Universal Broadband

The City of Scranton (PA) is celebrating the investment of tens of millions of dollars from Verizon over the next three years, at no project cost to the City. This project, which has already begun in sections of the City, will develop a ubiquitous network of fiber internet access to homes, providing the opportunity for all Scranton residents to subscribe to high-speed internet. Verizon was selected from four vendors in a request for qualifications (RFQ) process that began in October 2023.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from New Mexico, allowing the state to request access to more than $8 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  The state will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

New Mexico: $8,673,975

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from California, allowing the state to request access to more than $70 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The state will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

California: $70,226,453

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Georgia and Indiana, allowing them to request access to more than $37 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states will use the funding to implement key digital equity initiatives.

Georgia: $22,455,639

The Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission has entered into a Consent Decree to resolve its investigations into whether AT&T violated the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) and Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) rules. To settle these matters, AT&T agrees to a total settlement value of $2,299,990 to fully resolve the FCC’s investigations, which includes (i) a civil penalty of $1,921,068, and (ii) repayment to the United States Treasury in the amount of $378,922.

Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced the approval of $45 million in Multi-Purpose Community Facilities grant funding to 49 projects in 26 counties across Pennsylvania. This funding will support key projects in local communities and help connect Pennsylvanians to the internet at places like a primary care health center in Allegheny County, affordable housing in Delaware County, and a public library in Northumberland County.

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, New Hampshire will receive $196.5 million and will be given the opportunity to finally close the digital divide for the entire state, finishing the task undertaken with previous state and federal programs. BEAD will bring unparalleled investment in broadband infrastructure over the next five years and has tasked the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) Office of Broadband with bringing affordable broadband to all New Hampshire residents.

Jefferson County (OH) is receiving $2.5 million in an Appalachian Regional Commission POWER grant to go toward expanding broadband services. The services will be targeted to the underserved areas of the northern part of the county, including the townships of Knox, Ross, Salem, Springfield, Island Creek, and Wayne. "A group of about 750 addresses that have been identified -- the bulk of them are households,” Brooke Hancock Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission Executive Director Mike Paprocki said.

Alan Davidson, chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the Commerce Department, dismissed Republican criticisms of the Biden administration’s $42 billion broadband expansion program as "election-year politics." Recent attacks have shifted toward Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been dubbed the "Broadband Czar" by Republicans like Sen.

The end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) put the kibosh on the business plans of internet service providers (ISPs) working to tackle the urban digital divide. I’m aware of a several ISPs working to bring broadband to neighborhoods where the majority of customers qualified for the $30 ACP discount.