National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Vermont stakeholders have collaborated on an application for $114 million in funding through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) middle mile grant program. If awarded, the funding would represent over 10% of the approximately $1 billion allotted to the NTIA program, which has proven to be a highly competitive one. The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) spearheaded the application. The request would cover some of the costs of the proposed 1,663-mile fiber network.

Wireless internet service providers (WISPs) have hit a breaking point. With fiber players gaining steam and both public and private funding fueling overbuilds of their territories, the heads of several fixed wireless providers say that they don’t expect WISPs to survive beyond the next five to 10 years—at least not in their current form. WISP executives said they are up against rising construction costs, staffing struggles, spectrum questions, and the impending retirement of long-time CEOs.

Our analysis shows affordability as a driving factor around why some households continue to remain offline, confirming that the cost of service is an essential part of increasing Internet adoption. We asked households not using the Internet from home: “At what monthly price if any, would your household buy home Internet service?” Answers to the new question showed that the mean price offline households wanted to pay was approximately $10 per month, though it’s worth noting that three in four households gave $0 or “none” as their answer. Interestingly, households citing expense as their main

According to Internet Use Survey Data, which tracks disparities around Internet adoption,  a majority – 58% – of the 24 million offline households express no interest or need to be online. There is also a large proportion who say they can’t afford home Internet service (18%).  Regardless of their stated reasons for non-use, offline households have significantly lower incomes than their online counterparts.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded five grants as part of the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC).

If the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program is to be a game changer for digital equity, grant makers must ensure government dollars go where they’re needed most. They should start by looking at the growing movement of community connectivity providers whose primary purpose is to help people meet their digital needs at affordable prices.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released preliminary data that shows over 235 applications were submitted totaling more than $5.5 billion in funding requests for the Enabling Middle Mile Infrastructure Grant Program. Included in President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative, the Middle Mile grant program provides $1 billion in funding to projects that connect high-speed Internet networks to each other and reduce the cost of bringing Internet service to communities that lack it. Applications for the Middle Mile program were due

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wants to let broadband grant winners from two key programs sidestep “Buy American” requirements currently tied to the money. In proposals submitted to the US Department of Commerce, the NTIA sought waivers for its $1 billion Middle Mile grant and $268 million Connecting Minority Communities Pilot programs.

House Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson urging NTIA to address burdensome permitting processes and other regulatory red tape that may impede the success of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that was created under the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act. To prevent slow deployment and the determent of investment, the Members urged the agency to require eligible states and territories to work with t

On Monday, September 26, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Director of Research and Fellowships Dr. Revati Prasad hosted an online panel discussion, From the Ground Up: Broadband Mapping By and for Communities, on how communities and states are collecting data on local broadband availability as the Federal Communications Commission rolls out the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) program.