Legislation

Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program Report

In the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program to reimburse providers of advanced communications services for costs incurred to remove, replace, and dispose of communications equipment and services in their networks that pose a national security risk. As part of the FCC’s obligations under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau submits this report on: (1) the implementation of the Reimburs

Tennessee Broadband Network Gets $53.5 Million in State Funding

A group of Tennessee broadband providers has launched projects that received $53.5 million in state broadband funding. The group, known as Project UNITE, is spearheaded by local provider United Communications. The projects will make high-speed broadband — fiber or wireless — available to more than 14,000 underserved locations in Middle Tennessee.

Running Fiber-Optic Cable to Rural Communities Is Part of Maine’s Ambitious Broadband Plan

Governor Janet Mills (D-ME) has pledged that everyone in the state who wants high-speed internet will be able to get it by the end of 2024. Laying fiber cable to remote regions is the first phase of making good on that promise. Maine’s 2020 Broadband Plan estimated the total cost to build out 17,502 miles of fiber-optic or coax cable to currently unserved areas would be at least $600 million.

As Infrastructure Money Lands, the Job Dividends Begin

There's a wave of jobs that will result from $1.2 trillion in direct government spending from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Biden Broadband Billions Likely in House GOP's Oversight Sights

With Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally getting enough votes to be elected Speaker of the House and that body cleared for the takeoff of Republican committee leadership, look for that leadership to launch Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) oversight hearings.

Blair Levin on why the USF is a ticking time bomb

The year 2023 could prove to be a volatile year for the Federal Communications Commission as it wrestles with a number of lawsuits concerning its Universal Service Fund (USF) program.

Will the FCC Maps Get Better?

It is unfortunate timing that the new Federal Communications Commission broadband map was issued in the middle of the process of trying to determine the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant funding. Congress said that the amount of funding that will go to each state must be based upon the FCC map – and the first draft is clearly flawed. However, assuming that that grant funding question gets resolved somehow, there remains the bigger issue of whether the new FCC map will ever accurately portray broadband availability.

American Rescue Plan Act Will Help Connect Illinois

As part of his $45 billion Rebuild Illinois investment strategy, Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) launched a statewide initiative, Connect Illinois, in August 2019 to expand broadband access across the entire state.

Nevada Asks FCC to Reconsider ‘Deeply Flawed’ Broadband Maps

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NM) and Jacky Rosen (D-NM) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking the body to reconsider maps drafted for the Silver State's broadband Internet connectivity, calling the drafts "deeply flawed" and warning that such maps could perpetuate the digital divide among the state's urban and rural areas.

Tech legislation is shifting from antitrust focus to broadband, cybersecurity

Affordable broadband, cybersecurity in the development of healthcare systems, and technology competition with China head the to-do list in 2023, said Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA). Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a former computer programmer, hammered home the importance of cybersecurity with broadband, and its impact on telemedicine and remote work. She is pushing legislation that would require the Food and Drug Administration to review and update medical device cybersecurity guidelines to protect them from hacking and cyber-attacks.