On September 15, 2022, the National Tribal Telecommunications Association (NTTA) sent letters to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioners Carr, Starks and Simington, and Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau Trent Harkrader attaching a white paper on examining the need for ongoing broadband support on Tribal lands. According to NTTA, the paper examines the need for ongoing support to assist in eliminating the digital divide that currently exists between broadband availability on Tribal lands and the rest of the United States. It calls for a “sustainability funding” program that assists Tribes with the high cost of operating and maintaining broadband-capable networks, especially for those providers not currently assisted under existing federal high-cost support programs. The NTTA urged the FCC to consider the issues discussed in the white paper in its upcoming proceeding to determine the “reorientation” of the High Cost Program.

On September 8, 2022, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel penned responses to two groups of lawmakers who had written to Rosenworcel about the future of the Universal Service Fund. In her responses, the chairwoman highlighted the FCC's Report on the Future of the Universal Service Fund adopted on August 12, 2022. The Report includes discussion of the costs of data transportation and their impact on rural providers, according to Rosenworcel. "It recommends that the FCC initiate a proceeding to consider the future support needs of networks serving high-cost areas, and in doing so assess what continuing support is needed to develop, maintain and improve broadband operations in those locations," she said. "In addition, the Report includes discussion of middle-mile development in high-cost areas," she continued, and recommends that the FCC “engage with NTIA on this program, and then study its results and its implications on for High Cost and the other universal service programs.” Rosenoworcel also states that the Report includes discussion of whether the Universal Service Fund contribution base should be broadened to include “edge providers,” such as streaming video providers or major digital advertisers, which are by many accounts responsible for a significant volume of traffic on networks serving high-cost areas."

As broadband becomes more and more important for students to be successful, we need to know how differences in availability affect their achievement. How do some students’ achievements compare to their more well-off peers with fancy 1 gigabit fiber connections? Suppose we could randomly build out fiber-optic broadband to different parts within a neighborhood and then compare a student’s test scores before and after fiber became available to the students that didn’t get access. This would mimic a “natural experiment” with which we could assess the effect of fiber access on student achievement. As it turns out, the gradual build-out of fiber over the last decade has roughly mirrored this “natural experiment,” and subsequently serves as an informative opportunity for policymakers and researchers studying broadband. What happens to the achievement of students who live in areas where fiber is offered? It turns out that not only does internet access matter, but the speed of the connection does as well! Six years of exposure to fiber for students in grades 3-8 increases their standardized math and reading scores by about 2.3 and 1.1 percent of a standard deviation respectively. This research suggests that broadband is a key piece of modern education. Students benefit greatly from broadband access and in particular reliable, fast broadband. Policymakers should strive to equalize both availability and take-up of fiber-based broadband. Failure to do so could unduly restrict the educational outcomes with limited or no broadband access or those too poor to afford a subscription for broadband service. You can view the most current version of the research paper here.