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The National Association of Broadcasters took the gloves off in a recent meeting with Federal Communications Commission engineering staffers over TV white spaces (TVWS) -- the use of small slices of spectrum set aside for broadcasting for unlicensed uses like wireless broadband -- calling it a failing experiment. Microsoft has been pushing the FCC to allow unlicensed devices operating in the TV band to do so closer to existing TV channels, but NAB told the engineering staffers that Microsoft's proposal on how to determine if a channel is available for unlicensed use is disingenuous and in s

Windstream lit up 129,000 new locations with its Kinetic fiber service in Q1 2021, as it pushed toward a goal of extending gigabit capabilities to a total of 1 million homes and businesses by the end of 2021.

The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program launches on May 12. Here's what you need to know

Funding - Congress dedicated $3.2 billion to the Emergency Broadband Benefit.

Discounts – eligible households can receive discounts off monthly broadband service:

Tired of waiting for connectivity solutions to come to town, one Minnesota community has instead partnered with a local telephone cooperative to build a fiber network reaching every home and business in the city. In embarking on its journey to improve local Internet access six years ago, Long Prairie (pop. 3,300) ended up partnering with one of the most aggressive fiber network builders in the state - Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) - on a solution that meets local needs. The two finished a ubiquitous Fiber-to-the-Home build in 2018, with CTC now owning and operating the network. 

As we kick off our Infrastructure Week series, we wanted to show the scope of the problem ourselves. This map shows where the broadband problem is worst — the areas where the difficulty of reliably connecting to the internet has gotten bad enough to become a drag on everyday life. Specifically, the colored-in areas show US counties where less than 15 percent of households are using the internet at broadband speed, defined as 25Mbps download speed.

Beyond supporting students, information being collected by schools across the country could prove useful when addressing the problem of the digital divide. The work to close the so-called homework gap, exacerbated when the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools and forced 50 million students to suddenly adopt remote learning, could also provide the federal and state governments a roadmap toward fixing the broader digital divide problem. The homework gap is a subset of a much larger d

In Indiana, 12.4% of Hoosiers live in areas where there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. Where broadband infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive, and 16% of Indiana households do not have an internet subscription. Joshua Wells, an informatics professor at Indiana University South Bend, said that the internet “is at a stage where we have to think of it as a vital utility.” 

To help overcome the digital divide, the Biden Administration has launched a new vaccination assistance hotline for people who would prefer to get information via telephone. It's part of the administration's push to get 70% of adults in the U.S. vaccinated with at least one dose by July 4. "We know that millions of people in America don't have consistent access to broadband or are uncomfortable navigating the web," wrote Dr. Marcella Nunez Smith, who chairs the Biden administration's COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force.

T-Mobile and Verizon are both offering to take your old, damaged phone off your hands and replace it with a shiny new 5G model. There are a couple of reasons for this generosity. Verizon, in particular, has written some big checks to pay for new C-band frequencies — highly desirable spectrum for 5G that offers good range and speed. The company has reassured its shareholders that the hefty expenditure will help grow its customer base and increase the amount of money it makes on existing accounts. Meanwhile, T-Mobile wants to make the most of a relatively strong hand right now.

On May 12, the Federal Communications Commission will launch the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, which will have internet service providers give low-income Americans who qualify up to $50 off per month for broadband service. Advocates for older adults say the government's new broadband subsidies are a good step towards closing the digital divide — but that much more will need to be done to get them on the internet.