Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

The end of the Affordable Care Program (ACP) in May left a significant number of people at risk of losing access to broadband. Empowerus is trying to help soften the blow with a unique set of benefits that they believe constitute a replacement for the ACP. Empowerus and the Secure Card Association of America (SCAA) are partnering to provide a bundle of benefits to eligible households. Empowerus participants can opt for several benefits, including:

On July 9, the House Commerce Committee's Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget for the Federal Communications Commission. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel testified before the subcommittee along with fellow commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks, Nathan Simington, and Anna Gomez.

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) President Andrew Butcher isn’t hyper-focused on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and the $272 million that Maine will be receiving. “Unfortunately, I think it’s a common misnomer that, once you deploy BEAD, the problem is solved,” Butcher said. The MCA was founded and structured largely based on lessons from Maine’s successful 2020 state bond campaign and 2021 bid for $28 million from National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Infrastructure Program to support six community-driven, regional-scale, publ

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau extended, for an additional year, the waiver pausing both the phase-out of Lifeline support for voice-only services and the increase in Lifeline minimum service standards for mobile broadband data capacity.

A forthcoming report from the Benton Institute on Broadband & Society examines the impact of the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) on low-income Americans and the affordability of home broadband service. The main findings from the survey are: 

Californians will work to make broadband maps as accurate as possible via a challenge process running from July 8 through Aug. 5. The final maps will determine if the most in need will get internet infrastructure into their homes. But advocates say the internet access maps are highly inaccurate. Only local and tribal governments, internet service providers, and advocacy groups can demand changes to the map.

AT&T CEO John Stankey said the most critical issue facing the telecommunications industry is the effective implementation of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. To close the digital divide, Stankey said, additional policies should be created to ensure that all BEAD Program funds (“every dollar of taxpayer money”) are used to expand access to broadband as quickly as possible.

NATOA, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) recently made Community Broadband and Digital Equity Awards to three communities and recognized the strides the cities have made in tackling the digital divide.

This is the third in a three-part series about the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program announcement from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Generations before us built infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewer systems to serve everyone in America.