Level of Government

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Department of the Navy (DON) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have successfully collaborated to expand the unencumbered service area of a critical swath of shared mid-band spectrum. Modifications to the aggregate interference model used in the 3.5 GHz band would allow the Citizens Broadband Radio Service, or CBRS, to provide uninterrupted access to mid-band spectrum that supports wireless Internet and other services to approximately 72 million more people.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) approved the revised performance plans of Bristol Bay Cellular Partnership (BBCP), TelAlaska Cellular, Inc.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Colorado and New Hampshire’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 Colorado and New Hampshire 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.

Rural America disproportionately lacks access to high-speed broadband, an essential component of modern life. Though the issue—and many attempts to address it—go back much farther, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriated $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the gap once and for all. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Macon County, Alabama, and also talks with leaders from Jal, New Mexico, and Humboldt County, California to learn how they have overcome their challenges to bring broadband to their rural communities.

Sens Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS)  introduced the bipartisan Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training and Toolkit Act of 2024 that would authorize the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to work with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create and distribute artificial intelligence (AI) training resources and tools to help small businesses leverage AI in their operations. The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training and Toolkit Act of 2024:

The record shows that Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) recipients regard using access to broadband as critical to their healthcare. A recent study found that 75% of ACP participants fear that losing access to ACP will result in losing access to healthcare. This is consistent with another large-scale survey found that 45% of adults believe that inadequate access to technology, including broadband and computers, is a barrier to telehealth, and this was especially prominent among rural residents and adults over the age of 65. That is, ACP

More than 23 million households will lose affordable internet access as part of a pandemic-era federal program that provided low-income households with a credit of between $30 and $75 toward their monthly service bill.

The US Supreme Court declined to question the $8 billion annual subsidy that helps cover the cost of telecom services for poor people and residents of rural areas, turning away two appeals that sought to rein in federal regulatory power.

The latest broadband public-private partnership comes from Ziply, which will bring fiber broadband at speeds up to 50Gbps symmetrically to Camaro Island, Washington. The deployment will require an investment of almost half a million dollars, some of which will come from Ziply and some of which will come from Island County.

I have been complaining for years about the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mapping rule that allow internet service providers (ISPs) to claim marketing speeds instead of something closer to actual speeds. That allows ISPs to report speeds that benefit them in some manner rather than being truthful to the public. There have been big consequences as a result of this FCC decision. Historically, the maps didn't mean much, as they were only used for the FCC's reports to Congress.