Federal

To connect more Americans, Congress designated a slice of the $1.2 trillion 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act), as well as a portion of the $350 billion 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that passed to provide financial relief during the COVID pandemic, to fund projects that would cross this digital divide. All told, the bills provide around $90 billion in funding for connectivity spread across a plethora of initiatives. The question remains: Will this colossal sum be enough to bridge the digital divide?

In the course of the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Economics and Analytics’ (OEA) review of George Ford's Regulation and Investment in the U.S. Telecommunications Industry, staff determined that the underlying data relied upon by the author of this study has been revised by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) since the author’s analysis and the corrected data changes the results. Staff submitted a link to the original BEA data used by Dr. Ford, a link to the revised BEA data, and a comparison Dr. Ford’s two baseline model regressions using the different data sets. 

With the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) on the line, internet service providers (ISPs) want to ensure their low-income subscribers don’t lose internet access—and that nobody falls through the cracks. Identity verification company SheerID has launched a tool allowing telcos to verify that households are eligible for government assistance programs.

After spending some time going over my predictions about the future of broadband, I've come to a few conclusions:

At Comcast, we remain committed to doing our part to help connect low-income households including:

On April 25, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will—for the seventh time in 20 years—address the issue of net neutrality.

The American Samoa draft BROADBANDiNEI Digital Equity Plan—released by the Broadband Coordination, Opportunities, Redevelopment and Deployment (BCORD) Office—reflects priorities, strategies, collective needs, and opportunities identified through local coordination with regards to providing affordable, accessible, secure, equitable, internet-for-all.

The looming end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and the alarm it has triggered among dozens of experts I've talked to, reveals that this federal program is about much more than internet access.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted New Mexico’s Digital Equity plan. Using $740,534.91 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, New Mexico created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state. NTIA has accepted digital equity plans from all 50 States, D.C., and Puerto Rico. On March 29th, 2024, NTIA launched the $1.44 billion Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Illinois’ Digital Equity plan. Using $1,515,352.64 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, Illinois created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state. NTIA has accepted digital equity plans from all 50 States, D.C., and Puerto Rico. On March 29th, 2024, NTIA launched the $1.44 billion Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program.