Multichannel News

Internet-service providers (ISPs) weighed in on the White House‘s promotion of the 10 million households now served by its Affordable Connectivity Program. The ISPs wanted to point out they have been offering affordable broadband to millions through their own subsidy programs for years, though they welcome the Biden administration‘s help (as long as it is targeted to the unserved and not to overbuilding in the name of price and competition).

Cable and telecommunications internet service providers are pushing back on Democratic Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]'s promise to recuse herself from some issues if confirmed. They‘re suggesting such an offer signals a wider problem with which issues she would or should be weighing in on, and what impact that would have on the agency and the industry.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spelled out the Biden Administration's ambitious goals for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's $65 billion investment in broadband at a February 1 Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee hearing. This investment, according to Raimondo, will depend on the Federal Communications Commission's progress in coming up with better broadband availability maps.

New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) wants to nip in the bud any suggestion the Federal Communications Commission may be making that the congressionally mandated broadband nutrition label is voluntary. The FCC plans to vote at its January 27 open meeting on implementing the requirement in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that broadband internet access service providers be required to provide broadband service consumer labels that let consumers know what speed and quality of service they are getting at which price and with what fees attached.

The head of the National Urban League is calling on the Senate Commerce Committee to favorably report Democrat Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]'s Federal Communications Commission nomination to the full Senate and to work actively for a vote in that body.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA) is still looking to hold a confirmation vote for FCC nominee Gigi Sohn sometime soon. Although Chairwoman Cantwell had hoped to hold a vote in January, a spokesperson said "because the [Senate] recess [a planned January 17-21 "state work period"] was moved to next week," the Chairwoman is now hoping to "have something confirmed at some point next week."