Telecommunication

The Federal Communications Commission proposed an enhanced competition incentive program to encourage licensees to offer opportunities for small carriers and Tribal Nations to obtain spectrum via lease, partition, or

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition wrote a joint letter of support urging the Senate Commerce Committee to quickly conduct hearings and speedily confirm President Biden’s nominees to the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Verizon may not be pursuing a massive expansion of its fiber footprint like some competitors, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t see value in the smaller scale work it’s doing with Fios. Verizon CFO Matt Ellis said the company is working to add around 400,000 open-for-sale locations within its incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) footprint in 2021 and for “at least the next two to three years.” Some of these additions are related to new build activity, with Verizon swooping in to “wire Fios in upfront” in houses and apartment buildings as they’re constructed by developers.

The Federal Communications Commission seeks comment on the requirements for the Affordable Connectivity Program and a timeline for its rapid implementation. On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act or Act), which modifies and extends the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program) to a longer-term broadband affordability program to be called the Affordable Connectivity Program. The Infrastructure Act directs the FCC to undertake a proceeding to adopt final rules for this modified program.

With the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress has taken a significant step forward in achieving the Biden Administration’s goal of providing broadband access to the entire country.

President Joe Biden's nominee for Federal Communications Commissioner, Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], is a prominent liberal activist and a former Democratic staffer at the FCC who favors net neutrality, stronger government regulation of the broadband industry, and the breakup of Big Tech companies. Senate Republicans strongly oppose her confirmation, criticizing her not only as a left-wing ideologue who would favor heavy-handed regulation but also, unusually, as a threat to censor or block conservative speech.

Leichtman Research Group found that the largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 93 percent of the market – lost about 650,000 net video subscribers in 3Q 2021, compared to a pro forma net loss of about 90,000 in 3Q 2020. The top pay-TV providers now account for about 77 million subscribers, with the top seven cable companies having 41.9 million video subscribers, other traditional pay-TV services having over 27.5 million subscribers, and the top publicly reporting Internet-delivered (vMVPD) pay-TV services having 7.5 million subscribers.

The House Commerce Committee passed 12 bipartisan bills on November 17, 2021. The Committee passed the following telecommunications bills:

The recently signed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill sets aside $65 billion to expand broadband access and equity across the nation. It is a once-in-a-generation investment that acknowledges how critical high-speed Internet is to quality of life and opportunity in America. The next move in broadband expansion belongs to the states, which are required to submit five-year action plans that illustrate how they will use the federal broadband funds to improve local economic development, education, health care and other vital needs.

The recently signed $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure package includes $2.75 billion for digital equity and inclusion work, delivering an investment that advocates are calling unprecedented and historic. That number comes within a larger $65 billion sum going toward broadband connectivity. This money is earmarked for organizations at the state and local levels, a key structure choice given that effective digital inclusion programs vary significantly by community according to Amy Huffman, policy director for the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA).