Internet/Broadband

From rural towns to inner cities, high-speed internet is out of reach for thousands of Louisianans, but with millions of dollars in grants available, a new state initiative aimed at closing the digital divide is gaining significant interest from private companies. With $90 million to distribute, Louisiana’s Office of Broadband Development & Connectivity received $440 million in funding requests from 23 companies in its first round of applications. The proposals cover 58 parishes and aim to provide high-speed internet to 215,000 households and 14,000 businesses.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel shared with her colleagues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would begin the process of strengthening the FCC’s rules for notifying customers and federal law enforcement of breaches of customer proprietary network information (CPNI). The updates would better align the FCC’s rules with recent developments in federal and state data breach laws covering other sectors. The proposal outlines several updates to current FCC rules addressing telecommunications carriers’ breach notification requirements. These include:

New York Gov Kathy Hochul (D-NY) signed into law State Senate Bill S7028, which aims to help bridge the digital divide in rural areas in the state.

Pennsylvania stands to gain at least $100 million to improve broadband access from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, established in December 2021, will help coordinate the expansion of high-speed internet access throughout the state, by managing the influx of federal funds to support the construction of new towers, lines and broadband equipment.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission denied funding for an innovative public-private partnership to expand broadband infrastructure. The implications of that decision for other entities considering similar partnerships -- such as Platte County (NE) and Loup -- remain unclear.  The Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act set up a fund of $40 million to be awarded to broadband infrastructure projects in Nebraska by the public service commission. The $40 million will be distributed in two grant cycles, one in 2021 and the other in 2022. There was $20 million up for grabs in the 2021 cycle.

The Senate has confirmed Alan Davidson as the new National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) administrator, and Davidson will need to hit the ground running as NTIA is responsible for the lion’s share of the $65 billion allotted for broadband in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The broadband deployment programs for which NTIA is responsible include the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the Tribal program and the Middle-Mile program. The BEAD has a budget of $42.5 billion and the other programs add $6 billion to that.

Rep Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) introduced the Digital Literacy and Equity Commission Act (HR 6373), new legislation that streamlines the federal government’s approach to digital literacy.

Five regional internet service providers will be unified under the new name Astound Broadband starting January 12. Digital West, EnTouch, Grande, RCN and Wave when combined will boast coverage in eight of the top 10 metro areas across the country and 10 different states.  Astound Broadband covers some of the biggest cities in the US, including Austin (TX), Boston (MA), Chicago (IL), New York (NY), and San Francisco (CA) among others. While Astound Broadband will be leading the charge, the regional brands will still be included in this evolution of the company.

123NET, Michigan’s largest local fiber internet provider, announced its partnership with the Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) and Grace in Action Collectives (GIAC) to bring high-speed, low-cost internet to an underserved Detroit (MI) neighborhood as part of the Equitable Internet Initiative (EII) in an undertaking known as Project OVERCOME. The one-year project aims to create long-term sustainable infrastructure for digital services to the Southwest Detroit neighborhood.

Wireless internet service providers (ISPs) have some modifications they are asking the Federal Communications Commission to make to its draft Affordable Connectivity Program broadband subsidy before it adopts the rules by Congress‘ January 14 deadline.