Digital Divide

A $15 million grant from the Illinois Office of Broadband will make Kendall County’s plan to provide high-speed internet to nearly all residents of the County possible. Kendall County announced that with the grant award, it intends to develop a public-private partnership that will result in more than $40 million in investment in a community-owned broadband network.

In a March 19 letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the National Urban League (NUL), National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), and Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) write to express our strong support for the establishment of an Office of Civil Rights within the FCC.

Every once in a while, a bipartisan group of lawmakers comes together to support a popular policy that fulfills the interests of industry leaders and everyday Americans alike. These instances are supposed to be the slam dunks of legislating, a time for lawmakers to prove they are interested in governing to the advantage of their constituents. It’s all easier said than done.

The House of Representatives unveiled a $1.1 trillion spending package on March 21 that, if passed, will keep the government from shutting down this weekend. What it won't do, however, is fund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) before it ends in May 2024. With April set as the ACP's final month of full funding, advocates had hoped to see Congress fund the program in must-pass spending legislation. In addition to the ACP, another top priority for the telecom industry is getting more funding for the Secure Networks Program, also known as rip-and-replace.

Among residents in cities and suburbs, about 55 percent have been passed by at least one fiber provider, while among those in small towns and rural areas, only about 42 percent have been passed, according to a study by RVA LLC. This leaves a small town/rural opportunity for an initial passing of about 22 million homes.

On March 21, Public Knowledge joined 24 other public interest and consumer advocacy groups in a letter to congressional leaders about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The groups urged Congress to renew the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) spectrum auction authority and use some of the projected revenue to help fund the ACP. "Congress has a unique opportunity to advance our national spectrum goals while simultaneously generating sufficient revenue to support the connectivity needs of millions of Americans," said the letter.

Elon Musk recently blasted the federal government’s decision to deny a nearly billion-dollar subsidy for rural connectivity that had been previously awarded to his satellite broadband company, Starlink. No matter what you think about him, Musk’s outburst points to an uncomfortable reality: new technologies are rendering America’s policy for promoting and subsidizing broadband telecommunications outdated and counterproductive.

In a household-based assessment of digital needs conducted by the University of Liverpool, parents and young people defined what is ‘enough’ for a household with children to feel digitally included. Respondents considered devices and internet services, basic functional skills, and critical skills. This Minimal Digital Living Standard (MLDS) includes:

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) led 158 of her colleagues in a bipartisan letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) urging them to work to preserve the Affordable Connectivity Program, which is set to begin running out of funds in April 2024. “We write today regarding the urgent need to preserve the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)," says the letter.

In spite of all the public broadband haters, municipalities will be allowed to vie for money from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.