Reporting

A number of former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials are pointing to expanding the Lifeline program, under the Universal Service Fund (USF), as the way to save a version of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and prevent tens of millions of people from losing access to the monthly broadband subsidy. One way the FCC could do that was outlined in a recent petition for expedited rulemaking filed

If Congress doesn’t act soon, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is expected to run out of money by the end of April, leaving millions of Americans without discounted internet services.

It’s a no-brainer that fiber providers need some way to get the money they need for their passings targets, whether that’s tapping into government grants or private equity support. However, Frontier Communications is pursuing a third option. In August 2023, Frontier inked a $2.1 billion asset-backed securitization (ABS) deal – the first public company in the U.S.

Just because it isn’t as futuristic as we pictured doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened yet: Smart devices are on the rise, and they’re creeping into the broadband world. Our refrigerators aren’t making us sandwiches and we don’t have laundry folding robots (yet), but subtle smart home devices (a.k.a. any gadget with internet connectivity) like washing machines, smoke detectors and locks are starting to nestle into more homes.

There are growing concerns among some lobbyists that 5G network operators will be able to use network slicing technology to evade the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) proposed net neutrality rules.

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program is poised to "provide a material stimulus" to broadband service operators with respect to government-subsidized footprint expansion, but the "dollars will flow later than originally expected," a top policy analyst predicts. It's unlikely that a "significant number" of BEAD-funded networks will become operational in 2025, New Street Research's Blair Levin explained in a 

A group known as the "coalition of RDOF winners" has weighed in on whether the Federal Communications Commission should grant an amnesty period for providers to relinquish their locations awarded through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) in the interest of making those locations available for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program instead.

Lawrence County (IN) announced a nearly $2.6 million public-private project with AT&T to expand AT&T Fiber to an estimated 530 customer locations in rural areas of the county. AT&T will invest more than $1.6 million, and Lawrence County will invest $950,000 in a project to provide fiber services to residential and business addresses in rural areas of west central Lawrence County. Extensive planning and engineering work for this project will begin in the second quarter of 2024. The network buildout is expected to be complete within two years.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved Montana’s plan to expand digital access, skills and affordability as part of the federal $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act. Montana’s Digital Opportunity Plan listed barriers to digital access, which include broadband availability, service affordability, device access, and digital skills—with access and affordability being the top two. The plan is intended to serve as a guide for the state’s efforts to narrow the digital divide.

As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers pleas for more lenient Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) fines, electric co-ops are saying it's time for defaulters to own up. Internet service providers (ISP) have been defaulting on RDOF grants for years and have been struck with sizeable penalties from the FCC as a result.