For college students, reliable broadband access isn’t just about watching a new Netflix series or playing video games. It affects our very ability to educate ourselves and, by extension, to shape our futures and contribute to our democratic society. It allows us to read our online textbooks, to access articles and books for our research assignments, and to upload resumes for jobs and internships.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will submit an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. NTIA invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps NTIA assess the impact of information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on February 17, 2022 during a 60-day comment period.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will submit an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. NTIA invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps NTIA assess the impact of information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on February 16, 2022 during a 60-day comment period.

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will submit an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance. NTIA invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps NTIA assess the impact of information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on February 16, 2022 during a 60-day comment period.

The Federal Communications Commission is committing over $244 million in Emergency Connectivity Fund program support, helping to close the Homework Gap. The funding supports applications from the program’s third filing window which ran from April 28, 2022 until May 13, 2022, and will provide support in the upcoming 2022-2023 school year for 259 schools, 24 libraries, and 1 consortium across the country, including for students in California, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, New York, and Virginia.

There are around 157,000 households in Butler County, Ohio, and it is estimated about 45% are lacking adequate internet access so the Butler County commissioners approved seeking proposals to rectify the situation. The commissioners have agreed to spend $10 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and officially voted to issue a request for proposals and qualifications to handle the new program. County Administrator Judi Boyko has been working on the project for months and plans to issue the formal request June 13.

On March 12, 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission restricted visitor access to its facilities to only those visitors with a clear operational necessity. In light of the improved pandemic conditions, updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that focuses on COVID-19 Community Levels and the associated Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance, beginning on June 9 the FCC will permit visitors with scheduled appointments, in conjunction with safety protocols identified by the Task Force, to enter its facilities.

On July 2, 2018, then-Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) announced that the Commonwealth of Virginia should achieve functionally universal broadband coverage within 10 years. Reaching that goal would be no easy feat. At the time, Virginia was investing just $4 million a year into its broadband program and 660,000 Virginians did not have access to high-speed internet. This week, Virginia's efforts got a big boost when the U.S. Department of Treasury approved nearly $220 million to support broadband deployment projects in the Commonwealth.

The Department of the Treasury announced the first group of plans approved under the American Rescue Plan’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF). The CPF provides $10 billion to states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to the public health emergency.

Even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, some teens faced problems completing their homework because they lacked a computer or internet access at home – a phenomenon often referred to as the “homework gap.” And as students