Analysis

The variation in the affordability of internet access is the focus of the latest Internet Poverty Index (IPI) 2023, which projects the distribution of individuals who are priced out of a basic package of mobile internet and are thus living in internet poverty. Based on the latest IPI data, World Data Lab predicts that 1.05 billion people are currently living in internet poverty. Since 2015, the internet-poor population has decreased by 685 million or around 40 percent. The reduction in internet poverty has been driven by a universal

The 2023 Broadband Pricing Index (BPI), the fourth installment of USTelecom’s annual report, shows continued good news for broadband consumers, including an 18 percent drop year-over-year in the price of providers’ most popular broadband speed tier (Real BPI-Consumer Choice) and a 6.5 percent drop year-over-year in the price of providers’ fastest speed tier (Real BPI-Speed). Even without accounting for inflation, this pricing trend is in direct contrast to the rising cost of overall goods and services, up nearly 5 percent in a similar one-year period.

One of the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is that it requires the Federal Communications Commission to “take steps to ensure that all people of the United States benefit from equal access to broadband internet access within the service area of a provider of such service.” In legalese, the term equal access, in this case, means that consumers should be able to expect to get the same speed, capacity, and latency as other customers buying the same product from the same internet service provider (ISP) sold elsewhere.

On September 26 at the National Press Club, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel laid out her arguments for reclassification. Among them was a claim that the lack of broadband competition makes Title II necessary. One can make coherent and serious arguments supporting Title II and net neutrality. But Title II because of the state of competition? No. The Chairwoman is right that areas actually served by only one provider and likely to continue to be served by only one provider really do require more oversight than areas with more competition.

It’s been easy to criticize the Federal Communications Commission broadband coverage maps since they are still full of errors and fantasy. I don’t foresee the maps getting any better as long as internet service providers (ISPs) can continue to decide what they want to report in terms of broadband coverage and speeds. Too many ISPs have reasons for reporting maps they know are inaccurate, and it’s hard to think that’s going to change.

On September 30, the U.S. Senate unanimously voted to confirm Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to serve another term as commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission. Just days before, the Senate confirmed Anna Gomez as FCC commissioner, filling a seat that had been vacant since January 20, 2021. Not only does the FCC now have a full complement of five commissioners, all have terms that will keep them at the agency until at least December 2025. So, the FCC is entering a period of relative stability in its leadership that has not been seen in a few years.

Having studied barriers to Internet use for the last three decades, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is intimately familiar with the longstanding disparities that keep far too many Americans from realizing the full benefits of modern communications and information technologies.

Two areas in the draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet: 

Puerto Rico’s mountainous geography and experience with natural disasters play a role in the digital divide that leaves too many without the ability to access broadband internet. Widespread damage to the island’s existing telecommunications infrastructure as a result of recent natural disasters—such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Hurricane Fiona, the 2020 earthquakes, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic—highlighted the importance of reliable and affordable broadband access, particularly for remote work, online learning, telehealth services, and connecting with the government.

A report from Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) highlights some of the problems and issues of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. Sen. Cruz's first criticism of BEAD is that the allocation gives too much funding to places that have good broadband and don’t need the money—like Washington (DC) and Delaware.