Agenda

How can the Farm Bill help close the digital divide in rural America? There are a few areas that we could start with, and Sascha Meinrath, the Palmer Chair in telecommunications at Penn State University, says the first one won’t cost the government a dime. “The Farm Bill could include a mandate that says anytime a provider reports to a federal agency that they provide service at an address, they must provide that service within 30 days or get fined $10,000 a day until they do,” says Meinrath. In other words, force the ISPs to show verification that they are doing what they claim.

On November 1, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its "annual" inquiry into the state of broadband in the United States. The inquiry includes three broad questions: 1) What constitutes "broadband service" today 2) Is the U.S. achieving its universal broadband goals? 3) Is broadband being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion? The FCC is seeking public input on these questions through December 1. 

We write in response to your recently circulated Draft Order on “Digital Discrimination” that would turn section 60506 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into a sweeping mandate for heavy-handed Internet regulation and expose every nook and cranny of the broadband business to liability under a “disparate impact” standard. Your Draft Order, which largely follows a Biden administration diktat, will create crippling uncertainty for the U.S. broadband industry, chill broadband investment, and undermine Congress’s objective of promoting broadband access for all Americans.

We, the undersigned groups, write to emphasize the dire need for Congress to pass 6 billion dollars in supplemental funding to sustain the Affordable Connectivity Program (“ACP”) through the end of 2024. As of October 25, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration requested Congress to appropriate emergency funding for critical domestic issues, including $6 billion earmarked for ACP to ensure eligible households across the country remain connected online.

Minnesota's Office of Broadband Development announced the public comment period for the State's Draft Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, Initial Proposal (Volumes I and II) for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Public comments on the BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1 & 2 can be submitted online by completing this form. All comments must be received by 4:00 p.m. CDT, Tuesday, December 12, 2023.

From November 1 to December 2, 2023, all Maryland residents are encouraged and invited to read the State’s draft Digital Equity Plan​ to share their feedback and recommendations. Maryland’s Digital Equity Plan will serve as the state roadmap to achieve digital equity over the next five years. The Office of Statewide Broadband will incorporate feedback received from the public during the open comment period, and will publish the final plan afterwards.  

The Federal Communication Commission’s new Democratic majority is up and running and firing in all directions. The FCC plans to vote on a proposed “digital discrimination” rule. In the name of equity, Democratic Commissioners will make internet service worse. The agency will hold broadband providers liable for actions or “omissions” that result in a disparate impact on an identity group.

I write regarding reports from my home state—the commonwealth of Pennsylvania—of payment issues with the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). As my colleagues and I work to find long-term funding solutions for ACP, both the FCC and companies that administer and benefit from ACP must do right by Americans who rely on the it. I’ve heard from constituents across the commonwealth that some of these households have encountered issues receiving their benefits. Specifically, some service providers are requiring that users show proof of one month of service before qualifying for the discount.

Officials at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a branch of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), have overhauled how the federal government assesses the costs and benefits of regulation and some government spending programs, clearing a path for more aggressive efforts to fight climate change and help the poor. OIRA finalized a new and complicated set of rules that would change how federal agencies tally and weigh the potential value and harm of new regulations related to climate change, taxation, the distribution of disaster relief assistance, and mor

On April 25, 2023, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled “Broadband Speed: FCC Should Improve its Communication of Advanced Telecommunications Capability Assessments.” The report examines the extent to which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has communicated how it reviews its minimum fixed-broadband speed benchmark, and how it determines whether to update the benchmark, and the extent to which the minimum speed requirements of selected federal and state broadband programs differ from the FCC’s benchmark, and stakeholders’ views on any implications