Level of Government

A bill that would free up more money for the Federal Communications Commission suspect tech rip-and-replace program — mandated by Congress — did not make it into the $1.7 trillion must-pass omnibus appropriations bill, according to an unhappy Competitive Carriers Association.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Kansas received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau started the 2022 Quadrennial Review of the FCC’s media ownership rules. The Bureau seeks comment on whether the media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.” Although the FCC has not yet adopted final rules in the 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding, it remains cognizant of the statutory obligation to review the broadcast ownership rules every four years.

Democrats in a vacant Richmond-based congressional district nominated Virginia State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) for the seat, putting her on a path to becoming the state’s first Black woman in Congress. State Sen McClellan received 85 percent of the vote, compared to 14 percent for State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond), and less than 1 percent each for two other candidates. State Sen McClellan is the vice chair of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and a former gubernatorial candidate.

What counts as a fiber passing, anyway? It seems the answer varies slightly by operator, though most consider a passing to be any location which can be connected to fiber running along the main road. A Consolidated representative said passings are locations that are in “close proximity” to its network.

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced the Amateur Radio Communications Improvement Act (HR 9664) to eliminate the current Symbol Rate Limit set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and replace it with a 2.8 kilohertz (kHz) bandwidth limit. The bill brings regulations up to speed with modern technology advances in amateur radio. This legislation eliminates the Symbol Rate Limit in 47 CFR part 97, and replaces it with the 2.8kHz bandwidth limit.

Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Todd Young (R-IN) applauded news that President Biden has signed their bipartisan Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act into law. The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to identify areas where high rates of poor maternal health outcomes overlap with lack of access to broadband services in order to pinpoint where telehealth services can be most effective.

Twenty-six US senators—led by Sens Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Thune (R-SD)—sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel highlighting important next steps in ensuring that the National Broadband Map provides a reliable depiction of broadband availability across the country. The senators are calling on the FCC to:

When Jase Wilson with Broadband Money reached out to share that he was convening a gathering of broadband leaders in Florida to have some off-the-record conversations about funding, state activity, challenges, and opportunities and asked me to be around the table, it was hard to say no. From state broadband office leaders to community leaders to a few policymakers and interested parties, the conversations were fast-paced and ran the gamut from technology to deployment to sustainability of networks to the role that anchor institutions play in the mix. We also all committed to Chatham House r

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment on next steps to promote and facilitate equal access to broadband internet service for everyone, with the goal of creating a framework for combatting digital discrimination that has caused harm to historically excluded and marginalized communities. Specifically, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks comment on: