Infrastructure

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced the sixth round of recommended awardees, including three Tribes, for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program. This program aims to expand internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

Comcast is expanding its Xfinity fiber network to nearly 73,000 additional homes and businesses in Fairfield County (CT). The fiber network expansion will include Xfinity Internet and Xfinity Mobile as well as Comcast Business Internet and Comcast Business Mobile. In addition to its fiber build-out, over the last three years Comcast has provided $12.4 million in cash and in-kind charitable contributions to support 195 nonprofits across Connecticut. 

There are a lot of folks who think there will be substantial Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) spending in 2025. I don’t want to burst bubbles, but I just can’t see that happening. Like every other part of the BEAD process, there are delays coming that are going to drive folks crazy.

In May, the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program officially ran out of money, leaving 23 million households with internet bills that were $30 to $75 higher than the month before. That's if they decided to hang on to their internet service at all: 13% of ACP subscribers, or roughly 3 million households, said that after the program ended they planned to cancel service, according to a Benton Institute survey

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Guam’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 Guam to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Guam was allocated over $156 million to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.  

The Federal Communications Commission issued notices of Citation and Order to eleven broadband providers for failure to file mandatory broadband data. The Broadband DATA Act requires the Commission to collect broadband service availability data twice per year for use in creating coverage maps. The companies that received citations had missed two or more occasions to submit data. The companies are:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for funding that will help rural businesses create and save jobs in their communities. USDA is making loans and grants available under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) programs for fiscal year 2025. Through the programs, USDA provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they then provide to local businesses for projects to create and retain employment in rural areas.

Frontier received $6.5 million in Connect Illinois grant funding to expand high-speed fiber broadband service in rural Knox County. The grant from the Illinois Office of Broadband, along with $1.1 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding committed by the Knox County Board, will accelerate our expansion of our fiber-optic network in the county. With this grant, we will bring fast, reliable connectivity to homes and businesses in rural Knox County, boosting economic and educational opportunities for the county.

After Louisiana was the first state to have its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding released in late 2023, it was several months before any other states had their funding released. It looked like a sure bet that Louisiana would be the first to make BEAD awards—and, according to Louisiana Broadband Director Veneeth Iyengar, that’s still the case. Montana recently became the first state to begin accepting BEAD applications. Louisiana began accepting applications a few days later, on August 19.

Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH), Lt. Governor Jon Husted (R-OH), and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced a state investment of $94.5 million that will provide affordable, high-speed internet access to more than 35,000 households across the state. As part of the second round of the Ohio Residential Broadband Expansion Grant (ORBEG) program, the Broadband Expansion Authority authorized BroadbandOhio to provide funding to two internet service providers, Time Warner Cable Midwest and Brightspeed, for six projects serving 23 counties.