Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area
Rural Commenters Claim Flaws in FWA Providers’ Broadband Data; WISPA Responds
The broadband availability data that mobile and fixed wireless providers report to the Federal Communications Commission is flawed, according to several rural broadband organizations.
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Protecting Americans From Hidden FCC Tax Hikes
The Federal Communications Commission is poised to raise taxes through its Universal Service Fund—a regressive, hidden tax on consumers' phone bills that funds a series of unaccountable, bloated internet subsidy programs. Rather than giving the FCC carte blanche to expand its balance sheet, Congress must reform the USF's structural problems, reevaluate its component programs, and get the FCC's spending under control. Here is my plan to do that.
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FCC Seeks Comment on Letter Seeking RDOF and CAF II Amnesty From 69 ISPs, Trade Associations, State and Local Officials, School Districts, Unions and Civil Organizations
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks comment on a letter from 69 Internet Service Providers, Trade Associations, State and Local Officials, School Districts, Unions, and Civil Society Organizations [including the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society].
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Maine Connectivity Resource Exchange
The Maine Connectivity Resource Exchange is Maine Connectivity Authority's home to resources and knowledge to support, enable, and empower municipal and Tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, subgrantees, and the public on all aspects of the broadband ecosystem in Maine. The first module is in support of the upcoming BEAD State-Led Challenge Process. This module contains 7 units that will work to guide our partners through this several months-long process.
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill
The Fiscal Year 2024 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act provides a total of $68.537 billion in discretionary funding. The bill provides $10.8 billion for the Department of Commerce.
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Challenges Industry Stakeholders Face with Broadband Deployment
The Department of Commerce's Inspector General asked industry stakeholders to identify challenges they are facing with broadband programmatic deployment to unserved and underserved locations.
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Governor Walz Announces $53 Million to Expand Broadband to 8,900 Minnesota Homes and Businesses
Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) announced over $50 million in grants to expand broadband access to an estimated 8,900 homes and businesses throughout Minnesota. Twenty four broadband expansion projects will receive grants from the Department of Employment and Economic Development's (DEED) Office of Broadband Development, helping deploy new broadband infrastructure around Minnesota.
Wyoming Broadband Manager Doesn’t Expect to Fund Much Fiber
Elaina Zempel, manager of the Wyoming broadband office, laments that the office didn’t have more funds to distribute in its recent Capital Projects Fund (CPF) program, which awarded funding to network operators to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to 15,000 unserved and underserved locations. Fortunately, NTIA allocated $347.9 million in rural broadband funding to Wyoming for the BEAD rural broadband funding program, so there is still an opportunity to fund many of the failed requests from Wyoming’s
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For the First Time, All States will have a Plan to Address Digital Equity
All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico have submitted their Digital Equity Plans to NTIA for acceptance. This is a milestone moment in closing the digital divide. For the first time in our nation’s history, each state will have a plan to connect communities with the resources they need to achieve digital equity. That’s never been true before, and it’s an exciting indicator of how far we’ve come as a nation in acknowledging and addressing this challenge.
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Merit Network Inc. Receives USDA Grant to expand high-speed internet access for rural Michigan
Merit Network is the recipient of a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant for $997,000 to develop a connectivity and digital equity strategy to promote the expansion of high-speed internet in underserved rural Michigan communities. According to the USDA website, “Under the Broadband Technical Assistance Program, USDA is providing $9.7 million to help 24 organizations deliver or receive technical assistance to expand high-speed internet access for people in rural and Tribal communities across 17 states.