1. Monthly archive
  2. July 2022

July 2022

Tech Goes Home gets $2 million from Boston, Massachusetts' American Rescue Plan Act funds

Tech Goes Home has received funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to improve digital inequity in Boston (MA). The Boston City Council voted to award the Boston-based nonprofit $2 million from the relief funds. Tech Goes Home announced the funding July 18 and said the ARPA money would allow it to engage with more than 100 new community-based organizations across Boston. Tech Goes Home partners with Boston organizations to provide residents with digital devices, internet and digital-skills training. Much of this programming transitioned online during the Covid-19 pandemic.

LTD Broadband may lose Rural Digital Opportunity Fund dollars in Minnesota

LTD Broadband, the top bidder in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) that can't seem to hold on to its funding, may see its dollars revoked in yet another state. This time the company is being challenged in Minnesota, where the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in that state has ordered an investigation to determine if the company can deliver on the $311 million it was designated by the Federal Communications Commission to build out in the state's rural areas.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, to be Connected Through Fiber-Optic Internet

The City of Albuquerque (NM) has finalized its license agreement with Vexus Fiber, a Texas-based Internet company, to begin construction on a 100 percent fiber-optic network that will be available everywhere in the city with direct, cutting-edge internet access to all homes and businesses. With better performing, future-proof technology, the fiber network will support Albuquerque’s residents and businesses needs now and into the future at prices similar to and even lower than what other internet service providers currently charge.

Vice President Harris Marks Important New Milestone in Administration’s Efforts to Cut Costs for American Families

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), administered by the Federal Communications Commission, provides eligible households up to $30/month (or $75/month on Tribal lands) off internet bills, as well as a one-time $100 discount off a connected device. In May 2022, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced commitments from internet service providers across the country to offer high-speed plans that are fully covered by the ACP—meaning millions of working families can now get high-speed internet without paying a dime.

The FCC Tackles Pole Replacements

In March 2022, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 22-20) that asks if the rules should change for allocating the costs of a pole replacement that occurs when a new carrier asks to add a new wire or device onto an existing pole. The timing of this docket is in anticipation of a huge amount of rural fiber construction that will be coming as a result of the tsunami of state and federal broadband grants. The current rules push the full cost of replacing a pole onto the entity that is asking to get onto the pole.

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