Federal Broadband Programs

Digital equity cannot be fully realized without the participation of educational institutions, including K-12 public schools, community colleges, historically black and other minority serving colleges and universities, and extension programs. Many state digital equity plans embrace education and potential collaborations with educational institutions. All states acknowledge that digital equity is critical to education.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides $42.45 billion in grant funding to states via the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD). IIJA also underscores that any state receiving these funds may not exclude local governments from applying to use these funds to build their own broadband networks.

The Affordability Connectivity Program, a federal program that helped lower-income households pay their Internet bills and connect to the Internet, fully expires at the end of May, but Rep Kathy Manning (D-NC) is calling for it to continue. Rep Manning enlisted Guilford County and Rockingham County schools superintendents and State Senator Michael Garrett (D-27), to help make the case. Rockingham County Superintendent John Stover said the school district invested effort and dollars, alongside other partners, toward expanding infrastructure for families to access the Internet in the county.

On May 15, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing titled “The Fiscal Year 2025 National Telecommunications and Information Administration Budget.” House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Alan Davidson all delivered remarks.

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TC) will propose plans May 16 to maintain the Affordable Connectivity Program in a slimmed-down new form.

Mediacom has increased the download speeds of two of its service tiers and introduced a new plan aimed at economically challenged households that could be a low-cost option for households losing their Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) benefit. The service provider’s Xtream Internet 100 will become Xtream Internet 250, with download speeds increasing from 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 250 Mbps. The Xtream Internet 300 tier will become Xtream Internet 500, with download speeds increasing from 300 Mbps to 500 Mbps. The switch will be flipped on the higher download speeds on May 17.

The Minnesota broadband scene is heating up as service providers rally against new legislation they say will stifle the state’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) plan. Minnesota was awarded over $651 million as part of the federal BEAD program. The state’s initial BEAD plan was submitted last year and is still awaiting approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The cable industry hasn’t been doing too great with keeping broadband subscribers, and Charter is no different. CEO Chris Winfrey’s take on the situation?

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Pennsylvania’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative.

On May 14, the Biden-Harris Administration hosted a Rural Communities in Action event at the White House to highlight how the Administration is investing in rural communities.