Federal

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)—as the agency responsible for administering the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program—provides additional guidance to inform the submission of Initial Proposals from states, territories, and the District of Columbia including the design and implementation of the BEAD Eligible Entity challenge processes.

Video streamers and other edge providers are fighting a multi-front war in Washington lately, as Congress applies pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to apply good-faith negotiation rules to over-the-top content providers, as it does traditional video providers, and as hundreds of rural broadband providers and associations call on the agency to make edge providers contribute to broadband buildout subsidies. The FCC wrestled with the issue of how and whether to regulate th

Spectrum announced the launch of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 300 homes and small businesses in Newberry County, South Carolina. Spectrum’s newly constructed fiber-optic network buildout in Newberry County is part of the company’s approximately $5 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)-related investment in unserved rural communities, which includes $1 billion won in the Federal Communications Commission’s RDOF auction.

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) generated snickers and some jeers when he tweeted his excitement about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding for Alabama. Even Twitter thought it necessary to add the context that Sen Tuberville voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that is providing this funding.

America is in the midst of a “rural renaissance,” thanks to unprecedented investment in broadband, said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association. Every dollar invested in broadband yields four dollars in benefits, said Kathryn de Wit, project director for the Broadband Access Initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts which has been closely following state broadband initiatives for several years and was instrumental in reshaping federal po

President Joe Biden has rolled out his Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) plan, which will be subsidized by $42 billion from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That is an obscene amount of money to invest in technology that will be obsolete by the time it's built.

The Federal Communications Commission is once more facing pressure to go back on its decision allowing Ligado to deploy a 5G network using L-Band spectrum in the US, after rival satellite company Iridium filed a complaint in June 2023.

As the US sets out to reach the goal of connecting everyone nationwide to broadband, Telecompetitor’s new online resource, Broadband Nation, is your guide to federal and state broadband initiatives. The Broadband Nation web pages contain a wealth of information about state broadband funding programs, including links to funding program rules, funding awards, state broadband offices and Telecompetitor news coverage. All organized by state and frequently updated. The Broadband Nation includes:

President Joe Biden likened the importance of internet access to that of public utilities like “electricity or water.” “But, but, but, but,” President Biden added, “It’s not enough to have access. You need affordability in addition to access.” Biden’s remarks nodded to a key affordability initiative that could soon run out of funds — a looming battle that could shape the outcome of his plans to bring “internet for all.” The president highlighted the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Households in rural America are overcoming significant headwinds as they sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefit at a higher rate than urban counterparts. Through April 2023, ACP enrollment data shows that: 15% of all rural households have enrolled in ACP and 14% of households in metro or urban areas have enrolled in the benefit. Even this modest difference is striking given the tensions that buffet rural residents as they consider enrolling in ACP.