like you, I made sure to make time to watch the Inauguration on January 20. Whenever a President is sworn in, his Inauguration speech sets the tone for his entire Administration.

“From my first day as Chairman, the FCC’s top priority has been closing the digital divide. It’s heartening to see these numbers, which demonstrate that we’ve been delivering results for the American people,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “In just three years, the number of American consumers living in areas without access to fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps has been nearly cut in half. I’ve personally met some of these consumers, from Mandan, North Dakota to Ethete, Wyoming.

The Federal Communications Commission released its annual Broadband Deployment Report. The gap between urban and rural Americans with access to 25/3 Mbps fixed broadband service fell from 30 percentage points at the end of 2016 to 16 points at the end of 2019. Additionally, more than three-quarters of those Americans in areas newly served in 2019 (nearly 3.7 million) live in rural areas, bringing the number of rural Americans in areas served by at least 25/3 Mbps broadband service to nearly 83%, up 15 points since 2016.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted additional rules for the Digital Opportunity Data Collection to help ensure that the FCC collects precise and accurate broadband deployment data in its mission to close the digital divide. The new rules specify which fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service providers are required to report availability and/or coverage data, and adopt requirements for reporting speed and latency for fixed technologies.

With great drama, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 became law on December 27, 2021. The $2.3 trillion COVID relief and government spending bill extended unemployment benefits and ensured the government can keep running. The $900 billion COVID relief provision includes over $7 billion to help improve connectivity in the U.S.

Four specific steps government, with industry’s cooperation, can take to make availability and affordability a reality for every American:

Looking ahead, the biggest challenge facing the long-term health of the FCC’s universal service programs is the way they are funded. We are in a unique position to solve this challenge. Here’s how. Back when I was a Commissioner in 2016, I proposed that Congress should authorize a dividend from the sale of wireless spectrum that would go toward closing the digital divide. Whenever the FCC auctioned spectrum for flexible use, we would set aside 10% of the net auction proceeds for the deployment of broadband in unserved communities. I thought it was a good idea then.

Among the Department of Commerce's accomplishments in 2020:

Now is time for the Federal Communications Commission to restructure its fixed broadband definitions so that they better reflect consumer demand and market realities and are more resilient to the accelerating pace of technological change. In addition, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development (Broadband Commission) should lead an effort to develop globally-harmonized and future-proof broadband definitions, that do not continually relegate people in some countries to second class connectivity.