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  2. October 2020

October 2020

The Digital Divide in Connecticut

In the state of Connecticut, nearly one-quarter (23%) of Connecticut households do not have high-speed internet subscriptions at home. Connectivity deficits fall hardest on low-income residents, older adults, and communities of color. 36% of households below the state’s median income do not have wireline broadband compared with 11% of all other households. 36% of Connecticut residents age 65 and older do not have wireline broadband at home. 35% of Hispanics lack wireline broadband at home compared with 21% of whites. 34% of African Americans do not have wireline broadband.

Sponsor 

Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies

University of Oxford

Date 
Tue, 11/10/2020 - 17:00 to 18:00

With the global onset of COVID-19, broadband access has never been more vital to our economies, democracies, and social well-being. The pandemic, however, painfully demonstrated the extent to which people in the United States are un- and under-connected. At least 42 million Americans lack access to broadband because of infrastructure availability, while upwards of 162 million lack access to the Internet at broadband speeds. Tens of millions lack access to broadband because of cost and affordability.


FCC Modernizes Unbundling and Resale Requirements

The Federal Communications Commission eliminated legacy unbundling and resale rules where they stifle technology transitions and broadband deployment. The rules date back to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which required monopoly local telephone companies to make portions of their networks and services available to competitors at regulated rates. The Order eliminates rules requiring unbundling of the following network elements, subject to certain conditions and multiyear transition periods:

$2.3 Million for High-Speed Broadband in Rural North Carolina

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $2.3 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in North Carolina. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program. Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership Corporation will use a $2.3 million ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network.

FCC Streamlines Rules For Wireless Infrastructure Modifications To Facilitate 5G Deployment

The Federal Communications Commission took action to reduce regulatory barriers to 5G deployment by further streamlining the state and local government review process for modifications to existing wireless infrastructure that involve excavation and deployment beyond existing site boundaries.

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