The Public Library Association (PLA) is now accepting applications for public libraries to receive funding to conduct digital literacy workshops using DigitalLearn resources. The PLA Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive Program, supported by AT&T, provides up to $7,000 to support outreach and training in local communities. The funding follows a recent announcement of new and updated DigitalLearn courses as part of the overall collaboration with AT&T to help close the digital divide. All public libraries in the United States and Washington (DC) are now eligible to apply for one of two incentive amounts. Tier 1 Incentive recipients will receive $4,000 and be required to conduct a minimum of three workshops reaching a total of 18 learners. Tier 2 Incentive recipients will receive $7,000 and be required to conduct a minimum of five workshops reaching a minimum of 50 learners. Workshops can be conducted in person or online and must be completed by March 31, 2023. The incentive application deadline is June 10, 2022, at 11:59 pm Central Time. Applications will be reviewed and selected by PLA member reviewers this summer, and recipients will be announced in August 2022.

When the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction was held in 2020, there was no way the Federal Communications Commission could have known that Congress would invest heavily in achieving universal broadband coverage a few years later, according to New Street Research analyst Blair Levin. But once Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), it was clear there would be tension between the two efforts, he said. One of the major questions that sprang up was whether the Commerce Department would count the thousands of satellite and FWA locations supposedly covered under RDOF as served when determining where IIJA funding should be applied. That question was top of mind for many given earlier concerns about the ability of RDOF’s satellite and fixed wireless access (FWA) winners to deliver on their commitments and the growing possibility that some such RDOF winners might not receive expected funding in some areas. The rules the Commerce Department issued for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and several other broadband funding initiatives make two things clear: that the priority for funding is on covering unserved locations and that areas connected only with satellite or FWA services based on unlicensed spectrum will be considered unserved. According to Levin, this puts the power in the hands of the states to push fiber to wherever they think it’s needed.

The Broadband Data Task Force, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Wireline Competition Bureau, and the Office of Economics and Analytics seek comment on a Petition for Declaratory Ruling or Limited Waiver filed by the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) requesting that the Federal Communications Commission issue a declaratory ruling to clarify that Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filings may be certified by a qualified professional engineer or an otherwise-qualified engineer that is not a licensed professional engineer accredited by a state licensure board. CCA requests that the FCC clarify that the requirement that all providers must include as part of their BDC filing a certification of the accuracy of its submissions by a certified professional engineer may be completed by either a licensed professional engineer or an otherwise qualified engineer who possesses the appropriate engineering expertise but does not hold a professional engineer license. Additionally, CCA requests that the FCC clarify its definition of the term “corporate engineering officer” as it pertains to qualified engineers. Alternatively, CCA requests a limited waiver of the requirement that BDC data be certified by a licensed professional engineer, and instead allow mobile providers to certify their data with a Radio Frequency engineering professional with specified qualifications that are directly relevant to broadband availability assessment. The FCC seeks comment on these and other issues raised by the Petition as they may impact both fixed and mobile broadband service providers.

The hits just keep coming for LTD Broadband. The Minnesota Telecom Alliance renewed an effort to block the operator from receiving millions in federal funding to deploy broadband in Minnesota, arguing LTD lacks the technical, managerial and financial capabilities needed to deliver the promised coverage. At issue is the $311 million in support LTD Broadband won in the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction in 2020 to cover 102,000 residents in Minnesota. That money is set to be distributed over the course of 10 years, in annual installments of $31 million. In order to receive the funding from the FCC, the state must certify LTD as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC). Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved LTD’s ETC application in June 2021. But the Minnesota Telecom Alliance now wants it to reverse course on the grounds that information has subsequently come to light indicating that LTD will not be able to deliver on its RDOF commitments. Specifically, it noted LTD has failed to receive ETC certification in seven of the 15 states where it won RDOF funding and the FCC has already declared the operator to be in default on over 30 percent of the 528,000 locations it bid on. However, the operator is notably fighting Iowa’s decision to deny its application.