Internet/Broadband

On January 11, the U.S. Senate voted 60-31 to confirm the nomination of Alan Davidson to be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Once sworn in, Davidson will lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is President Joe Biden's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy.

A bevy of witnesses elucidated the longstanding challenges Native American communities face in overcoming the digital divide before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on January 12, calling attention to the inadequate basic telecommunications infrastructure.

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy issues and update the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on spectrum coordination, which has not been updated since 2003. "With your recent confirmations by the Senate, it is now time to take steps toward improving the cooperation and collaboration between your agencies that is essential to spectrum management and the future of US spectrum policy," says Thune.

Starlink faces many challenges in order to provide a robust commercial service, and ultimately to become financially sustainable so that potential customers can rely on it in the longer term. Some of the technical limitations of the Starlink service mean that it will never be possible to rely solely on Starlink to provide universal service outside the range of terrestrial broadband solutions.

Faced with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2021, Congress aimed to help low-income Americans remain connected by providing up to a $50 monthly subsidy for Internet connections through the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program. Now, as the Federal Communications Commission prepares rules for the EBB Program’s longer-term replacement—the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—it is worth studying the EBB Program in search of guidance for the ACP. Analysis by Dr.

City and South Bend (IN) school leaders are once again expanding internet access to eligible students and families. The Citywide Classroom South Bend program — a partnership between the city, South Bend schools and local nonprofit enFocus — will now provide access to all 21st Century Scholars, teachers, staff and school employees in the South Bend district.

Twitter’s early shift to a “work from anywhere” model during the pandemic, as well as the implementation of a requirement to add more people of color to final job candidate slates, helped the social media company post significant gains in 2021 in hiring Black and Latinx employees.

SpaceX has abandoned a Starlink plan that Amazon objected to during a high-profile battle at the Federal Communications Commission in 2021, and wants to launch its second-generation broadband satellites starting in March 2022. But the dispute isn't over, as Amazon says that SpaceX's latest filing "raises a number of issues that call for analysis and a potential response" and asked the FCC for a month-long delay before comments are due.

The Biden administration is getting closer to launching its proposed Alliance for the Future of the Internet. Administration officials originally hoped to launch this effort of “like-minded countries” in early December 2021 in tandem with the president’s Summit for Democracy.

House Energy and Commerce Republicans Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Bob Latta (R-OH) urged Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) to hold an oversight hearing to review ongoing activities and programs at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). "The NTIA has not appeared before the Energy and Commerce Committee since the 115th Congress," said the lawmakers' letter.