Universal Broadband

The Colorado Broadband Office received 112 applications from 37 entities requesting broadband funding through the Advance Colorado Broadband grant program. The total funding requested totals $643 million, which is almost four times more than the $162 million budgeted for the program. The network operators requesting the funding offered to contribute a total of almost $312 million in matching funds for projects in 47 counties. Thirty counties received one application, and 17 counties received more than one.

Governor Laura Kelly (D-KS) announced the release of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 2. As part of the planning process, the public is invited to submit comments on the planning document.

While limited digital skills and lack of access to computing devices are major contributors to the digital divide, experience in places like public housing in New York City demonstrates that these barriers can be overcome when affordable housing operators find ways to provide residents with reliable internet access. Pilot programs in Massachusetts give us a sense of the resources that will be required to furnish high-speed broadband in affordable housing developments.

A momentous milestone has been reached in the journey towards a more inclusive and equitable digital society with the passing of the Digital Equity Bill of Rights, which was recently signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA). California has taken a bold step forward in ensuring that every individual, regardless of their background, circumstances or zip code, has fair and equal access to the benefits and opportunities offered by the Digital Age. California is the first state in the nation to make Digital Equity a legal right.

Comcast awarded a $17,500 grant to Tri-County Cradle to Career Collaborative (TCCC), a nonprofit in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester (SC) counties. The funds from this grant are designed to educate more than 300 families living in rural and urban neighborhoods on the importance of broadband adoption in the home.

The variation in the affordability of internet access is the focus of the latest Internet Poverty Index (IPI) 2023, which projects the distribution of individuals who are priced out of a basic package of mobile internet and are thus living in internet poverty. Based on the latest IPI data, World Data Lab predicts that 1.05 billion people are currently living in internet poverty. Since 2015, the internet-poor population has decreased by 685 million or around 40 percent. The reduction in internet poverty has been driven by a universal

The European Commission released the results of its consultations regarding the future of the electronic communications sector and its infrastructure.

Roughly 3 billion citizens remain offline, equating to approximately 40 percent of the global population. Therefore, providing Internet connectivity is an essential part of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 9). In this paper, a high-resolution global model is developed to evaluate the necessary investment requirements to achieve affordable universal broadband. The results indicate that approximately $418 billion needs to be mobilized to connect all unconnected citizens globally (targeting 40–50 GB/Month per user with 95 percent reliability).

The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) announced the opening of a public comment period for Washington’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) DRAFT Initial Proposal Volume I. The public comment period is open for 30 days, and will close on Nov. 10, 2023. Volume I contains information from four of 20 Initial Proposal requirements.

It’s been easy to criticize the Federal Communications Commission broadband coverage maps since they are still full of errors and fantasy. I don’t foresee the maps getting any better as long as internet service providers (ISPs) can continue to decide what they want to report in terms of broadband coverage and speeds. Too many ISPs have reasons for reporting maps they know are inaccurate, and it’s hard to think that’s going to change.