Press Release

With the recent release of the American Community Survey’s five-year (2013–2017) rolling average data for small areas, new figures show that broadband access rates differ significantly among American Indian reservations but are, on average, low relative to national norms.The Census Bureau has shown that counties’ rates of broadband access are positively correlated with income. We have found the correlation between income and broadband access for reservations is very similar as to counties. This implies that the lower average levels of broadband access in reservations is likely attributable

The Connect America Fund (CAF) Accountability Act of 2019 would requires covered telecommunications carriers (CTCs) to include certain additional information in their speed and latency reports to the Federal Communications Commission. Currently, CAF recipients are required by the FCC to report on the speeds and latency provided to consumers within their service areas. The new reports are to be sent to the FCC on a quarterly basis.

I thank my colleagues for their support in electing me chairman of the Commerce Committee. I would also like to thank Sen. John Thune, the committee’s former chairman, for his exemplary leadership these past four years. The chairmanship is a great responsibility given the committee’s broad jurisdiction across diverse sectors of our economy. I look forward to serving alongside our new ranking member, Sen. Maria Cantwell, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to build on the committee’s successes and continue moving our economy forward.

The newly-released 2018 Indigenous Connectivity Summit (ICS) Community Report shows a strong correlation between Indigenous connectivity and the well-being and sustainability of rural and remote Indigenous communities, especially when solutions are local. The report summarizes outcomes of the 2018 Indigenous Connectivity Summit that brought nearly 140 Indigenous leaders, policy makers, network operators, and community members to the Arctic community of Inuvik, Nrthwest Territories last Oct. Like most New Year’s resolutions, connectivity solutions are neither quick nor cheap.

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance is looking for nominations for the fourth annual Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion Award. This year, we are excited to announce that not only one award will be presented, but two. In addition to recognizing an outstanding person who has truly made a difference in the field of Digital Equity, we wish to recognize an up and coming Digital Inclusion Practitioner as well. Nominees should exhibit some combination of the following characteristics on which the award will be based:

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the Jan Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Should the current lapse in funding end before Jan 9, additional items may be added to the tentative agenda:

As the 115th Congress comes to an end, so too has the gambit to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order through the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai released the following statement regarding the failure of the effort to use the CRA to overturn the Restoring Internet Freedom Order: “I’m pleased that a strong bipartisan majority of the US House of Representatives declined to reinstate heavy-handed Internet regulation.

To help take the next leap towards a more efficient, accountable, and transparent Federal Communications Commission, I have scoured previous proposals, spoken to interested parties, and considered my own personal experiences, and have prepared a list of ideas designed to improve the Commission's processes for our licensees, practitioners, Commissioners, and, most importantly, American consumers. It's now time to publicly release these medium, small, and tiny, mostly non-mutually exclusive ideas, and have each produce feedback on its merits or pitfalls.

The Federal Communications Commission has before it applications in the attached appendices that: (1) seek consent to the assignment of certain television broadcast licenses held by subsidiaries of Raycom Media, Inc. (Raycom) to a subsidiary of Gray Television, Inc.

Many small communities across the country struggle to bring advanced broadband to their residents. What they lack in size, they often make up with diversity of their economies, populations, geography, and technology providers. Public-private partnerships (PPP) can help local government and businesses pool their resources and technical expertise to deliver cutting-edge services to citizens.