Digital Divide

The Biden administration rolled out the Affordable Connectivity Program to help low-income people pay for service. The federal government should not stop with this subsidy program when it addresses the affordability component of the digital divide. Internet service providers (ISPs) will get a lot of new customers as the government pays to extend service to areas that have not been worth serving when the companies were stringing the wires, and it would be a shame if the businesses were allowed to use their near-monopolies to drive up prices for everyone else.

Loup Power District is developing a funding resolution that can lead to the construction of a 300-mile backbone network to help area farmers receive high-speed broadband. The effort will affect residents in four rural counties: Boone, Colfax, Nance and Platte (NE). The power company is developing a funding resolution that would be executed by each public entity involved in a potential backbone network in the four-county area.

The Missouri Legislature approved several pockets of broadband funding in the state budget this session, but the total remains millions short of the governor's recommendations. The Missouri General Assembly passed a record state budget totaling $49 billion, which now awaits Gov Mike Parson (R-MO)'s approval. The budget includes roughly $372 million for broadband internet development and programs -- nearly $100 million lower than a plan proposed by Parson. At the 2021 state fair, Parson announced a plan to invest $400 million in broadband development across the state.

For more than two decades, E-Rate has provided vital support to help connect schools and libraries to high-speed, modern communications all across the country. It got its start as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Over 25 million children take the bus to school every day. In rural areas that ride can be long. It can easily be an hour to school and an hour to return home at the end of the day.

Data from the 2021 NTIA Internet Use Survey show that historically less-connected communities used the Internet and connected devices in greater numbers than they did two years ago before the COVID-19 pandemic.

BroadbandUSA’s Tribal Broadband Planning Toolkit provides the guidance, knowledge, and resources to design, implement, and then execute a broadband plan in Tribal communities. The toolkit outlines seven, common elements that serve as the building blocks of a Tribal broadband plan:

Sen Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) says the pandemic confirmed internet access is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in rural America. “Across the country 17.3 percent of Americans in rural areas don’t have access to reliable broadband, compared to only 1 percent of Americans in urban areas,” Gillibrand said. Gillibrand said that’s why she’s pushing to fully fund the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Broadband Program, using $350 million to get rural Americans online.

The White House announced the expansion of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) with the launch of a new website and agreements with internet service providers that could cut internet cost

Lower-income Americans now have more options for free high-speed internet access, including at least eight providers that serve Southern California. The federal government launched the Affordable Connectivity Program at the end of 2021 to provide $30-per-month subsidies for households with incomes no more than twice the federal poverty level.

Comcast announced it will soon start enabling customers to sign up for its Internet Essentials Plus service at the company’s more than 500 Xfinity stores. The offering includes 100 Mbps speed, a cable modem, access to millions of WiFi hotspots, and unlimited data for $29.95 per month and is free to customers eligible for the low-income Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Comcast is training customer service agents at its call centers to help eligible customers sign up for the Essentials Plus service and educate them about the ACP.