Marginalized populations are those excluded from mainstream social, economic, educational, and/or cultural life. Examples of marginalized populations include, but are not limited to, groups excluded due to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, language, and/or immigration status.
(August 19, 2022)
The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, enrolled more Americans than any previous broadband affordability program in the United States. Despite that success, the ACP faced substantial criticism from conservative members of Congress who saw it as giving away taxpayer dollars to many households that don’t actually need help affording their internet bill. The question going forward is not if the government will subsidize broadband service for Americans, but how. This paper attempts to inform that debate by examining four specific critiques of the ACP:
The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital equity in Maine, announced the launch of the Working Internet ASAP (WIA) Program to connect the hardest-to-reach places across the state. This program is one way that MCA is fulfilling the commitment to provide all people in Maine with an option to connect to the internet by the end of 2024.
Issa Asad, 51, of Southwest Ranches (FL), and Q Link Wireless LLC, of Dania Beach (FL), pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the United States in connection with a years-long scheme to steal over $100 million from the Federal Communications Commission's Lifeline program. Asad, Q Link’s CEO, also pleaded guilty to laundering money from a separate scheme to defraud a different federal program meant to aid individuals and businesses hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) celebrates the growing number of Tribal nations exercising digital sovereignty by building Tribally-owned broadband networks.
Tornadoes, heavy rain, hurricane-force wind, and storm surge. Any of these could devastate a community.
In 2021 Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) agreed to lead the administration’s $42 billion plan for expanding high-speed internet to millions of Americans. That year, she tweeted that “we can bring broadband to rural America today.” Today, nearly three years after Congress passed the infrastructure bill that created the program, not one home or business has been connected through it.
The federal government has set aside $42 billion to connect last-mile communities and just under $1 billion for the middle mile networks that will provide the backbone to reach those unserved homes.
At what point is it too expensive to deploy fiber? That's a key question for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program participants looking to deploy alternative technologies in hard to reach areas of the country.
The Federal Communications Commission took action to assist those affected by Hurricane Milton and future hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, and tropical cyclones (together, “tropical weather systems”) by temporarily waiving certain Lifeline program eligibility rules to ensure that consumers receiving federal disaster assistance can easily apply for and enroll in the Lifeline program. Hurricane Milton caused significant power and infrastructure disruptions, in addition to property damage in homes, schools, libraries, businesses, and healthcare facilities in impacted areas.
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Alaska and Ohio’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The approval enables Alaska and Ohio to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. This action allows states to request:
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