Analysis

Pew Charitable Trusts assesses broadband grant scoring metrics, with side-by-side comparisons of the metrics used by Indiana, Minnesota, and Virginia. These three states represent both relatively well-established state broadband grant programs as well as
programs that updated their scoring systems in 2020 and 2021. Major points include:

The Pew Charitable Trusts provides information on the “challenge processes” in state broadband grant programs, with key features from a variety of states. Summary points include:

The Federal Communications Commission just announced increased testing for internet service providers (ISPs) accepting funding from FCC High-Cost programs, which includes the Connect America Fund (CAF) II and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). The new rules include the following:

The Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Reverse Auction was completed a little more than a year ago to much fanfare and spilled ink, and though we’ve seen irregular updates over the last twelve months, we thought it worth the time to round up what we know so far in an effort to see where we’re at and determine what is likely to come. The RDOF was built to award up to $20.4 billion in grants over 10 years using competitive reverse auctions generally won by the lowest bidder.

Nielsen recently published some statistics about the way that we watch video that shows a continuing trend of migration from traditional video to watching video online. One of the most striking statistics is the total volume of online video. December 2021 saw an aggregate of 183 billion minutes of online video viewing, and even that number is likely small since there are many uses of video on the web that are not likely counted in the total.

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress allocated around $65 billion to connect Americans to broadband internet and gave the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) a leadership role in guiding states on how to spend the funds. Now, it will be up to the NTIA and the states to ensure that congressional goals become a reality. This Request for Comment by the American Action Forum raises important questions about the appropriate path forward, and these comments aim to guide the NTIA to maximize the efficiency of each tax dollar spent.

The Rural Wireless Association submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the agency's implementation of several broadband infrastructure programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Recommendations include:

Common Cause submitted comments in response to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)’s Request for Comment on the implementation of broadband programs found within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Common Cause's recommendations include: