Legislation

The process of creating effective, pro-consumer policies is often filled with opportunities, challenges, and ambiguity. The process has been no different for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which allowed 23 million low-income households an opportunity to reliably connect to affordable high-speed internet.

Two very real Universal Service Fund (USF) problems need to be addressed: funding and spending. The way the program is funded is inefficient, unsustainable, and regressive. Regardless of the judicial outcome, the tax that the court declared unconstitutional is both inefficient, by taxing a small, price-sensitive, declining base, and regressive, with a higher proportional burden falling on those least able to afford it. The program spends too much money on the wrong things. The High Cost Fund in particular, which accounts for about half of total spending, is outdated and wasteful.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to move forward with targeted investments in the deployment of advanced, 5G mobile wireless broadband services in rural communities.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Mississippi and South Dakota’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This approval enables Mississippi and South Dakota to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service. This action allows states to request:  

The state of Kentucky was allotted $1.1 billion to get every home hooked up to high-speed internet.

The town of McKee (KY), population 800, was ahead of the curve. The federal government is currently implementing the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, with the goal of connecting every home to high-speed internet by 2030. In McKee, the nonprofit Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative already did that—a decade ago. PRTC has about 55 employees and is based in Jackson County, where McKee is the county seat. PRTC borrowed $45 million from the federal government—in part from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a Great Recession-era stimulus bill.

Governor Tate Reeves announced that the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) recently approved nine broadband expansion projects to be funded by the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). These nine projects will provide $21.6 million of grant funding to expand internet service to approximately 12,300 households in communities across the state. Approved projects by provider are as follows:

The pandemic’s forced switch to remote instruction unlocked federal funding for K-12 schools, as the government made a temporary $190 billion jab available in the hopes that it would inoculate against the effects of COVID-19 on teaching and learning.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Michigan’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 Michigan to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Michigan was allocated over $1.5 billion to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.  

The state of Louisiana anticipates being the first to award funding in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment rural broadband funding program. The state has a timeline to award its entire $1.3 billion BEAD allocation by a target date of November 1. The state began accepting BEAD applications August 19 and providers have only until August 29 to apply for funding in the first round.