Level of Government

Change is seldom easy. Yet for government and public sector executives, the need to modernize has never been greater, as there is a growing digital divide between constituent expectations and what many governments can offer. As government and public sector agencies continue on their digital transformation journey, here are five strategies to adopt moving forward: 

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is now accepting applications for multiple federally funded grant programs to assist in the state’s broadband and digital equity planning efforts. In December 2022, Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) and the PSC announced the state will receive nearly $6 million to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet throughout the state.

Not too long ago, the Federal Communications Commission released updates to its national broadband maps. For years, the FCC’s maps have been criticized for inaccuracies. That prompted state entities to collect their own broadband data, including the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

The Federal Communications Commission is encouraging state and local governments and broadband providers to file bulk challenges to the commission’s broadband serviceable location database by March 15, 2023.

The Federal Communications Commission approved a number of proposals for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive support, reduce delays in funding commitments, and improve the overall efficiency of the program. Reliable high-speed connectivity is critical for rural healthcare providers to serve patients in rural areas that often have limited resources, fewer doctors, and higher rates for broadband and telecommunications services than urban areas.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded $500,000 to the Passamaquoddy at Pleasant Point as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP).  With funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), this grant from the Internet for All initiative will support affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet access for 243 Passamaquoddy Tribal households and community anchor institutions, providing qualifying high-speed Internet service for 60 months.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded 12 grants as part of the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC). These grants, totaling more than $33.5 million, will expand community technology hubs, upgrade classroom technology, and increase digital literacy skills at 12 minority-serving colleges and universities in 10 states. The awardees are as follows:

I understand why folks are confused about the Federal Communications Commission's maps, because there are several major mapping timelines and issues progressing at the same time. The first issue is the FCC mapping fabric. The FCC recently encouraged state and local governments and internet service providers (ISP) to file bulk challenges to the fabric by June 30. The first mapping fabric issued in June 2022 was largely a disaster.

Citing a smear campaign to continue to prevent Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] from being seated as the fifth Federal Communications Commissioner, former Fox and ABC/Disney executive Preston Padden has written the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee to call out those tactics and advocate for Sohn, with whom he is not aligned politically. Padden also said he had been in contact with Fox’s Rupert Murdoch, an opponent of the Democratic nominee.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a major hand in broadband matters. The agency's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is responsible for overseeing a number of rural broadband funding programs, including the well-known multi-billion-dollar ReConnect loan and grant initiative. Andrew Berke has only recently taken the reigns as RUS Administrator, having been appointed by President Biden in October 2022.