What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
FCC Announces Inaugural Broadband Data Collection Filing Dates
All facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service can begin to submit broadband availability data under the new rules and procedures for the Broadband Data Collection beginning on June 30, 2022. Filers must submit data depicting deployment as of June 30, 2022, and must submit the data by September 1, 2022. The Federal Communications Commission's Broadband Data Task Force and the Office of Economics and Analytics are providing this Public Notice more than six months in advance of the September 1, 2022 filing deadline.
Long before the pandemic highlighted and expanded the gulf in internet access between served and unserved or underserved communities, churches diligently worked to identify the need to connect members of their communities to the internet and sought to provide that connection. For instance, churches have long provided educational opportunities for adults, and with the advent of the digital era, they quickly realized that computers were necessary to serve this goal.
Recently, Montana’s Governor, Greg Gianforte stated: “Too many of our communities, particularly in our rural and frontier areas, lack access to reliable broadband. That’s why we’ve made a historic investment to get fiber in the ground and close the digital divide.” State Broadband office data shows that two-thirds of Montana addresses currently have 100 mbps service or its pending.
A conversation on the EEB, the newly funded ACP program, and what the transition means for vulnerable communities.
The public airwaves, also called spectrum, are a natural resource owned by the American people. Last year alone, the FCC raised more than $100 billion for the U.S. Treasury by auctioning spectrum licenses to mobile broadband providers—costs that will increase the prices consumers pay for wireless services for years to come.
Google Creates $100 Million Fund for Skills Training Program
Google is creating a $100 million fund to sponsor an ambitious project to expand effective skills training and job placement programs for low-income Americans. The initiative is targeting a big problem: how to find, train and create paths to good jobs in the modern economy for the nearly two-thirds of American workers who do not have a four-year college degree.
USDA Extends to March 9 the Application Deadline for ReConnect Program Funding
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending to March 9, 2022, the application deadline for funding to expand access to high-speed internet for millions of rural Americans nationwide.
National Economic Council's Tim Wu on President Biden's 'New Direction' on Antitrust
National Economic Councilmember Tim Wu said the Biden administration has adopted a different perspective on how to promote innovation — while previous White Houses might’ve said “trust the giants,” this one believes “small is beautiful.” Wu, Special Assistant to the President for Technology and Competition Policy, pushed back on what he termed the “monopoly innovation” theory that he says has dominated antitrust thinking for several decades. According to that view, he said, the high prices a monopoly can charge encourages it to innovate and develop new technologies.
Federal and State Entities Should Collaborate, Share Data, and Track Progress on Closing the Digital Divide
Resolution on Ensuring that Federal and State Entities Collaborate, Share Data, and Track Progress on Closing the Digital Divide Utilizing Various Federal Programs including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.