Low-income

The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) this week stayed and suspended proceedings and requests for comment about a state law that would have required broadband providers to offer a $15 plan to low-income households. It is the second blow that the law has sustained this month, following a US Eastern District Court of New York preliminary injunction to prevent the state from enforcing the rule while awaiting a final decision on the legality of the requirement.

The decades of US redlining represent a form of systematic racism that has denied generations of Black communities the kind of opportunities many other Americans enjoy, and the fear is it's happening again with broadband internet service. Big providers, when deciding where to invest the money to upgrade their networks, often focus on wealthier parts of cities and shun low-income communities. Fiber connections are expensive, and internet service providers are hesitant to expand unless they expect a return on their investment.

The Federal Communications Commission is receiving consumer complaints concerning the disconnects between benefits touted as part of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program and the frequent failure of broadband internet access service providers to deliver on those promises. Some providers are forcing consumers to change plans in order to get the $50 monthly subsidy or not validating customers' already-established eligibility to participate. About 19% of the complaints reported service-tier issues that complicated the participation in the program.

House New York (HNY), an affiliate of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), and the Broadband Equity Partnership are launching an initiative to create a comprehensive dataset of building-based connectivity solutions that will support the City and State in achieving universal broadband adoption in its affordable housing stock. The Affordable Housing Broadband Initiative (AHBI)–the first of its kind in the nation–is made possible by support from the Ford Foundation and Schmidt Futures.

Smith Bagley, commercial mobile wireless operator, has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a six-month extension of the Lifeline rule waivers (currently scheduled to expire June 30, 2021) through December 31, 2021. Smith Bagley provides Lifeline service in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah to over 60,000 people, more than 50,000 of whom live in low-income households on the Navajo, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, Zuni, and Ramah Navajo Tribal lands. Smith Bagley argues that: 1) The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Will Continue for Many More Months and 2) COVID-19 Has Continued to Severe

A decision by Judge Denis Hurley of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York prohibits New York from enforcing a state law that would require broadband providers to sell $15-per-month plans to low-income households. The law was set to go into effect on June 15.

There is a lot of momentum in Washington (DC) and in state governments right now to improve the adoption of broadband by addressing the issue of affordability for low-income communities. To decide what policies will do the most good for low-income households seeking broadband connectivity, it’s important to first understand the existing marketplace.

Although gigabit availability has increased by 50 percent over the last three years, households that lack 100/20 Mbps service have declined by only 3 percentage points over the same period. In addition to households known to be unserved to the Federal Communications Commission, there are an additional estimated 8.2 million households in census blocks reported as “served” that do not have broadband service available. Approximately 12 million households in total, inclusive of these 8.2 million households, do not have access to a baseline level of service.

The Federal Communications Commission has already signed up 2.3 million households for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which was designed to help low-income users with affordable internet access during the pandemic. But while the agency is heralding these numbers as a success, the program appears to be plagued by ongoing issues that are causing some internet service providers to block eligible Americans from accessing up to $50 a month off of their internet bills.

Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program enrolled over 2.3 million households in all 50 states, Washington (DC), Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and American Samoa. Additionally, at the agency’s direction, the  Universal Service Administrative Company debuted a new data dashboard for advocates, members of Congress, and the general public to track the progress of the Emerge