Nationally, 85 percent of farms reported having access to the internet. In 2023, 51 percent of internet-connected farms utilized a broadband connection while 75 percent of internet-connected farms had access through a cellular data plan. Additionally, 69 percent of farms had a desktop or laptop computer while 82 percent of farms had a smartphone. In 2023, 32 percent of farms used the internet to purchase agricultural inputs, which was an increase of 3 percent from 2021. Additionally, 23 percent of farms used the internet to market agricultural activities, which was an increase of 2 percent from 2021. Farms which conducted business with non-agricultural websites in 2023 increased by 2 percent to 49 percent.

A 2020 study found that 18% of people living on tribal lands did not have access to high-speed internet, which far surpasses the 4% of people who live in nontribal areas who lack access. Furthermore, the cost of a monthly internet plan continues to be a challenge for low-income communities nationwide, especially those on tribal lands. While major investments are being made to build the infrastructure needed to deliver broadband access, including on tribal lands, another barrier to everyone actually adopting high-speed internet at home is still prevalent, and that's affordability. Nearly half of adults without a home broadband subscription cite cost as the primary reason. Fortunately, the federal government has created an effective tool to reduce this cost barrier for eligible households in the Affordable Connectivity Program. For those living on tribal lands, ACP provides a $75-per-month subsidy to help pay for high-speed internet service. As a member of a federally recognized tribe, I am an enrollee in ACP and can speak firsthand to the impact the program has had on my life and other members of my community. It has equipped me with the internet speeds needed to organize programs for Tribal Technology Training (T3) and participate in digital equity webinars. More importantly, ACP has made it so those living on tribal lands who previously couldn't afford any sort of internet plan can now get connected, access telehealth resources, take online education courses, use online banking services and so much more. Many people take these things for granted, but they are conveniences that are not available to those still living on the wrong side of the digital divide. That's why Congress must protect ACP's long-term future. I urge leaders in Congress to think about tribal community members who rely on ACP to get affordable, high-speed internet connections that allow us to learn, work and manage our daily lives. Without this program, we will lose an essential tool for economic growth, educational opportunity, and community organization.

[Will Booth, is an enrolled member of the Ts'msyen Nation, is the Director of Operations for First Nation Foundation, Inc., a member of the Joint American Indian Veterans Advisory Council, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium Advisory Council, and a Govenors Challenge-member for Suicide Prevention and the director of operations for the Tribal Technology Training (T3) program in Seattle.]

The Utah Broadband Center (UBC), part of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, asks for public feedback on Utah’s draft of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 1. The total funding allocation for Utah is $317.4 million, which will be distributed to various broadband projects through a competitive grant process. To ensure the greatest impact for Utahns, community members and stakeholders are encouraged to provide input to the state’s proposed process to identify areas needing broadband service. This first volume of the BEAD Initial Proposal outlines Utah’s strategies for identifying all locations that will be eligible for BEAD-funded projects. This includes all locations that are unserved by high-speed internet, defined as greater than 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload, or underserved, defined as less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload. It also includes community anchor institutions that don’t have access to at least 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) of service. The document outlines a future challenge process where internet service providers, local and tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations can review the list of locations. Comments can be submitted online through Oct. 14, 2023.

Over 12% of Indiana survey respondents did not pay for home internet in the previous 12 months. The biggest reasons were related to affordability and not only about home internet service but devices too. Lacking a desktop or laptop was the main reason why 7% of survey respondents did not use the internet daily. Additionally, survey respondents believed a home internet service was not necessary since their smartphones let them do everything they needed to do online. Furthermore, 73.5% of rural respondents with any disability cited home internet costing too much as a big reason, followed by 61.2% indicating computers cost too much. Also, 42.2% of rural survey respondents said home internet costs too much, followed by 38.9% saying they could not get it installed. This confirms lack of broadband access in rural areas is a barrier since less than 10% of urban survey respondents cited this reason. Between white non-Hispanic and racial/ethnic minorities, 55.6% of minorities not paying for home internet cited the use of the smartphone versus 26.9% of white non-Hispanics while 44.3% of white non-Hispanic respondents said computers cost too much compared to 37.5% of racial/ethnic minority respondents.

Some of the nation's top cable operators have begun to ramp up promotions focused on smartphone subsidies. These cable-led promotions mark a shift in the dynamics of the US mobile market, according to MoffettNathanson. Analyst Craig Moffett said this new wave of mobile promotional offers from operators such as Comcast, Charter, and Cox illustrates that they're indeed needed in today's competitive market. "Cable's emergence as a promotional discounter was entirely predictable, notwithstanding their early protests to the contrary," Moffett explained. However, he tempered predictions on how well cable's wave of mobile offers will perform in the market, but for now, the promos aren't impacting his forecasts for cable's ongoing move into mobile.

Charter Communications awarded $1.1 million to 46 nonprofit organizations through its Spectrum Digital Education grant program. Charter has committed more than $9 million total to the initiative, which supports broadband technology programs, education, and training in unserved and underserved communities throughout Charter’s service area.