The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded Long Beach City College, a Hispanic Serving Institution in California, $2,999,978 as part of the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program.  Long Beach City College (LBCC)'s Student Technology and Resources (STAR) program will address equity gaps created by historically marginalized students' lack of access to internet broadband and technology. The main goals of the program are to increase persistence of students receiving technology (e.g., laptops/hotspots) and increase enrollment in LBCC's non-credit courses offered at two partner locations within the City of Long Beach (Centro CHA and the North Long Beach Center for Higher Education). Achieving these goals will support students who are experiencing barriers to their education and leverage community partners to expand the scope and scale of support to non-traditional students.  

This report, mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021, details the work of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) in expanding access and identifying barriers to high-speed internet service for students, faculty, and staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBU), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU), and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) and within anchor communities. Examples of OMBI’s key 2021-2022 accomplishments highlighted in the report include:

• Administering the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) and granting over $20 million in the program’s first ten awards
• Collaborating with federal, state, tribal, and anchor institution stakeholders through interagency outreach, partnerships with national advocacy organizations, and support of NTIA’s Digital Equity Leaders Network re-launch
• Building the capacity of anchor institutions and their communities through ongoing technical assistance activities exceeding 2000 participants

All across the country, state governments are scrambling to beef up their broadband offices and stand up new grant programs in anticipation of millions in funding from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Chad Rupe, the former administrator of the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service, has advice for states looking to make their broadband programs a success. According to Rupe, there are a few lessons states can take from the success of the ReConnect program as they navigate the path ahead. Among other things, he urged states to prioritize future-proof solutions despite potential sticker shock, allow for a robust challenge process of eligible locations early in the award process, and carefully weigh issues operators might face in terms of construction timelines and financing requirements. Rupe added an early challenge mechanism is key for broadband programs looking to implement a fair process. Allowing operators to challenge locations deemed eligible for funding can help avoid overbuilding and wasteful spending, he said. And running this process before awards are made avoids confusion after the fact. 

Many residents of affordable rental housing nationwide continue to lack access to broadband in their homes, but effective use of a long-standing federal tax credit can help close the gap in those housing units not funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Recognizing the critical importance of high-speed internet access, a HUD rule effective since 2017 requires that broadband infrastructure be installed in new and rehabilitated federally assisted multifamily housing. This rule is an important step toward improving broadband access for households in affordable rental housing, but HUD-funded units represent only a fraction of new affordable housing. States set threshold requirements for new developments and then identify additional priorities through a scoring system in the states’ qualified allocation plans (QAPs). For example, Massachusetts awards additional points for climate-resilient design. QAP requirements heavily influence what affordable rental housing gets built and that means this process presents an opportunity to address broadband needs. Many states include broadband and digital literacy incentives in their QAPs, though the specifics vary. Among the approaches are incentives for in-unit wiring, provision of ongoing service, common area access (such as computer labs for residents), or digital skills training. These features can be requirements for new Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments or encouraged by providing additional points in the plan calculations. While updating QAP requirements can ensure all new LIHTC properties have broadband access, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds will be essential to connecting existing properties that are not connected or under-connected.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposes to commence a rulemaking proceeding to address certain deceptive or unfair acts or practices relating to fees. The FTC is soliciting written comments, data, and arguments concerning the need for such a rulemaking to prevent persons, entities, and organizations from imposing such fees on consumers. The FTC is exploring a rule to crack down on junk fees proliferating throughout the economy. Junk fees are unnecessary, unavoidable, or surprise charges that inflate costs while adding little to no value. Consumers can get hit with junk fees at any stage of the purchase or payment process. The agency is seeking public comment on the harms caused by junk fees and the unfair or deceptive tactics companies use to impose them. Companies charge junk fees in a wide range of contexts, including cramming in hidden fees to which consumers did not consent, misrepresenting optional services or upgrades as mandatory, and charging for products or services with little or no value. The types of junk fees the FTC is seeking comment on include: Unnecessary charges for worthless, free, or fake products or services; Unavoidable charges imposed on captive consumers; and surprise charges that secretly push up the purchase price. While the agency has been active in addressing junk fees, it generally lacks the authority to seek penalties against first-time violators or the ability to obtain redress readily for consumers in instances in which fees violate the FTC’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices. The FTC can seek such remedies when a company violates a rule promulgated by the agency, which is why the agency is exploring a junk fee rule.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is planning to reorganize the FCC to better support the needs of the growing satellite industry, promote long-term technical capacity at the agency, and navigate 21st global communications policy. Under this plan, Chairwoman Rosenworcel will work to reorganize the FCC’s International Bureau into a new Space Bureau and a standalone Office of International Affairs. These changes will help ensure that the FCC’s resources are better aligned so that the agency can continue to fulfill its statutory obligations and keep pace with the rapidly changing realities of the satellite industry and global communications policy. The FCC licenses radio frequency uses by satellites and ensures that space systems reviewed by the agency have sufficient plans to mitigate orbital debris under the authority of the Communications Act of 1934. By establishing a stand-alone Space Bureau the agency aims to better fulfill its statutory obligations and elevate the significance of satellite programs and policy within the agency to a level that reflects the importance of the emerging space economy. By separating satellite policy from the “International Bureau,” the agency acknowledges the role of satellite communications in advancing domestic communications policy and achieving US broadband goals. Lastly, the goal of establishing a stand-alone Office of International Affairs will allow relevant experts to focus specifically on matters of international communications regulation and licensing as we enter a new era of global communications policy.