Federal

The latest round of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) ReConnect rural broadband funding program received three times as many applications as there is funding for, said Andy Berke, administrator of USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, which is responsible for awarding the funding. Round 4, the latest USDA ReConnect round, has a budget of $1.15 billion to cover some of the costs of deploying service to unserved or underserved rural areas. USDA began accepting applications for funding in early September.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is awarding Idaho its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Idaho is receiving $4,940,793.09 in funding to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet throughout the state. Idaho will receive $4,376,087.09 to fund the following:

On November 10, the Federal Communications Commission released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), a formal announcement of the availability of grant funds to develop innovative outreach strategies to reach historically underserved and unserved communities, raise awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and help eligible individuals enroll in the program. Here are highlights of the NOFO for organizations that are already doing ACP outreach or for those who may be considering it.

During a closed-door session with lawmakers, FBI Director Christopher Wray was asked whether the bureau had ever purchased and used Pegasus, the hacking tool that penetrates mobile phones and extracts their contents. Director Wray acknowledged that the FBI had bought a license for Pegasus, but only for research and development.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau, in conjunction with the Office of Economics and Analytics, authorized 497 winning Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) bids. This is the fifteenth authorization of RDOF bids from the FCC. The full list of authorized bids can be found here. Winning bids were approved in Arizona (California Internet, L.P. dba GeoLinks), Nevada (California Internet, L.P. dba GeoLinks), and Virginia (Shenandoah Cable Television).

The Federal Communications Commission, which has responsibility for protecting Americans from potential radiation hazards generated by wireless transmitters and cellphones, has repeatedly sided with the telecommunications industry in denying the possibility of virtually any human harm.

The Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program (ACP Outreach Grant Program) is comprised of four complementary grant programs: 1) National Competitive Outreach Program (NCOP),  2) Tribal Competitive Outreach Program (TCOP),  3) Your Home, Your Internet (YHYI) Outreach Grants, and 4) Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Navigator Pilot Program (NPP) Outreach Grants.

To help consumers better understand broadband options, Congress has mandated that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revamp its concept of broadband labels, with the goal of providing more detailed info about competitive offerings from different providers. The idea is that providers use these templates to share information like the base monthly cost of broadband, activation fees, optional monthly charges, discounts, and other details regarding performance and reliability with consumers.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration expects to communicate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment allocation levels to eligible entities by June 30, 2023. The Biden-Harris Administration is required by law to allocate Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funds according to a formula derived from the map data. NTIA coordinates closely with the FCC to ensure that this data is accurate and reliable and will continue to do so. NTIA’s efforts to date include:  

The Federal Communications Commission will unveil a pre-production draft of new broadband maps on November 18, 2022. This version is the first release of the map required by the Broadband DATA Act and will begin an ongoing, iterative process that will improve the data submitted by providers by incorporating challenges from individuals and other stakeholders. Broadband availability will be based on data submitted by providers during the initial Broadband Data Collection filing window and will reflect services available as of June 30, 2022.