Affordability/Cost/Price

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is ready to authorize $1,041,074,000 over 10 years in its fifth round of funding for new broadband deployments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. In the largest funding wave to date, 69 broadband providers will bring broadband service to 518,088 locations in 32 states. “This latest round of funding will open up even more opportunities to connect hundreds of thousands of Americans to high-speed, reliable broadband service,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

In November 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the largest U.S. investment ever in broadband access, affordability, and adoption. With $65 billion flowing to broadband, Congress also asked the Federal Communications Commission to determine what impact the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will have in achieving universal service goals for broadband. This week, the FCC launched a proceeding seeking public comment on how to best make sure everyone in the U.S. can use broadband.

The $65 billion federal boost to expand broadband access in the US will be a boon to the women-run companies on platforms like Etsy and Airbnb, especially as they see an increase in rural businesses. Expanding high-speed internet access across the country will enable more women to participate in the online economy at a time when women

Nokia unveiled a new solution called Gigabit Connect which is designed to make broadband deployments in multi-dwelling units (MDUs) easier for fiber players who lack expertise with legacy cabling. The company explained the product builds on G.fast, a technology which allows high-speed broadband to be delivered via copper and coax wiring over short distances. Specifically, Gigabit Connect is meant to make G.fast more friendly for fiber players by enabling the last leg of connectivity to be managed as a fiber endpoint under a single management interface.

Comcast, which postponed its planned data caps and penalties on northeast customers when it came under fire at the peak of the current pandemic, has abandoned the plan altogether. Haverhill Rep Andy Vargas (D-MA) said he received word directly from Comcast in early December after following up on the company’s plan to charge those without unlimited plans $10 for every 50 gigabytes they use over the 1.2 terabyte limit, up to a maximum of $100 a month. “The latest we have is that they have no intention of reintroducing the data caps at all, which is a huge win,” Vargas said.

Congress has made unprecedented federal investments in broadband infrastructure and digital equity. This moment is not just about installing conduit under streets and fiber on poles — it is about achieving and ensuring digital equity for our country as a whole. Conversations with Municipal Leaders: Digital Equity in Cities, a report by the National League of Cities, captures the combined perspectives and experiences of 22 US cities, towns and villages working to achieve digital equity.

Imagine a government program that would connect millions of financially-challenged households to broadband in their homes. In a world of “If it sounds too good to be true…” you can expect that skepticism reigns. Fortunately, the Affordable Connectivity Program is not only a real program, but Congress allocated about $14 billion to help lower-income households pay for internet service. The catch?

A group working to expand broadband internet services across rural Vermont says there will be at least 2,000 miles (over 3,200 kilometers) of fiber optic cable ready for installation during the 2022 construction season. Christine Hallquist, executive director the Vermont Community Broadband Board, announced Monday that three groups were working together to provide 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of cable. NEK Broadband, the state’s largest communication union district, has arranged to buy another 1,000 miles of cable, Hallquist said.

From April 2020 to May 2021, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a Michelson Spark Grantee, studied the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on digital inequity, particularly among school-age children in California. Researchers leveraged 2019 census data from over 35,000 households in California to establish the pre-COVID baseline as they considered how ethnic groups, income levels, educational attainment, and locality impacted device access and connectivity.

Internet service provider EarthLink has joined a growing number of companies offering fixed wireless service. The company’s offering, dubbed EarthLink Wireless Home Internet, uses LTE or 5G for connectivity to the internet and can support up to 64 devices, in comparison with 10 devices for a mobile hotspot. A typical household has 11 connected devices, EarthLink notes on its website.