Universal Broadband

The Biden-Harris Administration announced the approval of $20 million for digital connectivity projects in Pennsylvania under the US Department of the Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The award will fund Pennsylvania’s Digital Access Opportunity Grant program, through which the commonwealth will partner with community anchor institutions (CAIs) to increase access to laptops, tablets, desktop computers, and Wi-Fi devices to individuals in Pennsylvan

Strong partnerships and innovative community solutions are key for organizations looking to advance adult education opportunities using upcoming Digital Equity Act funds.

In December 2023, the Federal Communications Commission conducted a survey of Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) recipients to enhance its understanding of the program's impact and how the end of the program may impact access to broadband services. Survey respondents were also given the opportunity to submit written responses to questions about how losing ACP support would impact them.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) announced that BARConnects and North Alabama Electric Cooperative have notified the FCC  that they will not fulfill their commitment to offer voice and broadband service to certain census block groups (CBGs) within their Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and/or Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction supported service areas.  These providers will be subject to penalties for the CBGs where they are defaulting.

In a letter to the House Committee on Appropriations, Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-7), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), and Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) called for the appropriators to prioritize extending Affordable Connectivity Program funding and expressed the critical need the program meets by connecting hundreds of thousands of Virginia households with affordable, high-speed internet.

In less than two months, if Congress does not act, tens of millions of people could find themselves unable to stay connected to high-speed internet.

A coalition of nearly 70 broadband experts, internet service providers (ISPs), community leaders, and nonprofits wrote to the Federal Communications Commission with a request to grant a limited amnesty designed to prevent the exclusion of America’s least connected rural communities from upcoming federal broadband subsidies. Under the rules of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, communities that are already covered by grants awarded under programs like the Rural Digital Opportunities Fund (RDOF) and Connect America Fund II (CAF II) are not eligible to receive BEAD fund

Our federal deficit is exploding, and America’s financial house is in disarray. The country’s borrowing costs are at their highest level in over 20 years, and the national debt has surpassed $34 trillion for the first in history. In this environment, implementing stringent fiscal policy should be the standard operating procedure for all conservatives.

Recently, we surveyed over 1,700 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) enrollees who use the Providers app about what the broadband benefit has meant to them and how their lives will change if it expires. Here’s what we found:

State broadband offices are asking internet service providers interested in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding to self-fund a $30 discount for low-income customers after the end of Affordable Connectivity Program. Since this request came from multiple states, I have to imagine the idea came from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. I can’t think of any better proof that policymakers are out of touch with the reality of rural business plans. Even providers that are successful in rural markets are going to have small margins.