August 2021

Addressing the Broadband Gap in Indian Country

Bobby Gonzalez is Chairman of the Caddo Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe in Oklahoma, joined the Fiber Broadband Association for a recent Fiber for Breakfast episode to share his experience with bringing broadband to Indian Country. Less than 68% of tribal people across the United States have access to the internet, Gonzalez noted. “We think, how can that happen in today’s day and age?” he said. “But you go out to the Navajo Nation and in some of the pueblos they still don’t have running water.

LTD Broadband Accuses Attorney of “Egregious Misconduct” in eligible telecommunications carrier application

LTD Broadband, which was the largest winning bidder in last year’s FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, has asked the commission to reconsider its decision involving the carrier’s application for eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) status in California, alleging “egregious misconduct” on the part of the attorney that handled the filing. Unless reversed, the Federal Communications Commission decision will prevent LTD Broadband from obtaining RDOF funding for the state.

Government officials host a round-table discussion with Pittsburgh leaders on broadband

Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves, Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), and Mayor Bill Peduto (D-PA) hosted a roundtable discussion to address the increasing need for high-speed, affordable internet access in the Pittsburgh (PA) area and across the US. At the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh, Deputy Secretary Graves opened the roundtable by stressing the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed how wide the digital divide is in America and how much Americans rely on broadband for schools, jobs and telemedicine.

Lookalike tech policies in China, Europe and the US

Nations and regions with wildly differing political systems and cultures have converged on a shared set of responses to the power of big tech firms: rein in the companies, avoid dependencies and subsidize critical networks and technologies. China, which has long been accused of protecting domestic companies, has recently been