Digital Divide

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has accepted Hawaii'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.

Are federal labor protections for broadband workers strong enough, or should state lawmakers intervene to give them a boost? That question is at the heart of a fiery debate raging in Colorado’s state house over a piece of proposed legislation that would codify additional rights for broadband workers. If passed, the bill would mandate that any company using federal or state money for broadband projects of over $500,000 would have to pay workers prevailing wages.

We write in support of your ongoing focus on internet affordability as you work to administer the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program enacted in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  For years, Democrats and Republicans expressed concern over the digital divide, and the $42 billion investment in the BEAD Program gives us a real opportunity to finally bridge this divide and connect every American to high-speed, reliable, and affordable internet.

When internet service providers are asked about the impediments they encounter for building new fiber networks, they almost always list pole issues at or near to the top of the list. Why are poles of such big concern? Building aerial fiber means putting the fiber on poles. Most poles are owned by electric utilities, although some belong to telephone companies or municipalities. Invariably, some poles have to be replaced in order to add a new fiber line. This mostly occurs when there is not enough space for the nationally required distance between wires.

On March 20, 2024, Next Century Cities (NCC) met with the Federal Communications Commission's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) staff regarding the Affordable Connectivity Program wind-down. NCC said the CGB must work closely with the Wireline Competition Bureau to craft wind-down guidance that ensures customers are protected. NCC also urged the Federal Communications Commission to require providers to disclose how a consumers bill will increase.

Lieutenant Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II joined the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) and announced the start of the State Challenge Process, encouraging Michiganders to help identify locations across the state that are eligible for high-speed internet infrastructure expansion through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. Challenges will be accepted March 25 through April 23 through an interactive State Challenge Portal.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination in regard to access to broadband, and those rules went into effect on March 22.

The Delaware Broadband Initiative hit a major milestone when its State Digital Equity Plan was formally federally approved, making the state officially eligible for millions in funding to execute it. The Digital Equity Plan was developed over months of stakeholder engagement, public meetings, surveys, polls and a public comment period. Delaware now expects to receive about $12 million in federal Digital Equity Act funds under the Internet for All initiative.

The 2024 Colorado Broadband Data Collection is now open. The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) requests that internet service providers in Colorado provide confirmation of their Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing submissions depicting broadband service availability as of December 31, 2023, in addition to other submission details for 2024 Colorado Broadband Data Collection.

The Oregon Broadband Office is accepting applications for grant awards for the Broadband Deployment Program (BDP).