Level of Government

Devon Braunstein is taking the helm as Deputy Director of the Illinois Office of Broadband at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Matt Schmit is poised to join the Illinois Broadband Lab at the University of Illinois System as Senior Director for Broadband.

The Washington State Public Works Board (PWB) recently approved $21 million in critical infrastructure projects in 10 communities for broadband construction, pre-construction, and emergency funding. Taking action at its May 3, 2024 business meeting, the PWB approved $20 million to expand broadband access in unserved communities, $550,000 for two pre-construction projects, and two emergency infrastructure projects for $514,500.

A blueprint for cities and counties to expand Internet access by leveraging a municipally-enabled, middle-mile fiber backbone without bearing the full burden of infrastructure costs. The approach could help bridge the persistent digital divide affecting numerous communities nationwide. Drawing on case studies from Fort Worth and Lake Cities (TX), and Joplin (MO) Middle Mile as a Catalyst highlights the efficacy of following this approach.

Back in the pandemic depths of December 2020, when so many Americans were working, learning and performing essential daily tasks online, the Federal Communications Commission launched an emergency program to help low-income people connect to high-speed internet with a $50-per-month subsidy. That was extended with the Affordable Connectivity Program, which has provided $30 a month for internet service.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that up to $420 million in funding will be made available to build the radio equipment needed to advance open network adoption in the US and abroad. This is the second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund and this NOFO aims to drive commercialization and innovation in open radio units.

Two concrete examples of rapidly growing broadband demand are schools and internet service provider (ISP) backhaul. A decade ago, there was a scramble to get gigabit broadband access to schools. Because of the use of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) E-rate money, a lot of schools across the country got connected to fiber and were able to buy faster broadband. The original goal was to get a gigabit connection to each school, and almost every school in many states met that goal.

I write [to the Secretary of Defense] regarding my concern about a new report that black market middlemen “have proliferated in recent months to buy [Starlink] user terminals and ship them to Russian forces,” illustrating that, “a shadowy supply chain exists for Starlink hardware that has fed backroom deals in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United Arab Emirates, putting thousands of the …devices into the hands of some American adversaries and accused war criminals.” According to the report, this ongoing evasion of US sanctions and export controls has “eroded a battlefield advantage once en

American and Chinese diplomats plan to meet to begin what amounts to the first, tentative arms control talks over the use of artificial intelligence. The talks in Geneva are an attempt to find some common ground on how A.I. will be used and in which situations it could be banned—for example, in the command and control of each country’s nuclear arsenals.

Windstream, Colquitt Electric Membership Cooperative (EMC) and Lowndes County (GA), are teaming up on a $39 million public-private partnership to bring broadband to about 16,000 locations in the county. Windstream is contributing about $17.6 million. The other $21.7 million is funded through the Georgia State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the county. Windstream will handle cost overruns. The project, which will provide multi-gigabit service to users, will include 806 miles of fiber.

The Affordable Connectivity Program has 23 million participants nationwide—including 1.9 million households in New York State and nearly 1 million households in New York City. As broadband access becomes increasingly essential for connecting with education, employment, and services—and New Yorkers grapple with a widespread affordability crisis—New York can’t afford to reverse course on making broadband more affordable. Congress still has time to act in May to reauthorize funding for the ACP and New York’s congressional delegation should lead the charge.