Universal Broadband

Your State Needs Broadband Legislative Champions. Just Ask Louis Riggs

In 2016, representatives from the northern region of Missouri met in Brookfield to talk about the issues they were facing.  Stakeholders of all kinds—economic developers, USDA employees, elected officials, county commissioners, and mayors—from every county north of I-70 complained bitterly about everything their communities were going without. As the meeting progressed, five topics were written on a board, five ways to find solutions to these communities’ needs. Broadband was listed as number one. The attendees never got to number two.

An Assessment of the Affordable Connectivity Program: Keep it, Scrap it, or Modify it?

The Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program has the potential to be a socioeconomic equalizer that helps close the gap between those Americans with access to broadband and those without. So far, the ACP has proven remarkably effective at making that happen. Despite only existing for over a year and a half, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) calculates that nearly 20 million people have already enrolled in the program at a cost of just $14.2 billion in funding.

Gov. Ivey awards grants for broadband expansion in four north Alabama counties

Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) awarded $7.86 million to continue expanding high-speed internet services in Alabama. The three grants, awarded from funds provided by the Alabama Legislature, will serve areas in Blount, Cullman, Marshall and Morgan counties. The expansion projects will make broadband service accessible for more than 6,700 households, businesses and community anchors. Community anchors include schools, fire and police departments, libraries, and other public buildings. Households and businesses must subscribe to paid service to receive broadband.

More than 20 million Americans enrolled in a federal program for subsidized internet access

More than 20 million US households are now receiving discounts on internet service as part of Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program. The program has continued to gain more than half a million new households a month since February 2023.

In Letter to House Speaker McCarthy, Biden Administration Notes Need for Additional Funding for Affordable Broadband

With the end of the fiscal year quickly approaching,  the Administration is transmitting a supplemental funding request to the Congress to address three sets of critical needs for emergency funding as part of a potential short-term continuing resolution for the first quarter of FY 2024: assistance for Ukraine and other foreign policy priorities, US disaster assistance, and border security.

Who’s In Charge of Broadband?

On July 24, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission authorized a new subsidy program, Enhanced A-CAM (Alternate Connect America Cost Model). This program will extend subsidies to small, regulated telephone companies at a cost of about $1.27 billion per year for ten years.

Challenges to Achieving Digital Equity or “Why Covered Populations Are Covered”

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Digital Equity Act recognizes eight “covered populations” as disproportionately experiencing digital inequity. One group is individuals living in households with incomes at or below 150 percent of the poverty line.  In the United States, people living in poverty tend to be clustered in certain regions, counties, and neighborhoods rather than evenly spread across the nation. Research has shown that living in areas where poverty is prevalent creates impediments beyond people’s individual circumstances.

More Than 20 Million Households Enroll in Nation's Largest Broadband Affordability Program

More than 20 million households have enrolled in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the nation’s largest broadband affordability program. Thanks to funding support in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, millions of families who previously could not get online or struggled to pay for this modern-day necessity are now connected. “For a long time, closing the digital divide focused on one part of the equation—the lack of physical infrastructure to get online.

100% Broadband Access in the US — The Time is Now

In June 2023, President Joe Biden announced how more than $42 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding will be allocated across the US and its territories to bring 100% broadband access to nearly 60 million unserved or underserved Americans within five years. Now, the real work begins: determining how 50 states and six territories will put that funding to work. Despite the many funding initiatives aimed to solve the problem in the US, those finances are finite and currently trending in a “fiber-first” direction.

Albuquerque (NM) now has a broadband office

For the city of Albuquerque (NM), providing high-quality and affordable internet is a priority. The majority of households are connected, but that doesn’t mean everybody that needs it has it and it doesn’t mean it’s affordable or reliable. Albuquerque needs more competition, more providers, better infrastructure to fill in the gaps and more affordable options. What the broadband office is dong to fill in those gaps is:

Consolidated Public-Private Partnership Gets Set to Reach Vermont Broadband Milestone

Consolidated Communications expects to complete work by November 1, 2023 on a Vermont broadband deployment project funded, in part, by the state. The project is being done through a public-private partnership with the Southern Vermont (SoVT) communications union district (CUD). When completed, that CUD will be the first in the state to achieve universal broadband coverage. The SoVT CUD received a $9 million grant from the Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) in October 2022.

The Need for Speed: Rural Users Tend to Have Slower Internet Connections

As the federal government, along with states, gets ready to make a once-in-a-lifetime investment in broadband infrastructure, the concept of the digital divide remains somewhat the same as it was back in the mid-1990s, when the term was coined.

Missouri BEAD funds a testament to underserved population

Missouri was among the lucky winners of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, receiving the third highest allocation at $1.74 billion. But whether that amount will be more than enough or just right to cover all unserved and underserved locations is “the ultimate question,” said BJ Tanksley, director of Missouri’s Office of Broadband Development. “I think the thing about this is it also is a call to us, there’s just a lot of work to be done across the state.” Tanksley said that while Missouri “always predicted” it would receive a relatively high BEAD allotment, the stat

Enabling Equity: Why Universal Broadband Access Rates Matter

In the third decade of the 21st century, getting online is no longer optional, and providing financial assistance to US households that can’t afford broadband should be as much a given as food stamps. More broadly, from a macro perspective, high rates of broadband use benefit society and the economy; and from a micro perspective, those least likely to be online are those who would in many ways benefit most from it. In both cases, broadband policy should prioritize connecting remaining offline households in order to achieve universal connectivity.

About 840,000 Added Broadband in Second Quarter of 2023

The largest cable and wireline phone providers and fixed wireless services in the US—representing about 96% of the market—acquired about 840,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in Q2 2023, compared to a pro forma gain of about 700,000 subscribers in Q2 2022.

Broadband Data Task Force Seeks Comment on Petition for Extension of Waiver of the Engineering Certification Requirements

The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Task Force, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Wireline Competition Bureau, and the Office of Economics and Analytics seek comment on a Petition for Extension of Waiver (Petition) filed by the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) and USTelecom – The Broadband Association (USTelecom and, together with CCA, Petitioners).

New Mexico, Minnesota latest to say BEAD funds won't be enough

Officials from New Mexico and Minnesota are the latest to declare that federal and state funds currently available to them will not be enough to bring broadband to the underserved and unserved in their states. Bree Maki, the executive director of Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development, said the state’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) allotment of about $651.8 million is “very close to” what her office expected. “However, we have statutory goals that are different when we talk about what unserved is,” said Maki.

Assessing Broadband Affordability Initiatives

The basic tenet of universal internet service—that the government should assist those who cannot afford basic access to the network—has long been a cornerstone of American telecommunications policy. Unfortunately, it is far from clear whether Lifeline, the federal program tasked with getting low-income households online, actually addresses this problem. The recently enacted Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) threatens to compound Lifeline’s errors. The advent of ACP provides a unique opportunity to rethink our approach to broadband affordability initiatives.

Comcast, Rural Telephone Companies and Electric Cooperatives Won Big in Latest Minnesota Broadband Awards

Rural electric cooperatives, rural telephone companies, and Comcast were the biggest winners in the latest broadband funding announcement from the state of Minnesota. The awards were made on June 30, 2023, although it isn’t clear if an announcement was released at that time. The biggest winner was Federated Rural Electric Association, which was awarded a $7 million grant in the Low Density Broadband Grant Program. The next biggest winners were Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone and Comcast, both of whom will receive about $5.5 million.

Wyoming Seeks Feedback on Digital Access Plan

The Wyoming Broadband Office (WBO), part of the Wyoming Business Council, made its draft Digital Access Plan available to the public on July 18, 2023, and is allowing one month for residents to submit their feedback. The draft plan includes a vision for digital equity for the state, a set of goals to activate that vision within Wyoming’s Digital Access program, current assets and barriers, and an implementation plan to achieve the goals and address the barriers identified.

What's a High-Cost Area for BEAD and ACP?

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to determine how much each state is to receive in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding based on the number of locations in their state unserved by high-speed internet service. One component in the allocation is a determination of the number of “high cost” unserved locations in each state divided by the nationwide total of high-cost unserved locations. Congress also tasked NTIA with defining what “high-cost areas” are.

Michigan broadband chief: Only ‘one shot’ for universal broadband access

As a two-peninsula state, Michigan has broadband accessibility challenges others states may not have, said Eric Frederick, chief connectivity officer at the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI).

Are anchor institutions the forgotten piece of BEAD?

As state leaders forge proposals for Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, local stakeholders are imploring them not to forget about the role of community anchor institutions (CAI). CAIs are rooted entities such as hospitals, schools, universities, and government agencies that drive economic growth and social welfare in their communities. “If you're building out to those unserved homes, and there are anchor institutions, you might as well connect the anchors while you're there,” said John Windhausen, founder and executive director of the 

Sen Hassan, FCC Chair Rosenworcel connect with officials and advocates to talk high-speed Internet access

State and local officials, telecommunications leaders, and advocates for high-speed Internet gathered at Keene State’s Alumni Center to connect with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission. The group of 10 officials and advocates reviewed the state’s efforts to expand the reach of broadband and fiber optic Internet to underserved communities and residents. Sen. Hassan recognized that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed the US Senate on Aug.