State

Alabama has committed $537 million in federal funds for high-speed internet under plans state lawmakers and Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) approved during a special session. About one-fifth of addresses in Alabama lack access to high-speed internet, and about three-fourths do not have access to the speed officials consider the standard for the next decade.

Charter Communications is flexing some muscle in Maine in the face of growing fiber coverage from the likes of Consolidated Communications. Charter plans to invest a total $82 million over the coming years and scooped up Bee Line Cable to flesh out its footprint in the central part of the state. Bee Line boasts 300 miles of fiber cable, which it uses to serve internet and digital voice products to consumers in Anson, East Millinocket, Farmington, Industry, Madison, Millinocket, Skowhegan, and Wilton.

Charter Communication has announced a $70 million investment in its already existing network in Maine. The investment will cover more than 700,000 homes and businesses across the company’s service area in the state. Charter also announced an additional $12 million dollars in funding that will provide broadband services to over 3,500 unserved homes and businesses in the rural areas of the state. 

Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) signed two bills into law that would impose sweeping restrictions on kid and teen use of social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok — a move proponents say will protect youth from the detrimental effects of internet platforms. One law aims to force social media companies to verify that users who are Utah residents are over the age of 18. The bill also requires platforms to obtain parental consent before letting minors use their services, and guardians must be given access to their child’s account. A default curfew must also be set.

Chief Information Officer (CIO) Jason Clarke announced that Roddy Flynn will lead the state’s connectivity efforts as the Executive Director of the newly-formed Delaware Broadband Office. The Delaware Broadband Office is entrusted with leading efforts to expand the availability of wired high-speed internet to all homes and businesses across the state. Flynn most recently served as the Deputy Director of Congressional Affairs for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Verizon is planning to build 500,000 new Fios passings in 2023 as it works to increase its overall footprint to 18 million locations. The company is “actively building” in all nine of the states where it already offers Fios service. Verizon has recently laid out plans to pass more than 70,000 new locations in Massachusetts, nearly 2,000 in Delaware, 1,500 in upstate New York, and 349 in Virginia.

Strict "Buy America" requirements for government subsidy programs such as BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) threaten to significantly delay broadband network rollouts in rural areas if flexible waivers on those restrictions are not included, several industry organizations and industry watchers are warning. The Buy America policy, if strictly enforced, "could cause significant delays in actual deployments such that, for all practical purposes, it will cease to be relevant to the [broadband providers] or the communities the federal government sought to assist," New Street Resear

The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) entered a new partnership with Ashland University (OH) to help approximately 140 incarcerated individuals, who are eligible for release within 12 months, prepare for careers in broadband and 5G this spring and summer.

Sens Ron Wyden, (D-OR), John Barrasso (R-WY), and 12 other bipartisan senators called on the Federal Communication Commission to ensure rural and tribal communities in need receive their fair share of federal broadband grants. The members urged FCC to update the National Broadband Map each month, rather than every 6 months, so broadband grants will be awarded based on the most accurate information. The senators noted that many states were unable to challenge the accuracy of the broadband map in time to meaningfully impact how BEAD funds are being distributed.

Two states recently made moves on broadband funding. Funding bills were passed by legislatures and signed into law by governors in Alabama and Idaho. Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) signed legislation to make $260 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) available for broadband deployments. The funding represents a portion of $1.06 billion that was released to the state in its final ARPA allotment.