Level of Government

The US Department of the Treasury approved broadband projects in two additional states under the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF): Colorado and New Mexico. Together, these states will use their funding to connect nearly 60,000 homes and businesses to affordable, high-speed internet.

Clearwave Fiber’s installation of ultra-fast, state-of-the-art, all-Fiber Internet network is nearly complete in Lansing, Kansas, enabling over 3,100 locations for fiber services. This latest launch for the Savannah-based operation marks a continuation of almost 6,000 route miles of Fiber in the Southeast and Midwest.

Fujitsu Network Communications is partnering with Accelecom to connect businesses throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky with a high-speed fiber broadband network. Accelecom leverages dark fiber from the KentuckyWired middle mile network, which connects all 120 counties and provides a commercial access to 100G symmetrical data services. Kentucky is the first US state to build an open-access, fiber optic network reaching every county.

Representatives Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), joined by Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Drew Ferguson (R-GA), authored and introduced H.R. 9449, The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act, bipartisan legislation to amend the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that funding directed for the implementation of broadband from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will not be considered taxable income. This bill was introduced in the Senate by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and joined by Sens.

Rep Andrew Clyde (R-GA) led 10 of his colleagues in introducing the Free Speech Defense Act to eliminate government-by-proxy censorship. The legislation:

There is a provision in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant rules that says that if no broadband provider seeks funding in an unserved or underserved area, a state broadband office may engage with providers to find somebody willing to serve such areas. In order to make this work, states are allowed to offer additional inducements, such as providing additional state matching funds for the grant areas.

The Federal Communications Commission's new broadband maps give us a view of what the broadband competition situation is in the United States. We want to answer the question of how many options a household has for broadband service. Using the new maps, and a 100 Mbps download and 20 upload throughput as the threshold for acceptable broadband, 37% of households have access to one offering, 34% have access to two offerings, and 18% have access to three or more offerings. This is slightly more concentration than was present in the most recent Form 477 data.

The Federal Communications Commission committed nearly $54 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) and Rebecca Cameron Valcq, Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), to open the next round of funding opportunities through the Broadband Expansion Grant Program. The application period runs from December 7, 2022 and will end on February 22, 2023. The broadband expansion grant program connects people and businesses to broadband and the economic, health, and educational opportunities that high-speed internet access unlocks. State and federal investments directed by Gov.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is committing $5,781,987.00 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to Puerto Rico through the territory's first “Internet for All” grants. The grant is for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs, as well as for planning for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the territory. Puerto Rico will receive $5 million to support the following: