Level of Government

Detroit Digital Inclusion Director Joshua Edmonds is departing the city to head up a nonprofit organization that also works in the digital equity space. Edmonds has taken a position as CEO of DigitalC, a Cleveland-based nonprofit focused on getting people connected to high-speed, affordable Internet. He started with the city in December 2018 and was named Detroit’s director of digital inclusion in January 2019, making him one of the first people in the country to head up digital equity work within a municipal government.

The Federal Communications Commission’s existing broadband availability maps have been heavily criticized as inaccurate, especially for the purpose of distributing billions in subsidy dollars to extend broadband networks to unserved areas. In a rush to distribute the National Telecommunication and Information Administration's (NTIA's) Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) subsidy dollars, a few states have initiated their own mapping efforts and some advocates have proposed alternative mapping means using speed-test data to identify areas that lack adequate broadband.

In Fall 2022, states, territories, and the District of Columbia (DC) will receive Digital Equity Act (DEA) Planning Grant awards – and, with approximately a year to develop their state digital equity plan, they’ll start the process quickly. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires states, territories and DC (or the administering entities) to engage with a variety of stakeholders in creating the plan, including community anchor institutions, county and municipal governments, local educational agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

It’s been nearly a year since President Joe Biden named Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] as his pick to become the fifth member of the Federal Communications Commission, but the nominee’s prospects of actually being installed are as unclear as ever. A fresh report from The Deal tipped Sohn to squeak through the Senate confirmation process during a lame duck session in the coming months. But New Street Research analyst Blair Levin warned it’s extremely difficult to predict what will happen.

The report recognizes spectrum as a national, public asset. Planning for effective spectrum policy – the way we allocate and use the airwaves for wireless applications – is foundational to meeting our national goals of economic growth and leadership in the information economy, and a “Made in America” industrial agenda. The report from the Aspen Institute stakes out key principles to inform spectrum policies, sets forth broad recommendations for US spectrum policy for the years ahead, and details potential actions to implement those recommendations.

To provide relief to E-Rate program participants affected by this unprecedented national pandemic, the FCC will extend the service implementation deadline to September 30, 2023 for certain funding year 2020 and 2021 applicants with non-recurring service deadlines that expire on September 30, 2022. In providing this relief, the FCC seeks to prevent schools and libraries from losing their funding due to circumstances out of their control, alleviate administrative burdens, and assist schools and libraries by giving them additional time to receive the equipment and services they need to serve t

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel spoke at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) 2022 Spectrum Policy Symposium on September 19. Rosenworcel made it a point to discuss how far the FCC has come in the last 5 years in its dealings with spectrum policy and auctions. Her speech focused on the future of the FCC's relationship with the spectrum and spectrum-related policies, initiatives, rule-making, and innovation.

New York City (NY) will begin the citywide launch of ‘Big Apple Connect’ — a landmark digital equity program that will make free high-speed internet and basic cable TV available to approximately 300,000 New Yorkers living in more than 200 New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments by the end of 2023.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released an update to the Federal Funding site, which serves as a comprehensive, “one-stop shop” of resources for potential applicants seeking federal broadband funding. The site includes broadband funding opportunities and information on more than 80 federal programs across 14 federal agencies.

You’re going to hear a lot in the next few months about the Federal Communications Commission's broadband mapping fabric. This blog describes what that is and describes the challenges of getting a good mapping fabric. The first set of broadband map challenges will be about the fabric, and I’m not sure the FCC is ready for the deluge of complaints they are likely to get from every corner of the country. I also have no idea how the FCC will determine if a suggestion to change the fabric is correct because I also don’t think communities can count passings perfectly.