Analysis

The Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) is housed within the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Congress created OICG in the ACCESS BROADBAND Act of 2021, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, to oversee all broadband activity at NTIA and lead federal efforts to fund and expand broadband access across the country.

The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill that brings poles under state jurisdiction for any electric cooperative that elects to enter the broadband business.

As the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) prepares to release the first tranche of state allocations of broadband funds in 2023, one of the statutory requirements mandates workforce development as an important program outcome, especially in the rebuilding and expanding of national infrastructure. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program has also implemented a number of requirements that, according to its Workforce Pl

Broadband officials have been hitting the road in 2023, conducting listening sessions across their states and territories.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Junk Fee Prevention Act  (S.916), which takes aim at eliminating fees that are not advertised for a product but that get added on after a customer buys a product or service. These fees were attacked this year by President Biden in the State of the Union Address. Telecommunications companies, particularly cable companies, are among the worst in having hidden junk fees that are not included in advertising but are added to a customer’s first bill.

Recently we launched the Benton Institute’s Affordable Connectivity Program Enrollment Performance Tool, a free resource that helps communities answer the question: “How are ACP sign-ups going?” Using the tool to search 5-digit zip codes delivers two important numbers:  1) how many households have signed up for ACP and 2) the expected number of households enrolled. Comparing expected enrollment to actual enrollment is a measure of performance.

Broadband providers have been complaining that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program rules are adding a lot of cost to building broadband networks. One of the issues adding the most cost to BEAD-funded networks is the requirement that all construction be done using prevailing wages. That means wages that are paid at Davis-Bacon wage levels—to include benefits.

Does your neighborhood pay more money for slower internet compared to neighborhoods across town? This step-by-step guide helps you answer that question and more. All you need is a computer, a Google account, and (yes) internet access. The steps are as follows:

The Universal Service Fund (USF) is inefficient, ineffective, and funded by a regressive tax mechanism. Several reforms could improve the program:

Networks make routing decisions based on these whispers, following the path back to the network that says it is number six. Sometimes those whispers are right. Sometimes they are wrong.