Federal

Henderson County (TX) Commissioners approved an agreement with Brightspeed LLC to enhance broadband services within the county. The project will combine $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds with other state money to connect all of Henderson County to high-speed broadband internet when the projects are completed. Ultimately, the projects are expected to total $8 million and combine federal and state money. Brightspeed will deliver 114.7 miles of fiber and connect nearly 5,000 locations within Henderson County.

As required by the Presidential Memorandum titled Modernizing United States Spectrum Policy and Establishing a National Spectrum Strategy, the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), prepared this National Spectrum Strategy to both promote private-sector innovation and further the missions of federal departments and agencies, submitting it to the President through the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Director of the Office

The Federal Communication Commission’s new Democratic majority is up and running and firing in all directions. The FCC plans to vote on a proposed “digital discrimination” rule. In the name of equity, Democratic Commissioners will make internet service worse. The agency will hold broadband providers liable for actions or “omissions” that result in a disparate impact on an identity group.

Healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients are increasingly relying on telehealth services (healthcare provision over the internet) to provide and seek care. It turns internet access disparities into a health equity concern, i.e., poor internet access can contribute to poor health. In response, two Federal Communications Commission programs in the United States—Healthcare Connect Fund and the Telecom Program—subsidize internet access for HCPs in rural or remote areas.

Governor Roy Cooper (D-NC) launched North Carolina’s Digital Champion Grant program, which will help North Carolinians afford high-speed internet, obtain digital devices, and access digital literacy resources.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) released the state's draft Digital Equity Plan with one goal in mind: to fulfill Oklahoma's Digital Promise. That promise, more specifically, is to ensure all Oklahomans can access and use affordable internet to advance health care, education, business, agriculture, public safety, and community development.

I write regarding reports from my home state—the commonwealth of Pennsylvania—of payment issues with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). As my colleagues and I work to find long-term funding solutions for ACP, both the FCC and companies that administer and benefit from ACP must do right by Americans who rely on the it. I’ve heard from constituents across the commonwealth that some of these households have encountered issues receiving their benefits. Specifically, some service providers are requiring that users show proof of one month of service before qualifying for the discount.

Two years ago, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—a once-in-a-generation investment in America’s infrastructure and competitiveness. Since then, the Biden-Harris Administration has been breaking ground on projects to rebuild our roads and bridges, deliver clean and safe water, clean up legacy pollution, expand access to high-speed internet, and build a clean energy economy.

Officials at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a branch of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), have overhauled how the federal government assesses the costs and benefits of regulation and some government spending programs, clearing a path for more aggressive efforts to fight climate change and help the poor. OIRA finalized a new and complicated set of rules that would change how federal agencies tally and weigh the potential value and harm of new regulations related to climate change, taxation, the distribution of disaster relief assistance, and mor

On April 25, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled “Broadband Speed: FCC Should Improve its Communication of Advanced Telecommunications Capability Assessments.” The report examines the extent to which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has communicated how it reviews its minimum fixed-broadband speed benchmark, and how it determines whether to update the benchmark, and the extent to which the minimum speed requirements of selected federal and state broadband programs differ from the FCC’s benchmark, and stakeholders’ views on any implications