Federal Communications Commission
FCC Provides Additional Information Concerning Affordable Connectivity Program Pilot Programs
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau provided additional information concerning the Your Home, Your Internet Pilot Program and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Navigator Pilot Program, including guidance to assist prospective applicants in preparing to apply for participation in one or both Pilot Programs. The FCC expects to open the Pilot Programs’ application window, and expects the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau to release the Notice of Funding Opportunity (or NOFO) for Pilot Program funding, in November 2022.
Airlines start asking for permanent changes to C-band 5G
The airline industry has begun petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to make permanent changes to the operation of some 5G networks around airports. At the heart of the issue are 5G transmissions near airports in the C-band spectrum.
Verizon expands free Home Internet program to help bridge digital divide
Verizon announced that select 5G Home and LTE Home Internet services are available for free to qualifying households through the new Verizon Forward Program.
FCC Provides Tentative Agenda for October Open Meeting
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:
Treasury to Give Over $435 Million in American Rescue Plan Funds to Increase Access to Affordable, High-Speed Internet
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.
Federal Communications Commission To Give Over $96 Million in Emergency Connectivity Funding
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.
Sens Baldwin, Thune Lead a Dozen Bipartisan Colleagues in Pushing the FCC to Increase Speed and Expand Access to Broadband
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
Broadband’s rural reach: How electric co-ops reduce the digital divide
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.
Resounding Silence: The Need for Local Insights in Federal Broadband Policymaking
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:
Broadband restoration efforts in Florida hindered by power outages, flooding
Wireline operators are battling to bring residents in Florida back online as quickly as possible in the wake of Hurricane Ian, but conditions on the ground are making it hard to get to all the sites in need of repair. According to Federal Communications Commission data, the storm knocked out wireline service for nearly 526,000 people after it made landfall on September 28.