Universal Broadband

The New Jersey Department of Education announced that the state has entirely closed its digital divide among students, connecting every K-12 public school student with the devices and broadband necessary to participate in digital classrooms. A survey of New Jersey school districts conducted by the state’s education department at the onset of the pandemic revealed that more than 100,000 students in the state could not access the internet at home and that school districts would need more than 150,000 additional devices to serve their students.

Beginning March 11, 2021, broadband service providers can submit election notices to Universal Service Administrative Company to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Emergency Broadband Benefit Program.

Thirty House and Senate Democrats unveiled a new $94 billion proposal to make broadband Internet access more accessible and affordable nationwide, aiming to remedy some of the digital inequalities that have kept millions of Americans offline during the coronavirus pandemic. The new effort, chiefly authored by Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), marks one of the most expensive, ambitious broadband packages proposed in recent years.

Federal and state officials said Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed grave disparities in education and the digital divide, posing challenges at all levels of government. “The laptops that many of our schools are providing, if you aren’t able to connect that somewhere, you still have a problem,” said Rep Alma Adams (D-NC), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee.

On March 10, the US House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package that includes more than $7 billion in funding for the E-Rate program to support emergency broadband connectivity and devices for schools and libraries and their students, staff, and patrons.

A proposal to move the decisions about rural investment from Washington policymakers to individual rural Americans. If we change the locus of decisionmaking, the power will shift from lobbying and campaign contributions to service and consumer spending. Such a shift would spur rural investment and would also prevent most rural areas from being locked into one technology or one service provider. The following is an updated legislative or regulatory proposal for a new Section 254.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced legislation (H.R. 1672) to connect every household in America with high-speed broadband service capable of supporting remote schooling, online businesses, and remote work, telehealth appointments, and entertainment streaming.

Rural Northwoods students who lack reliable internet at home will soon be able to connect to their school networks via a drone-powered cellular signal. A Wisconsin startup will be part of a state-funded pilot program in the Eagle River area that will test the use of drones as a way to expand internet connectivity into rural areas. It's a partnership between the new company Wisconsin Telelift and the Northland Pines School District.

Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jared Golden (D-ME) and Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Community Broadband Act (H.R.

This report provides a basic overview of broadband and then dives into the service as it relates to: 1) remote learning, 2) working from home, 3) telehealth, 4) business and consumers, and 5) social connections, exploring how the pandemic has impacted each sector. It also looks at the impact the pandemic has had on broadband networks and the companies that are building service into rural America. Finally, a look at issues such as the technologies used to provide broadband and policy reforms that could impact the future of broadband deployment.