"Today we move forward with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking," said Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. "This document builds on our earlier efforts. That means we now seek more targeted comment on how to define digital discrimination. We also propose reforms to our consumer complaint system to create a dedicated pathway for digital discrimination complaints. And we propose to adopt the model policies and best practices for states and localities that our Communications Equity and Diversity Council recently adopted. Getting to final rules next year will require more engagement, more collaboration, and more work. The input we have received thus far from stakeholders is an awfully good start. But to get this right, we still need more input and ideas because we can’t reach our goal of connecting everyone, everywhere unless we eliminate digital discrimination. So let’s get to it."

"Much of what we do here at the FCC will last years, decades even," said Federal Communication Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. "But some of what we do will impact generations of Americans. This is such a proceeding. Eradicating digital discrimination is not just a promise for today—it’s also a guarantee for a more just and equitable future tomorrow. That’s why I’m thrilled to see us work together in support of this important goal. With this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we move one step closer to completing not only our statutory obligation—but our moral obligation—to facilitate equal access to broadband and prevent digital discrimination. [P]rogress is important. Past claims that there was no business case to deploy services in certain communities are just that—stuck in the past—thanks to the Affordable Connectivity Program and the proven evidence that consumers will sign up for broadband if you make a quality service available and put in the effort to reach them. I look forward to the digital future we all deserve: the one where no community struggles to find basic connectivity while others pass them by with constant service upgrades.”

“We applaud the FCC’s effort to meet the congressionally mandated deadline to create rules preventing and eliminating digital discrimination, although we’ll still need to fill the fifth Commissioner seat to achieve this goal," said Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge. "The Commission’s forthcoming rules around digital discrimination, if implemented correctly, could prove one of the most effective mechanisms available to ensure that everyone has access to affordable, reliable internet service. In order to fulfill its congressional intent to end the disproportionate impact of the digital divide on low-income and marginalized communities, we hope that the Commission’s forthcoming rules will hold broadband providers liable for acts that lead to a discriminatory impact, whether. Moreover, we urge the Commission to take a holistic view of comparable service that reflects all components of the customer experience and to interpret its mandate to ‘take into account issues of technological and economic feasibility’ narrowly by adopting a rebuttable presumption that service is technically and economically feasible."

“There is no disagreement that there should be equal access to broadband for all the people of the United States and that digital discrimination should be prevented," says Free State Foundation President Randolph May and Director of Policy Studies Seth Cooper. "But it is unnecessary, and likely to be counterproductive to the achievement of that worthy objective, for the Commission to adopt a rule which allows discrimination to be proved based on a showing of unintentional 'disparate impact' rather than on a showing of intentional discrimination. And it is likely that a rule adopting a ‘disparate impact’ test wouldn’t survive a judicial challenge because the text and structure of the Infrastructure Act, along with relevant judicial precedents, require an intent-based definitional standard to prove digital discrimination.”

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules to more precisely route wireless 911 calls and texts to 911 call centers, which can result in faster response times during emergencies. Wireless 911 calls have historically been routed to 911 call centers based on the location of the cell tower that handles the call. But in some cases—for example, if a 911 call is made near a county or a city border—the nearest cell tower may be in a neighboring jurisdiction. In these cases, the call may be routed to a 911 call center in that neighboring jurisdiction, not the call center that serves the caller’s location. These wireless 911 calls must then be re-routed to the proper 911 call center, which can waste valuable time and resources during emergencies. The FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require wireless providers and certain text providers to:

• Deploy technology that supports location-based routing on their Internet Protocol (IP)- based networks (i.e., 4G, LTE, 5G, and future generations of IP networks);
• Use location-based routing to route all 911 voice calls and texts originating on their IPbased networks when caller location information meets certain requirements for accuracy and timeliness;
• Use best available location information (which could be longitude/latitude of the cell tower) to route these 911 voice calls and texts when caller location information does not meet the proposed requirements; and
• Deliver 911 calls, texts, and associated routing information in IP format upon the request of 911 authorities who have the capability to accept it

Billions of dollars are up for grabs to expand broadband availability across the country. But the Federal Communication Commission maps that will determine where the money goes are inaccurate, according to the Texas comptroller, because internet service providers inflated their coverage areas. The Texas office charged with challenging and improving those maps at the state level says it can’t. And that could leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table that should have gone to expanding broadband in underserved areas. John Speirs, manager for the Harris County Office of Broadband, said communities are having to step up and challenge the maps themselves but it is unlikely they can replace the statewide effort. The challenge process is complex and the federal government gave them less than two months to do it — two months that include three recognized holidays.

I suspect that there are already a lot of communities and other folks who are in violation of the license agreement to view and use the new Federal Communications Commission mapping fabric and associated data. CostQuest, the firm that created the mapping fabric, has provided communities and others with a basic license to view and utilize the mapping data strictly for the purpose of the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) process – for reviewing and challenging the FCC maps. Anybody that wants to use the mapping data for any other purpose must sign a different agreement and pay to utilize the data. I am completely flabbergasted by this whole process. The FCC paid CostQuest $44 million to create the maps. One would think that would mean the resulting maps and data belongs to the FCC, and that CostQuest is just a vendor hired to create the maps and mapping fabric. But it appears that having created the maps is creating a permanent revenue stream for CostQuest, and the company is acting as if it is the owner of the federal mapping data. This raises a lot of questions, starting with the big question of why the FCC would allow a vendor to extract big fees to utilize a software system and data mandated and paid for by the FCC. Perhaps the bigger question is why broadband mapping data isn’t publicly available to everybody. I hope that the FCC will come to its senses and reclaim its own data, or at least mandate that it should be easily available to everybody. 

While America’s digital divide has been improving, large chunks of the country, especially rural and tribal lands, are still lagging behind in connection, according to research and experts, and that significantly hampers their access to vital, potentially lifesaving information. Without cell towers, urgent emergency alerts can’t get to phones and it is more difficult for residents to warn one another of danger or contact authorities. It’s a tough sell to get private companies to spend the time and money to build towers in rural areas, according to reports and experts. However, the federal government has launched several initiatives to help improve access to reliable services and spur investment. In 2020, the Federal Communications Commission created the 5G Fund for Rural America, a $9 billion program aimed at bringing broadband service to underserved areas.

More fiber was deployed in 2022 than ever before. Research performed by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA) shows that fiber providers passed 7.9 million additional homes in the US in 2022—the highest annual deployment ever, even with challenges in the materials supply chain and labor availability. According to RVA, there are now a total of 68 million fiber broadband passings in the US, up 13% over the past 12 months and up 27% over the past 24 months. Excluding homes with two or more fiber passings, 63 million unique homes have now been passed. Fiber has passed nearly half of primary homes and over 10% of second homes. Fiber broadband buildout continues to expand in Canada as well with about 66% of homes passed as 2022 comes to a close.