The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) — which is a federal benefit intended to help more people get high-speed Internet at home — is yet to enroll more than 40 percent of households nationwide that are eligible for it. In fact, as of this writing, enrollment was at 37.4 percent. What this means, essentially, is that many in the U.S. who don’t have high-speed Internet at home are missing out on government money intended to change that. And while experts in digital inclusion say there are many reasons for that enrollment number — among them skepticism of government, as well as lack of awareness that the benefit program exists — they also agree that local and state government have a crucial role to play in raising enrollment rates. “Keeping in mind that ‘free Internet’ could sound like a scam, all ACP efforts need to include trust — trust in the organization with the ACP message and trust in the individual helping with sign-ups,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. “Local and state governments are essential to increasing awareness of this valuable program.” And a key to doing the digital inclusion work necessary to promote the program  is for local government to partner with community groups that are also doing the work in the city and have existing relationships with people.

The Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.5 million grant to Lafayette City (LA) Parish Consolidated Government, doing business as LUS Fiber, to establish high-speed internet connectivity in support of business and job growth in Jennings (LA). This grant is funded by the American Rescue Plan. This project will construct ten miles of conduit and fiber optic cable to connect the medical and business district in Jennings. The EDA investment will be matched with $617,500 in local funds and is expected to create or retain 250 jobs and generate $618,705 in private investment, according to grantee estimates. This project is funded under EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program, which makes $500 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance grants available to American communities. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program is EDA’s most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs.

This protest challenges the award of a contract to provide a massive data set for the Government to use in determining which structures in the United States can have broadband internet service installed. Congress has tied more than $40 billion of infrastructure funding to availability maps that the Federal Communications Commission must produce using the data set provided under this contract. LightBox Parent, L.P. challenges the award to CostQuest Associates, Inc., alleging that CostQuest made multiple material misrepresentations in its proposal regarding the terms of a third-party licensing agreement that LightBox is not a party to. Because the Court concludes that CostQuest made no material misrepresentation, the Court denies LightBox’s motion for judgment on the administrative record and grants the Government’s and CostQuest’s motions for judgment on the administrative record.

The Federal Communications Commission waived certain E-Rate, Emergency Connectivity Fund, Rural Health Care, COVID-19 Telehealth, Lifeline, and Affordable Connectivity Program rules and deadlines to assist participants and service providers, including Universal Service Fund (USF) contributors, located in the areas affected by Hurricane Fiona, which struck Puerto Rico on September 18, 2022. The resulting heavy rainfall, wind, landslides, and flooding have damaged homes, schools, libraries, and health care facilities and displaced residents. The hurricane has also caused significant power outages throughout the impacted areas. Because of these compelling and unique circumstances, the FCC finds good cause to waive certain rules and deadlines to assist program participants, service providers, and USF contributors in the affected areas.

Gigabit broadband service is coming to communities and rural areas in 11 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin through a partnership by Nextlink and Tarana. They expect to expand service to hundreds of rural counties over the next several years, covering over a quarter million households. Part of this ties back to the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) licenses Nextlink picked up at auction in 2020. Nextlink bid $28.4 million for 1,072 Priority Access Licenses (PALs), which it’s using as part of its fixed wireless deployment. Tarana also offers a 5 GHz version of its platform, but Nextlink’s first choice is to use the 3.5 GHz CBRS spectrum where it has PALs. Nextlink is trying to do a couple of things with this platform, he said. One is to create competition in areas traditionally served by just one service provider, which could be a cable company or another fiber provider. Another is exceeding its Connect America Fund (CAF) obligations. Nextlink is receiving $281 million from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy 100/20 Mbps broadband to more than 100,000 locations across six states under the FCC's CAF Phase 2 program. Nextlink plans on using a combination of fiber and gigabit fixed wireless to meet its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) obligations, and Tarana is “uniquely positioned” to help Nextlink deliver on all of its promises.