Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

The cable industry's policy people are working through a smorgasbord of issues, including surprise litigation tied to the Universal Service Fund, a temporary stay on the return of network neutrality rules, tricky nuances tied to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, and even the recent temporary injunction slapped on Venu, a new sports streaming service. Yet another challenge: a US Supreme Court decision in June that 

With Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding, the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) will deploy broadband infrastructure to un-connected, unserved, underserved, and community anchor institution (CAI) locations throughout the state. Maine’s long-term broadband deployment goals are established by statute and include: "Secure, affordable, reliable, competitive and sustainable forward-looking advanced communications technology infrastructure that can meet current and future needs." Cost is a significant barrier to broadband adoption for many Mainers.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks joined Rep Marc Veasey (D-TX) at Lady Bird Johnson Middle School to discuss the important role of student connectivity and the FCC’s efforts to expand internet access. Established in 1996, the FCC’S E-Rate program helps schools and libraries to obtain broadband. The FCC has recently taken steps to modernize this program to ensure it addresses the changing connectivity needs of students.

Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry (R-LA) announced the launch of the GUMBO 2.0 program. This program allows for the distribution of $1.355 billion in funding to support broadband access throughout the state. This initiative will expand broadband access to 140,000 locations—including 100,000 homes (60,000 of which are in rural parishes), 35,000 businesses, and 4,000 community anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and law enforcement agencies.

Montana’s broadband efforts took a leap forward when the state became first in the nation to open its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program application portal. “We’ve been working behind the scenes to be ready,” said Misty Ann Giles, Director of the Department of Administration and Chief Operating Officer for the state of Montana. And Montana was ready.

The digital divide in Illinois remains wide and deep. At least 2.9 million individuals in 1.3 million households (roughly 28 percent) do not have a subscription to high-speed internet. This gap is driven by gaps in infrastructure availability, affordability of subscriptions or devices, and/or limited digital skills. The state of Illinois is committed to changing this picture. Digital equity requires affordable broadband.

Will a big flurry of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants encounter any big bottlenecks that will slow down the implementation of grant construction? My response is yes, but maybe not the bottlenecks most people expect. I expect some of the following:

Arizona's economic and cultural identity has long been anchored by the "5 C's": Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, and Climate. The next chapter of Arizona’s story adds a "6th C"—Connectivity. This new cornerstone represents the state's commitment to expand universal broadband internet access for all Arizonans. The Arizona Commerce Authority aims to bridge the digital divide and foster a more connected, inclusive, and prosperous Arizona.

Broadband programs included in the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could add $146 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new analysis from Keynesian Technology, which researches the impact of Keynesian economics on the technology industry.

According to the American Community Survey, 94.1 percent of Maryland residents have a home internet subscription of some kind which—while outperforming the national rate by 3.8 percentage points—still indicates that a sizable number of Maryland households are disconnected from the internet at home.