When colleges in the California State University system sent students home from campus in spring 2020, it quickly became clear that some students lacked reliable access to the internet or computers through which to participate in their pandemic-era emergency remote courses. Institutions did what they could to help in the moment, trying “band-aid remedies” such as loaning out laptops or expanding Wi-Fi service into parking lots, says Mike Uhlenkamp, senior director of public affairs for the system.

The purpose of the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program is to help low-income Americans connect to the Internet during the Covid-19 pandemic. As of October 2021, EBB has more than 6 million recipients (about 700 thousand in California) and Congress is discussing several proposals to transition the EBB into a permanent broadband subsidy program. This policy brief examines broadband affordability in California and explores awareness and adoption of the EBB program among low-income California households.

The Federal Communications Commission announced its third set of approved Connected Care Pilot Program projects. These 36 projects were approved for a total of $15,337,689 in funding.

Universal service is the principle that all Americans should have access to essential communications services, like phones and broadband. You may not have heard much about it, but a universal service crisis is right around the corner. Due to Federal Communications Commission inaction, nearly 800,000 people could lose phone service on December 1. On that day, changes in the FCC’s Lifeline program, which provides a modest monthly discount for communications services, mean that voice-only services like a home landline telephone and/or a cellphone will no longer be eligible for the discount.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it has received requests for nearly $1.3 billion in the second application filing window of the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program to fund nearly 2.4 million connected devices and over 564,000 broadband connections. The FCC also committed an additional $269 million to fund connected devices and broadband connections requested in the first application filing window.

Telemedicine startups are confronting a hodgepodge of state regulations, complicating their efforts to expand their services nationwide. Companies that provide care over the web or through mobile devices scaled up rapidly during the pandemic, as overcrowding at hospitals led to more patients meeting doctors virtually. Aiding startups’ growth were temporary waivers of restrictions on telemedicine that many states enacted, including a requirement that doctors be licensed in their state to provide virtual care.

The US Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration has begun awarding its historic $3 billion in American Rescue Plan funds to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to build back better by accelerating the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building local economies that will be resilient to future economic shocks. EDA awarded $24 million in grants to states and territories across the nation for statewide planning efforts to boost economic development, enhance US competitiveness, combat the climate crisis, and recover from the pandemic. EDA will fun

The Senate has passed the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, which could free up potentially hundreds of billions more for 

A June-July 2021 survey of 2,500 Philadelphia shows that—in the aftermath of the public, private, and philanthropic sectors coming together—there has been substantial progress in closing digital gaps in the city.

The Federal Communications Commission approved an additional 71 applications for funding commitments totaling $40,468,845 for Round 2 of its COVID-19 Telehealth Program. This is the FCC’s third funding announcement of approved Round 2 applications bringing the total to approximately $123.6 million awarded to health care providers in each state, territory, and the District of Columbia.