Federal Agency

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 27, 2022. The Commission will consider:

The US Department of the Treasury approved broadband projects in an additional group of three states under the American Rescue Plan’s (ARPA) Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF): Massachusetts, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Together, these states will use their funding to connect more than 91,000 homes and businesses to affordable, high-speed internet. A key priority of the CPF program is to make funding available for reliable, affordable broadband infrastructure.

Our analysis shows affordability as a driving factor around why some households continue to remain offline, confirming that the cost of service is an essential part of increasing Internet adoption. We asked households not using the Internet from home: “At what monthly price if any, would your household buy home Internet service?” Answers to the new question showed that the mean price offline households wanted to pay was approximately $10 per month, though it’s worth noting that three in four households gave $0 or “none” as their answer. Interestingly, households citing expense as their main

The Federal Communications Commission is committing $96 million in new funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country. The funding will support applications for broadband service and connected devices to students across the country, especially those living in states impacted by Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, including Florida, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina. Nearly $53 million will benefit students, teachers, and library patrons living in areas impacted by recent hurricanes.

US Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Thune (R-SD) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in pushing Federal Communications Commission to take action to increase broadband speed requirements in its existing Universal Service Fund programs so that Americans, particularly in rural and underserved areas, have access to the download and upload speeds necessary to participate in telehealth, telework, and remote learning. The FCC is considering proposals to update two programs – the Alternative Connect American Cost Model (ACAM) and Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF-BLS) – that h

According to Internet Use Survey Data, which tracks disparities around Internet adoption,  a majority – 58% – of the 24 million offline households express no interest or need to be online. There is also a large proportion who say they can’t afford home Internet service (18%).  Regardless of their stated reasons for non-use, offline households have significantly lower incomes than their online counterparts.

Electric co-ops are stepping up to close the digital divide. An effort in Virginia has connected 30,000 rural residents to the internet through fiber since 2017 and plans to hook up another 200,000 in the next three to five years. The work is being driven by the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Broadband Cooperatives, which was established to provide a “singular, unifying voice for cooperative broadband interests.” Co-operatives are not driven by profits.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded five grants as part of the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC).

The Nobles County (MN) Board of Commissioners boosted a local “Fiber to Home” broadband effort by reaffirming its $2 million commitment and kicking in another $2 million after a grant application for US Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding was denied. Mark Loosbrock, secretary and treasurer of Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company which is spearheading the project, explained that in applying for the grant, engineers and consultants used maps to assess the area already served by broadband, and given that information believed they would be given a high number of points on the grant’s scor

In the past, the Federal Communication Commission has made sweeping changes that have impacted communities without local input. The federal government is now poised to do the same again. This paper examines the public comment process at the FCC and whether municipal filers ultimately influence the Commission’s decisions. This paper suggests that the FCC must improve its community outreach efforts, specifically through the following suggestions: