Universal Broadband

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance a proposal for voluntary collection of broadband availability data. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, Congress directed NTIA to update the national broadband availability map in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission and the states. Congress directed NTIA to acquire and display available third-party data sets to the extent it is able to negotiate its inclusion to augment data from the FCC, other federal

With this Order, the Federal Communications Commission takes necessary steps to provide full funding for all eligible services requested from the Rural Health Care universal service support mechanism (RHC Program) for the 2018 funding year (FY). In FY 2018, multi-year and upfront payment funding requests filed during the window sought support exceeding the $150 million funding cap for those payments. FCC rules would require the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) to prorate requested support received by eligible health care providers.

Arkansas ranks 50th in connectivity and has an average speed of 29.1 megabits per second (Mbps). The average speed for the United States is 42.7 Mbps. But that could soon change. Until recently, the AR legislature preempted local governments from establishing municipal broadband services, leaving AR communities at the mercy of private companies focused on profit. Now, AR is looking to build the infrastructure it needs now for all of its communities, urban and rural.

Legislative changes are helping electric cooperatives continue to expand high-quality Internet access in rural parts of America. At least three state governments have bills in the works that empower cooperatives to provide high-speed Internet service in their service territories. Gov Brian Kemp (R-GA) recently signed into law SB 2 and SB 17, which clarify that both electric and telephone cooperatives are able to provide broadband service. Gov Larry Hogan (R-MD) has just approved SB 634 which similarly underscores how electric cooperatives can use their easements to provide broadband.

As anticipation grows for 5G technology to be rolled out in big cities, nearly 15 million people in rural pockets across the country are still waiting for reliable high-speed internet. In the southeast, some states like Alabama are desperate to get their rural areas up to speed.

Nationwide, rural communities have 37% more residents without access to high-speed internet connections when compared with their urban peers. This becomes a problem as classrooms have become increasingly digital, says Kathryn de Wit, manager of the broadband research initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Recent research from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology found that one in every 10 students lacks internet access at home, which makes it hard for them to complete homework assignments outside of school. "If we have a cohort of 10 to 15 percent of students who are in the homework gap now, then how will those students be able to compete in a digital economy in 10 or 15 years?" asked Amy Huffman, a research policy specialist for the NC Broadband Infrastructure office. The state is stepping in with a response to this problem that could eventually close the gap.

Rep Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) reintroduced three bills during Infrastructure Week to expand access to broadband:

Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Broadband Data Improvement Act (BDIA), legislation to improve the accuracy of broadband coverage maps and better direct federal funds for broadband buildout. The bipartisan bill would require broadband providers to report data in a way that more accurately reflects locations they actually serve—a change from current reporting requirements.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has appointed members to serve on the re-chartered Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC). The re-chartered BDAC will hold its first meeting on June 13, 2019.  In its second term, the BDAC will continue its work to craft recommendations for the FCC on ways to accelerate the deployment of high-speed Internet access, or “broadband,” by reducing and/or removing regulatory barriers to infrastructure investment and strengthening existing broadband networks in communities across the country.