Marginalized Populations

Access to the internet via computer or smartphone is an important part of many Americans’ day-to-day lives. People use the internet for completing personal and professional tasks and for interacting with others across vast geographic distances. From browsing social media to paying bills online and countless other activities in between, access to the internet is nearly essential for many Americans.

The Senate Commerce Committee scrapped plans for a markup of wireless spectrum auction legislation that had already been punted several times. Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA), attributed the markup’s cancelation to Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX).

Your written testimony noted various affiliations. Which companies that receive ACP have you or your employers received funding from since the program’s inception?

Though the challenge process for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is intended to create more accurate broadband maps, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) warns that the opposite may happen. If, during the challenge process, a local broadband provider promises they can provide speeds and services in a particular community—but are overstating their abilities or simply making false claims—the resulting broadband coverage maps will be less accurate.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Kentucky and Maine’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 Kentucky and Maine 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.  

At a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing, one of the witnesses produced a study (the EPIC study) that concluded that ACP led to inflation in broadband services. In addressing your question of which studies Congress should rely on, I think the EPIC study demonstrates the very problem you raise.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the amount of unused funds for the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program that have been carried forward for funding year 2024. The FCC’s rules for the RHC Program establish a process to carry forward unused funds from past funding years for use in future funding years.

Sterling Williams Jr. was retired from the U.S. Airforce, bored, and looking for a fulfilling way to spend his time. His niece made a suggestion: going to college. Williams was intrigued but concerned about keeping a flexible schedule. Between picking his niece up from school and waiting for appointments at the Veterans Affairs (VA) clinic, the idea of commuting back and forth for classes seemed like a significant obstacle. Then he learned South Texas College would give him a laptop and hotspot to attend classes remotely.

The impossible has happened: A welfare program ended. Congress created a web-welfare program on an “emergency” basis during the Covid pandemic, and, in classic Washington form, politicians tried to make it permanent. They rebranded it the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and gave it billions in extra funding. The ACP paid its last benefits on May 31, and all funding for it has been exhausted. Are millions of people losing internet access? No. We knew that wouldn’t happen, even though ACP supporters were fearmongering that it would.

At her first Federal Communications Commission meeting since gaining Senate confirmation, it became clear that Commissioner Anna Gomez would be a changemaker.