Level of Government

Reps Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) reintroduced the bipartisan Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency (FACT) Act to counter the influence of China and other foreign adversaries on the United States’ telecommunications infrastructure. This bill would provide critical telecommunications transparency by requiring the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of companies that

When it comes to expanding broadband connectivity, policymakers face two major challenges: 1) ensuring that all US residents have access to high-speed fixed broadband connectivity (“availability”), and 2) ensuring that as many US residents as possible subscribe to fixed broadband (“adoption”). In other words, policymakers are tasked with making sure fixed broadband is both universally available and universally adopted.

As the US government slowly works its way toward allocating $42.5 billion in broadband funding and concerns about Federal Communication Commission's broadband maps reach a fever pitch, the most marginalized communities in unserved locales are waiting.

Senator John Thune (R-SD) recently asked broadband stakeholders what Congress could do to improve the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act (IIJA) with respect to broadband.

In his first State of the Commonwealth address in January 2020, Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) asked lawmakers to address some stark realities. At the time, Kentucky was the third poorest state by per capita income and over 1 in 5 children in the state lived in poverty. The state ranked in the top eight of states in terms of hunger. Kentucky had some of the highest child abuse and neglect rates in the country.

As federal and local government agencies award funding to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to unserved and underserved rural areas, one company that has used that funding from a variety of sources to fuel its deployment efforts is Surf Internet. The company—which serves parts of Illinois, Indiana and Michigan—has been around since 2001 and initially focused on using fixed wireless broadband to serve rural areas.

President Biden announced his intent to appoint highly qualified and diverse industry leaders as members of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) advises the White House on the reliability, security, and preparedness of vital communications and information infrastructure. Appointees will join previously appointed NSTAC members to provide national security and emergency preparedness solutions by providing innovative policy recommendations backed by a unique industry perspective.

Around the country, there are now elaborate alert systems in areas subject to tornados and other dangerous weather events.

Comcast plans to spend $36 million to deploy fiber broadband to unserved and underserved areas of 19 Indiana counties. The company has signed contracts with the state, which will contribute $13.6 million toward total project costs of $50 million. The state's funding comes through the Indiana Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program.

Democratic subcommittee chairs for the 118^th Congress are: