Federal Broadband Programs

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited a recently completed Comcast rural broadband project in Stafford County, Virginia, highlighting that this is a public-private project between Comcast and the county. The giant cable company is involved in public-private partnerships across its national footprint. For years cable operators such as Comcast, Charter and Cox have fought hard against municipal broadband projects, always crying that it’s wrong for taxpayer dollars to compete against their private investments.

On May 10, the Federal Communications Commission published an order proposing an $8 million fine K20 Wireless LLC and Krandon Wenger for apparently violating Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) rules. "From at least June 2022 to May 2023, K20 sought and received ACP Tribal lands support for subscribers who were not eligible for those benefits.

Rep Dusty Johnson (R-SD) introduced legislation to streamline the permitting process for broadband infrastructure projects. The Facilitating Optimal and Rapid Expansion and Siting of Telecommunications (FOREST) Act will cut down bureaucratic red tape to improve broadband access in rural America. The lengthy permitting process on federal lands has prevented the federal government from improving broadband access, even though billions of dollars are available to improve broadband deployment.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has said 2024 will be “the year of execution” for Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). But the agency still has a ways to go in approving initial proposals for each state and territory. Louisiana was the first to get its plan approved in December.

On May 9, the US Senate passed the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization package without a proposed amendment to provide $6 billion to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).  Without this injection of new capital to the ACP, the broadband-access subsidy that has helped more than 23 million households get and stay online will expire in May. Free Press Action Internet Campaign Director Heather Franklin said “Free Press Action is deeply disappointed in Congress for failing to pass funding for this essential and successful internet-access subsidy ... While the program’s days

In an era of increasing internet ubiquity, the ability to access and use online tools, services, and information is an essential aspect of everyday life. Many segments of society, however, remain underconnected and even excluded from the digital world. As technology evolves, the harms associated with the digital divide are compounding.

Los Angeles County has started work on a wireless broadband network that will deliver high-speed connections for as little as $25 a month. The county signed a contract with WeLink of Lehi, Utah, to build the network and offer the service in East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the District of Columbia, Delaware and Washington state’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval will enable the District of Columbia, Delaware and Washington to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America w

Sen Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Chair of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, announced additional co-sponsors for his amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2023 to strengthen the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), complete the equipment removal of China-based companies, Huawei and ZTE, and allow the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reauction certain spectrum licenses to create more responsive networks for consumers.

Sens Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), JD Vance (R-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2023 to strengthen the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), complete the equipment removal of China-based companies, Huawei and ZTE, and allow the Federal Communications Commission to reauction certain spectrum licenses to create more responsive networks for consumers. Access to broadband provides vital connections to education, health care and economic opportunity.