Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

On October 31, NRECA sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration expressing concern about the potential for BEAD funds being used to overbuild locations with fiber-to-the-home connections. CEO Jim Matheson wrote "As state broadband offices begin opening BEAD application windows and evaluating proposals, I write to express concern about the potential for BEAD funds being used to overbuild locations with fiber-tothe-home connections.

The Affordable Connectivity Program lapsed in May 2024. At the time the program ended, there were more than 13 million ACP recipients getting a discount on a cellphone plan and 10 million getting a discount on landline broadband.

Comcast's broadband business showed some surprising strength as the operator said it would've gained broadband subscribers in Q3 2024 if not for the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Comcast lost 87,000 broadband subs in the third quarter, comprised of a loss of 79,000 residential customers and 8,000 business customers, lowering its grand total to 31.98 million.

A bipartisan group of senators is looking into Universal Service Fund (USF) reform and, even better, there are solutions on which both parties can agree.

Cox Communications has a beef with the Rhode Island broadband office. The operator fears Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds will be used to overbuild its network in areas of the state that it said it already adequately serves.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Wisconsin, allowing the state to request access to more than $13 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Wisconsin will use the $13,248,029 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from West Virginia, allowing the state to request access to more than $9 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. West Virginia will use the $9,011,588 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today has approved and recommended for award applications from Alabama and Utah, allowing them to request access to more than $20 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

Alabama: $13,702,566

Subsidies like the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) are unaffordable and set communities up for failure, according to Eric Sasaki, the manager of major programs at L.A. County’s internal services department. To address the digital divide in Los Angeles County, Sasaki said the county has chosen another path. “We were very flexible in terms of how we approached our model,” Sasaki said.

When millions of Americans cast their ballots on Election Day, the Affordable Connectivity Program won't be up for a vote, but the results could dictate whether we see an internet subsidy of its size again. The ACP was passed in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, when Congress dedicated $14.2 billion to making the internet more affordable to low-income users.