Universal Broadband

The disruption caused by the pandemic and the resulting boost in innovation are opportunities to build a better future for everyone, to "do it right" this time. With the right policies, governments, the private sector and the international community have the power and the responsibility to shape a new technological era where no one is left behind. They should be guided by the following objectives:

The drumbeat of advocacy for universal internet access in the US became louder during the Covid-19 pandemic and was amplified by President Biden early in his presidency as he laid out a New Deal-like vision for the future of infrastructure and connectivity. Unfortunately, though, an agency responsible for carrying out the specifics of that vision has been paralyzed by a baffling situation that could inadvertently put Republican appointees of former President Donald Trump in the driver’s seat.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted just how important it is to have a broadband internet connection at home — for remote school or work, virtual doctor’s exams and meetings and many other pursuits. But broadband can be costly, so the federal government offered new subsidies to help low-income households afford a high-speed line and a device with which to use it. Dozens of internet service providers all across California have signed up for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which covers up to $50 of the monthly cost of an internet connection (or up to $75 on Tribal lands).

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington argued wireline technology might not be the best broadband solution for every use case. Commissioner Simington discussed the question of whether fiber should be rolled out to every American, explaining some have argued that the US should pursue universal fiber deployments in the same way the country went about electrification. The commissioner stated “obviously fiber is a very robust technology” but it’s not necessarily one that everyone wants or needs.

ACA Connects alerted the Federal Communications Commission of potential misconduct among some Emergency Broadband Benefit Program providers. ACA Connects says some participating providers are performing a large and growing number of benefit transfers without the household’s apparent knowledge or intent.

To help close the digital divide, federal programs provide funding to support broadband deployment in unserved areas. According to the Federal Communications Commission, these programs rely on data the FCC collects from broadband providers to identify which areas are and are not served to target their limited funds. This report describes the FCC's progress in developing a location fabric and the challenges stakeholders identified that the FCC faces in doing so.

Digital Inclusion Week (DIW) is an annual campaign that recognizes local digital inclusion organizations and special events that promote digital equity across the country. Please join the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) October 4-8, 2021 – this will be its biggest Digital Inclusion Week ever, with seasoned practitioners and newly launched programs hosting virtual and in-person events. DIW aims to raise awareness of solutions addressing home internet access, personal devices, and local technology training and support programs.

Efforts to close the rural/urban digital divide in Canada have reached new heights in the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “stay-at-home” policies. Yet the extent to which the rural/urban digital divide extends to pricing and demand for broadband services is not well understood. Using a dataset of more than 4700 residential survey responses from southern Ontario, Canada, we assess the disparity in pricing and willingness to pay for broadband across rural and urban households.

The Federal Communications Commission is committing $1,203,107,496.88 for 3,040 schools, 260 libraries, and 24 consortia that applied for support from the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program. This first wave of funding commitments will provide students, school staff and library patrons in all 50 states and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia access to the devices and broadband connectivity they need to support their off-campus education needs.

Although most of the nation’s rural counties lost population from 2010 to 2020, new Census data shows that rural counties with better broadband access tended to do better with population change than counties that lacked access. As more residents had access to broadband as defined by the Federal Communications Commission in 2011, the county population increased nine years later. Most counties did improve their broadband situation as the 2010s continued. Broadband access grew as the decade progressed for both kinds of counties – those that lost population and those that gained.  But the impor