We are seeing a shift into a digital world. Internet access is increasingly becoming a requirement to participate in education, health care and the workforce. More and more, national companies are embracing the idea of virtual reality, and on the city level, we’re seeing growth in the use of social media and digital engagement more than ever before. We even consume our news mostly online. And, while this is an exciting and fast-paced shift, we MUST make sure that we are not leaving people behind as we grow. We need to work continuously to improve equity and access to digital services for the most vulnerable across our communities. An invaluable tool to help us ensure that digital equity and access has been the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program. To date, this program has served millions of American families. However, without an additional funding allocation, the resources dedicated to this program are projected to run out in April 2024, and at present, new applications are no longer being accepted. This is a huge setback, and we have to push back. I urge you to call on your congresspeople to pass the ACP Expansion Act. 

[Ed Gainey is the mayor of the city of Pittsburgh]

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is making investments to provide clean drinking water, sanitary wastewater systems and affordable high-speed internet to people in Tribal communities. Secretary Vilsack made this announcement at the one of the nation’s largest Tribal economic development conferences, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s Reservation Economic Summit (RES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. USDA is investing $58 million in Tribal communities in Nevada, Oklahoma and South Dakota. This funding will support economic development, high-speed internet deployment and modern infrastructure. The projects are being financed through the ReConnect Program and the Water and Waste Facility Loans and Grants to Alleviate Health Risks on Tribal Lands Program. Examples of these projects are: 

• The Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota received a $35 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to provide high-speed internet. This project will deliver high speed internet to 3,300 people, 47 businesses, 55 farms and seven educational facilities in Bennett and Oglala Lakota counties.
• The Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma will use a $22 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to provide high-speed internet. This project will deliver high speed internet to nearly 2,000 people, 12 businesses and 100 farms in Le Flore County.

The Federal Communications Commission's mission is to “make available, so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, rapid, efficient, Nation-wide, and world-wide wire and radio communication service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.” The FCC’s vision is to pursue policies to bring affordable, reliable high-speed broadband to 100 percent of the country and encourage the private sector to build, maintain, and upgrade nextgeneration networks so that the benefits of advanced communications services are available to all Americans. The FCC will work to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; empowering consumers; enhancing public safety and national security; and advancing America’s global competitiveness. The requested budget for fiscal year 2025 will be used to support the following strategic goals:

1. Pursue a “100 Percent” Broadband Policy
2. Promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
3. Empower Consumers
4. Enhance Public Safety and National Security
5. Advance America’s Global Competitiveness
6. Foster Operational Excellence

One week after funding 24 projects to expand broadband infrastructure in Minnesota, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced it is accepting applications for another $50 million in broadband development grants. This grant round is the 10th time DEED has released funding through the Border-to-Border Broadband Program. Bree Maki, Executive Director of DEED's Office of Broadband Development (OBD), announced the new grant round at a conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of OBD on Tuesday, March 12. Since its creation in 2014, OBD's flagship Border-to-Border Grant Program and Low Population Density Grant Program have awarded nearly $350 million in grants to expand service to more than 112,000 homes and businesses statewide. This grant round includes $30 million for the Border-to-Border program, through which broadband provider grantees are reimbursed for up to half the eligible cost of deploying broadband infrastructure, with funding for a single project capped at $10 million. 

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Wisconsin’s Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy. Using $952,197.63 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, Wisconsin created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state. All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico have submitted their Digital Equity Plans to NTIA for acceptance. NTIA continues to accept plans on a rolling basis. In the coming months, NTIA will launch the $1.44 billion Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Wyoming’s Digital Equity plan. The Digital Equity Act, part of the Internet for All initiative and a key piece of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. The program aims to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy. Using $530,006 from the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, Wyoming created a plan aimed at addressing disparities in digital access, skills and affordability across the state. All 50 States, DC, and Puerto Rico have submitted their Digital Equity Plans to NTIA for acceptance. NTIA continues to accept plans on a rolling basis. In the coming months, NTIA will launch the $1.44 billion Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program.

In this Order and Authorization (Order), the Federal Communications Commission's Space Bureau grants Kuiper Systems LLC’s (Kuiper) application for modification of the license for its constellation of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites. Kuiper plans to use frequencies allocated to the fixed-satellite service (FSS) and mobile-satellite service (MSS) in the Ka-band. The license modification reduces the total number of satellites specified in its constellation from 3,236 to 3,232; modifies the specified orbital parameters of its constellation; and authorizes radiofrequency communications necessary for Kuiper to conduct launch and early-orbit phase (LEOP) operations, payload testing, and deorbit operations on a non-interference basis. In connection with grant of this modification, we deny the Petition to Deny filed by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX). Grant of Kuiper’s application will serve the public interest by allowing Kuiper to accelerate the deployment of its constellation and improve customer coverage once deployed, thereby bringing affordable broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved areas of the United States.

In a recent press release, John Deere announced an agreement with Starlink to provide broadband for smart farm equipment in areas where cellular coverage is not strong enough. Anybody familiar with rural America understands that there are gigantic holes in cellular coverage, so this arrangement puts Starlink in a strong position with farmers. The decision means that John Deer will include a Starlink receiver in smart farm equipment along with a 4G LTE receiver. This technology will be available for both new and older Deere machines. They expect the satellite connectivity to be effective in the second half of 2024. The John Deere press release cites a lot of advantages to this new arrangement. They say that this finally enables full connectivity for all smart machines made by the company. Deere says that the broadband connection will enable technologies like autonomy, real-time data sharing, remote diagnostics, and machine-to-machine communications.