December 2019

On Oct 29, various Members of Congress from Texas wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to express concern about potential loopholes with Universal Service Fund (USF) Schools and Libraries Program (E-Rate) that have allowed Federal dollars to be used to overbuild existing broadband networks in Texas. They urged the FCC to reform E-Rate that ensures finite Federal resources are being used efficiently to close the digital divide without overbuilding existing networks, especially networks already constructed with USF or other Federal support.

The US Department of Agriculture invested $7.9 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure to create or improve e-Connectivity for more than 4,000 rural households in North Carolina. Atlantic Telephone Membership Corporation’s Faster Columbus Advanced Connectivity for Communities, Education, Safety and Support (ACCESS) project will use a $7.9 million ReConnect Program grant to bring fiber-optic broadband into unserved and underserved rural areas of Columbus County.

Only a third of rural California households have internet access, compared to 78% of urban households, limiting the number of students who can finish online homework assignments, according to an EdSource analysis analysis of California Public Utilities Commission data. While low-income families are the most likely to lack internet access because the additional payment is too much, there's also a lack of service providers and options.

On September 25, 2019 a half dozen Members of Congress from Iowa wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai with concerns that changes to intercarrier compensation could have profound impacts to rural Iowa local exchange carriers (LECs).