Digital Divide

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) sees the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program as Virginia’s opportunity to finish the job of extending broadband access and also make long-term, transformational investments into broadband affordability and adoption. With the $1.48 billion in BEAD funds for Virginia, DHCD is finalizing plans to extend broadband infrastructure to the remaining unserved locations without a funded solution for connectivity and designing programs to meaningfully address broadband affordability and adoption.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month by showcasing one of its Internet for All grantees that embodies this year’s theme: "Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together." At Universidad Ana G. Méndez, Carolina Campus (UAGM-CC) principal investigator and agent of change Dr. Luis Rosario-Albert leads the effort to connect Carolina County, Puerto Rico residents to Internet services and digital skills training through the UAGCM-CC Broadband Digital Inclusion Project (BDIP).

The Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a means-tested federal program launched in January 2022 to support broadband connectivity among low-income households in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The expiration of the ACP benefit, the largest ever consumer support program for telecommunication services in U.S. history, invites a discussion about the impact of the program and what alternative policy mechanisms exist to promote equitable access to broadband.

In 2021, Congress enacted the Digital Equity Act (DEA) as part of the massive Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This marked the first time that federal lawmakers had dedicated funding specifically for digital equity programming, providing money for state broadband offices to analyze the digital equity landscape in their states and develop plans to reduce the barriers to accessing such critical service. For the first time, all 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico created digital equity plans under the planning grant program.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau announce that comments in response to their September 2024 Public Notice are due no later than November 4, 2024, and reply comments are due no later than November 18, 2024. On September 11, 2024, the FCC released a Public Notice inviting supplemental comment to refresh and expand upon the record regarding the annual reporting and certification requirements for providers of incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS).

Affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is considered a necessity in the U.S.

There is a political consensus that the United States should continue its nearly century long commitment to assuring that the tools of modern communications are universally accessible and affordable. There is also a consensus that the primary program through which we keep that commitment—the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF)—is breaking down.

Although a great deal of attention is on the 2024 elections at the national level, state elections could play a major role in how high-speed networks are rolled out, particularly in regards to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The need for reliable communications is very apparent in the state this week. Since Friday, September 27, Western North Carolina has been experiencing catastrophic flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved $172 million in the sixth round of grants for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program, which expands broadband internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

In June 2024, ConnectRI, a program of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) released the final and approved version of the state's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume II.