Internet/Broadband

President Joe Biden asked a group of Republican senators to flesh out their $568 billion infrastructure proposal with additional details, including how they would pay for it, a step that could begin more substantive negotiations on the issue. President Biden said that he was optimistic the group could reach a reasonable agreement and planned to discuss a more detailed offer from the Republican senators next week.

As policymakers consider the best way to expand broadband availability, a key question is where to set speed targets which, in turn, will impact the technology used – fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), fiber-fed copper, fixed wireless or satellite. While some people argue that any government broadband support programs should be technology-neutral, we shouldn’t be “expectations-neutral” or “outcomes-neutral,” argued Ernesto Falcon, senior legislative counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Gov Doug Ducey (R-AZ) has signed legislation to expand broadband access in Arizona, something he called for in his January State of the State address. House Bill 2596 allows the installation, operation, and maintenance of telecommunications equipment within the Arizona Department of Transportation's (ADOT) rights-of-way by private broadband providers.

The US Department of Education launched a major outreach campaign to millions of students who are now eligible for a monthly discount on broadband internet service under a temporary program administered by the Federal Communications Commission. The campaign will inform millions of families with children participating in the free or reduced-price lunch or school breakfast program, and 6.5 million Pell Grant recipients that they are now eligible for the discount of up to $50 per month.

Three elements are essential to making universal broadband access a reality: increasing speed minimums, improving accountability measures, and addressing affordability. 

A broad array of advocacy groups, along with 19 attorneys general, other public officials, and tech companies including Mozilla are urging a federal appellate court to uphold California's network neutrality law. The advocacy groups are weighing in on a battle over a California state law that prohibits broadband providers from blocking or throttling traffic, charging higher fees for prioritized delivery, and from exempting certain material from customers' data caps.

Cox Communications announced that the increased internet download speed introduced at the onset of COVID-19 for its low-cost internet package Connect2Compete is now permanent. The speed was temporarily increased from 25 to 50 Mbps in March 2020 to support families in greatest need.  In addition, Cox is working to ensure eligible households can receive discounted service through the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program.

Comcast Cable CEO David Watson highlighted the company’s efforts to accelerate expansion of its fiber network by focusing on three primary opportunities for new builds. And he noted Comcast plans to ramp testing of offload capabilities for its wireless service later in 2021. Watson said the company added 2.5 million new residential and commercial passings over the past three years, stating this was a pace it aimed to maintain.

Charter Communications CEO Tom Rutledge warned the operator expects to face a range of challenges as it presses ahead with Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) subsidized broadband buildouts. In December 2020, Charter won $1.2 billion in Phase I of the Federal Communications Commission’s RDOF auction to fuel broadband deployments across 24 states. Rutledge stressed the size of the undertaking, and he noted the rural nature of the markets it is set to cover will make construction harder. “Physically getting it done is a big deal,” he said.

This report identifies solutions and best practices to accelerate internet adoption through sponsored-service programs. These recommendations are critical to achieving educational equity and minimizing the risks of the digital divide—including income loss and economic exclusion—for the duration of the pandemic and beyond. As the government pursues additional education and low-income-support programs, the lessons from sponsored-service programs are applicable more broadly.