Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Across North Carolina, 63 community service, nonprofit, higher education and regional organizations will get $30 million in Digital Champion grants to help North Carolinians access and use high-speed internet.

Though the challenge process for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is intended to create more accurate broadband maps, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) warns that the opposite may happen. If, during the challenge process, a local broadband provider promises they can provide speeds and services in a particular community—but are overstating their abilities or simply making false claims—the resulting broadband coverage maps will be less accurate.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Kentucky and Maine’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Kentucky and Maine to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.  

The Federal Communications Commission announced the amount of unused funds for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program that have been carried forward for funding year 2024. The FCC’s rules for the RHC Program establish a process to carry forward unused funds from past funding years for use in future funding years.

A new regulatory framework to address digital discrimination has created a chilling effect felt across the broadband industry mainly because of its unclear enforcement, according to aides to Republican Federal Communications Commissioners. “Out of fear of running afoul of the rules, companies will certainly avoid otherwise planned investments,” said Erin Boone, chief of staff and wireless advisor for Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington.

Senate Commerce Committee  Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked New Street Research Policy Advisor and Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Blair Levin to clarify remarks Levin made about the negative impact the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will have on the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Levin answered saying that BEAD does not fund the cost of deployment broadband to an unserved or underserved area; rather it funds the difference between the cost of deployment and what a provider would be willing to invest to serve that area.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) seeks comment on the petition of EMPOWER Broadband (EMPOWER) to expand its Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) designated service area in Virginia.  EMPOWER seeks to expand its ETC designated service area to become eligible to receive Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II Auction (Auction 903) support associated with certain census blocks (constituting complete census block groups (CGBs)) in Virginia, a subpart of an original CAF II support award authorized to RiverStreet Communications of Virginia.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) approved the revised performance plans of Bristol Bay Cellular Partnership (BBCP), TelAlaska Cellular, Inc.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Colorado and New Hampshire’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Colorado and New Hampshire to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.

Rural America disproportionately lacks access to high-speed broadband, an essential component of modern life. Though the issue—and many attempts to address it—go back much farther, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriated $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the gap once and for all. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Macon County, Alabama, and also talks with leaders from Jal, New Mexico, and Humboldt County, California to learn how they have overcome their challenges to bring broadband to their rural communities.