Universal Service Fund

Thanks in large part to a two-decade-old federal law, school districts across the US restrict what students see online using a patchwork of commercial web filters that block vast and often random swathes of the internet. Companies like GoGuardian and Blocksi govern students’ internet use in thousands of US school districts.

Lessons learned from the Technology in the Parks initiative in Columbus Park have inspired comprehensive legislation with three major components: 

1. Firstly, we propose to expand the Federal Communications Commission E-rates program to include local parks. This initiative is crucial in bringing broadband access to these community spaces, aligning with the program's existing coverage for schools and libraries.

Charter celebrated the $1.3 billion that the company is investing in rural areas of Texas. Charter will invest $700 million of the money to cover the full cost of network upgrades. The remaining $420 million will cover some of the cost of fiber deployment. The remainder of the cost of fiber deployment will come partially from money Charter won in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program in 2020, and partially from public-private partnerships with counties and cities.

Connect2First has constructed 4,371 miles of fiber network across 18 Arkansas counties, and the internet service provider still has over 600 miles to go. Sales and Marketing Director Candace Looper said the company is seeing take rates between 40 and 60 percent in areas where service is already available. Connect2First is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Electric cooperative that provides fiber-to-the-home internet and home phone service to the coop’s members.

The past decade has been marked by unprecendented challenges and opportunites for digital transformation in K-12 education. Today, the broadband landscape continues to thrive for education and the impact is inspiring. 74 percent of all districts are now meeting or exceeding the Federal Communications Commission’s recommended bandwidth goal of 1 Megabit per second per student, an increase of 57.4 percent since 2020. Prices continue to decrease, making upgrades more affordable.

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing that included testimony from each of the five (yes, there are five now) FCC commissioners. A partisan tone was set by the get-go as the title for the hearing was "Oversight of President Biden's Broadband Takeover." The key questions for the Republican Members of the panel going into the hearing were:

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau provided guidance to Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM), Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction, Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund, and Connect USVI Fund support recipients (collectively, high-cost support recipients or service providers) regarding their coordination with state broadband offices and Tribal entities to determine the eligibility of locations for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD Program), and to avoid duplicati

Here’s what to expect at the Federal Communications Commission's December open meeting.

• We’re going after junk fees that harm consumers and hamper competition.
• We’re cracking down on illegal robotexts.
• We’re making smartphones more accessible to consumers with hearing loss.
• We’re removing barriers to broadband deployment.
• We’re improving health care in rural communities.
• We’re protecting consumer data.
• We’re protecting local TV programming.
• We will also consider an item from our Enforcement Bureau.

The Federal Communications Commission's new version of the National Broadband Map includes a dramatic decrease in the number of Unserved and Underserved locations. We now have 7.1 million unserved locations and 3.0 million underserved location. The total of 10.1 million locations is a decrease of 16% from the 11.9 million locations that were unserved and underserved six months earlier. As Chairwoman Rosenworcel said in a blog post, I’m sure we’re seeing some of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund projects start to light up.

Released in October 2023, the Digital Access for All Idahoans (DAAI) Plan documents pervasive barriers to digital access and proposes a strategy to end digital access divides that prevent many Idahoans from accessing crucial technology. The DAAI plan aims to increase broadband affordability for Idahoans, as well as improve digital skills, cybersecurity awareness, access to devices, technical support, and access to public services. Idaho’s vision is to support all residents in thriving online through: