Universal Broadband

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) announced a series of bills introduced by subcommittee members aimed at reducing the regulatory barriers to broadband infrastructure expansion:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai shared with his fellow commissioners an order to promote more high-speed broadband deployment in rural areas. If adopted, it would provide over $500 million in additional funding for cooperatives and small rural carriers. The order would also put in place strong new rules to prevent abuse of the high-cost program.

Imagine a metropolitan area in which every single home and business was connected to a municipal fiber-optic network and the internet was a public utility as accessible as electricity or water. That's exactly what San Francisco (CA) has pledged to do, making it the first major city in America to commit to such a project. Ten Forbes Technology Council members shared their thoughts on whether the city's massive tech undertaking will sink or swim, and what roadblocks they might encounter along the way.

[Commentary] The week of Jan 8, after President Donald Trump signed two significant executive orders on improving broadband infrastructure, members of the House Communications Subcommittee introduced four resolutions laying out our principles for broadband expansion nationwide. The resolutions include prioritizing infrastructure funding to areas that are currently unserved, easing the regulatory process, ensuring coordination among all levels of government, and establishing clear, consistent rules regardless of broadband technology.

Many of the power cooperatives that helped electrify rural Tennessee in the 1930s and 1940s are gearing up for a similar effort to bring high-speed broadband to rural areas not connected to today's information superhighway. But similar to electrification of the South in the early 20th century, the telecommunications upgrades for rural broadband are likely to be costly and take years or even decades to fully implement.

For many low-income Americans, internet connectivity is a struggle. About half (53%) of those in households with annual incomes under $30,000 have a home broadband internet subscription plan, compared with 93% of households whose annual incomes exceed $75,000. This makes closing connectivity gaps a priority for policymakers, the non-profit sector, and many internet service providers (ISPs). What is perhaps less appreciated is the variety of models that have arisen to try to reach those without broadband at home. The population of non-home broadband users is not monolithic.

Under changes the Federal Communications Commission recently proposed, fewer people may receive subsidized broadband service under the Lifeline program. Those left out will struggle to do online tasks such as filling out a job application, or paying bills online. About 12.5 million low-income people across the country, and thousands in Ohio, could be affected.There are even health implications, since so much of today's medicine relies on patients having the ability to make appointments, refill prescriptions and view test results online.

On Oct 30, 2017, Rep John Ratcliffe (R-TX) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to take action to address the budget shortfall in certain parts of the High-Cost Universal Service Fund (USF).

January 20 marks the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration. With little indication of what his communications policy plans were before the election, now seems a good time to reflect on what his Administration’s priorities have been over the past 12 months. Here’s a look at what Trump's Federal Communications Commission decided to tackle first in 2017.