Federal

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $7 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital tools and services to support students in communities across the country. The funding commitment supports applications from the third application window, benefitting approximately 50,000 students nationwide, including students in California, Colorado, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The Department of the Treasury approved $158 million in federal funds for broadband infrastructure and multi-purpose community facility projects in Puerto Rico under the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Puerto Rico is approved to receive $85.7 million to improve the resiliency, reliability, and speed of the island’s high-speed inte

Kentucky is investing a record $386 million to expand access in 46 counties, bringing high-speed internet access to more than 42,600 homes and businesses for the first time. The funding will allow providers to run fiber to each location.

The Senate working group tasked with assessing the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund (USF) collected comments on what it should focus on when considering potential reforms for the program. The USF funding mechanism was developed at a time when home phone service was the predominant method of communication.

Internet consumers benefitting from the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) are experiencing significant improvement in education and employment opportunities, according to the results of a survey of Bluepeak Internet customers conducted in August 2023. The survey results indicate subscribers in ACP households were able to find jobs, apply for financial aid or college, do homework, and participate in distance learning.

Highline completed the construction of “The Thumb” service area, now offering fiber broadband to over 8,000 households in Sanilac, Tuscola, Lapeer, and St. Clair (MI) counties. Highline’s 823-mile fiber optic network was built with a combination of private investment backed by ITC Capital Partners and the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) grant program. While representing 14% of Highline’s total RDOF location commitment, Highline was able to complete this geographic portion of the network in two years rather than by the end of 2027.

US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made stops in Kansas and Missouri as part of a multi-state tour, labeling internet access “the new pencil” as he discussed the government’s efforts to expand broadband connectivity. While speaking to superintendents and education leaders in Kansas, he declared lack of access the “equity issue of our moment.” Secretary Cardona was joined by Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to discuss the “digital divide,” with school superintendents and education leaders from corporate and nonprofit companies.

Twenty-five years ago, when I headed up the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), my colleagues and I identified what has come to be known as the digital divide while researching the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of internet access. Back then, we never dreamed that the US government would one day commit $42 billion dollars in the form of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the divide. Yet, the Biden administration and Congress have provided the focus and the funds we need to get every American online.

The Congressional directive in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure that there be specific, predictable, and sufficient Federal and State mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service. The dilemma is that the source of Universal Service Fund (USF) programs is end user (i.e. retail) revenues from international and interstate wireline and mobile services, as well as revenue from providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.

A tour of the remaining United States Digital Divide from a home in Quincy (CA) to an unserved farm in Newton (NC) to a home in Troy (AL).  These locations (and more) are from a random sample of BEAD-eligible unserved and underserved locations that are not part of the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) or Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) programs.