Over the past two years, millions of low-income US households have received broadband internet at a discount through two consecutive government programs. But they could soon lose that benefit. More than 16 million US households are currently enrolled in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) which offers a $30 discount on broadband services to qualifying low-income households. Funding for it is expected to run out in 2024. The program has signed up one-third of eligible households. Polling shared by the Digital Progress Institute, a bipartisan policy research firm, found that voters on both sides of the aisle largely support the continuation of the ACP. It is up to Congress to decide whether the program gets funded again. One of the deciding factors will be the efficacy of the programs over the past two years. However, two-thirds of the eligible population remain unenrolled. For some, the process of signing up, which requires submitting private information online, by mail, or on the phone with an internet service provider, feels too cumbersome or invasive.

The US Treasury Department awarded Kansas $15 million for digital equity work, with the money going toward public Wi-Fi, digital skills training, and more. In addition, 20 other states have applied for digital equity funding from the same source, with other awards expected to be made soon. “Kansas is just the first of many more to come,” said Joseph Wender director of the Treasury Department's Capital Projects Fund (CPF), which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). What makes this announcement significant is that the Kansas award is specifically for digital equity — and just digital equity, not broadband infrastructure, as is more common for grants of this size that involve digital inclusion. The way the CPF was written into law leaves a lot of discretion to governors’ offices. As such, coordination is crucial to helping states obtain the available digital equity money, Wender advised.

House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), along with the chairs of the subcommittee of jurisdiction, wrote letters to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Energy (DOE), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), requesting a full accounting of how they’ve spent taxpayer dollars. The Chairs specifically requested funding information from: the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the  Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including but not limited to: 

1. The total amount of funding from each Act that has been obligated to date.

2. A list of each financial award funded, in part or in full, by these laws, including the following information for each award:

a.    All recipients for which funding has been expended.

b.    All recipients for which funding has been obligated.

c.     The amount of funding that has been obligated for each recipient.

d.    A description of the project funded.

e.    The type of award (i.e., grant, loan, etc.).

3. The number, job title, compensation, and duties of any employees, contractors, or consultants who have been hired or engaged using the funding, in whole or in part.

4. An accounting of the funds that have not yet been obligated.

The request to the FCC includes an accounting of:

• $98 million to implement the Broadband DATA Act, as well as the status of the broadband map development;
• $450 million for the COVID-19 telehealth program;
• $3.2 billion for the Emergency Broadband Benefit;
• $7.17 billion for the Emergency Connectivity Fund program; and
• $14.2 billion for the Affordable Broadband Benefit.

The request to the NTIA includes an accounting of:

• $300 million for the Broadband Infrastructure Program 
• $3 billion for tribal broadband deployment 
• $285 million for the Connecting Minority Communities Program
• $42.45 billion for the Broadband, Equity, Accessibility, and Deployment (BEAD) Program
• $2.75 billion for digital equity grants
• $1 billion for middle mile infrastructure

A reply is requested by March 16.

On April 6, 2022, Sen Shelley Moore Capito wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about pole attachment and replacement regulations in West Virginia. On February 22, Chairwoman Rosenworcel reminded Sen. Capito that, since 2020, West Virginia regulates pole attachments at the state level. This means that the state retains complete authority to deviate from the federal regime to suit the particular needs of West Virginia. In 2022, the FCC issued a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that sought comment on questions concerning the allocation of pole replacement costs between utilities and attachers. In particular, the FCC sought comment about whether it needs to provide greater clarity around when a pole must be replaced to accommodate new communications equipment, and on other economic and legal issues that may arise with pole replacements. The Further Notice also sought comment on whether there are other reforms the FCC can make to speed up the process for negotiations over pole replacements and attachments, because certainty is good both for the providers seeking to build broadband networks and for the electric companies that own most of the utility poles. FCC staff is currently reviewing the record in this proceeding.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of remote working enabled by a robust broadband infrastructure. The objective was to find out the effects of remote working on quality of life and in reducing emissions before and during the pandemic. We found broadband-enabled remote working to significantly increase the quality time of workers, defined as the time spent with family members. When higher remote working frequency occurs (three working days and more), the net reduction in emissions seems to prevail. During 2020, on average, every worker that started to work from home (rather than commuting) contributed to reduce emissions in 0.045 metric tons. our results highlight the need to close the digital divide and to ensure everyone can adopt a highquality internet connection in the United States.