Universal Broadband

As the federal government readies to spend tens of billions of dollars on broadband upgrades, the Federal Communications Commission — the agency that has traditionally doled out subsidies for internet connections — is on the sidelines. The broadband money got routed around the FCC for several reasons, according to insiders familiar with the process.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has received more than 230 applications for the Broadband Infrastructure Program, for a total of more than $2.5 billion in funding requests across 49 states and US territories. NTIA has begun reviewing the applications as part of the $288 million grant program, which was funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Grants will be awarded to covered partnerships between a state, or political subdivisions of a state, and providers of fixed broadband service.

Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) announced the launch of Connect Maryland, a transformative new initiative to bring Maryland's total investments in broadband to $400 million.

As the House debates taking up the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal in tandem with Democrats’ partisan spending plan, lawmakers who work on telecommunications and technology issues used Aug 23's House Rules Committee hearing to outline their specific grievances with how Senate negotiators structured the $65 billion in broadband funding —complaints that are likely to pop up in other forms later this Congress. House Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) told the Rules Co

The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure bill makes a $42.5 billion bet that the government will overcome an obstacle that has long plagued efforts to connect most Americans to the internet: notoriously inaccurate maps showing where they can get a signal – and where they can’t. That’s the amount of grant funding that the legislation would provide to states to fund broadband projects in areas currently considered unserved or underserved. To qualify, proposals would have to comply with new broadband maps drawn by the Federal Communications Commission.

The National Tribal Broadband Summit will take place September 17, 24 and October 1, 2021. This year's virtual event will convene Tribal broadband industry experts to discuss how to make the most use of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grant funds, American Rescue Plan Act funds, and other Federal funding opportunities for broadband, and how to plan for the future of Tribal broadband networks and digital economies. The 2021 summit will focus on:

The Senate infrastructure bill gave the primary responsibility of universal broadband deployment and adoption to the states, with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) providing oversight. To help achieve the Senate’s goals, the FCC should:

Congress has done a lot more than just set goals for access to broadband services—it finally provided the funding to do so. Most recently, the Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which, if passed by the House, would provide another $65 billion in funding. But to understand what the Senate both did and did not do in the new infrastructure package, we cannot simply focus on spending levels.

The best broadband, it's generally agreed, is an affordable connection that supports the needs of consumers and businesses for many years into the future. It's not unreasonable to achieve because fiber-optic cable, the industry's gold standard, has near limitless capabilities.

A new report found that teens believe unreliable broadband access contributes to economic and social inequities, perceptions of reduced career prospects, significantly lower digital literacy and less confidence in their future success. Teens reveal the drastic impact that slow internet speeds have on their opportunities and urge the government to pick up the pace toward universal broadband access. Key findings include: