Digital Inclusion
For Broadband and Future of Work, Coronavirus Pandemic is a Reset and Not a Pause

September 24, 2020 – The pandemic is not a pause, but a reset on the future of work, agreed panelists Gary Bolles, a chair at Singularity University, and Matt Dunne, founder and executive director of the Center on Rural Innovation.
“Many are talking about this pandemic as a pause, but I see this as a reset,” said Bolles, speaking at the Broadband Communities Summit on Wednesday that was moderated by Deb Socia, CEO of the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The first phase of such a “reset” is the survival phase: The economy shuts down and unemployment rises. In the next rippling phase, the economy turns on and off. In the last phase, the economy steadily recovers.
Bolles said he saw the country currently in phase two.
Elaborating on the areas of a reset, Dunne said that there has been an “automation acceleration, particularly in low-cost labor, but especially to minimize contact.”
There has also been a digital reset in that “the implications of a digital divide have really been laid bare,” he said.
In the workplace reset, with many companies hiring remote workers – and this is particularly impacting rural America, where the lack of broadband has made a particularly strong impact.
“Rural America is unique because it’s either zero or one. Either they’ve got great coverage, or they’re relying on crappy [digital subscriber lines],” said Dunne.
In contrast, Bolles did not think that broadband coverage was binary, saying that just because you have “some” access to broadband, doesn’t mean you’re “in.” He said that you can’t just “run a highway” of broadband everywhere and expect that to finish the job, because every place needs different things.
Both agreed that states should not prohibit municipalities from building broadband.
“Some states that have laws in place that prevent some communities from building out their own broadband networks,” said Bolles. He called for federal rules to permit communities greater autonomy in decision-making.
Dunne supported a plan by House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. to invest more federal dollars in fiber deployment.
Bolles defined success as having vision painted at national level and states given more leeway to do what they need to.
He also suggested that communities create a collaborative, inclusive and sustainable process for community problem-solving going forward.
Digital Inclusion
Broadband Association Argues Providers Not Engaged in Rollout Discrimination
Trade group says telecoms are not discriminating when they don’t build in financially difficult areas.

WASHINGTON, September 18, 2023 – Broadband association US Telecom sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission last week saying internet service providers don’t build in certain areas because it is financially difficult, not because they are being discriminatory.
The FCC proposed two definitions of digital discrimination in December 2022: The first definition includes practices that, absent technological or economic constraints, produce differential outcomes for individuals based a series of protected characteristics, including income, race, and religion. The second definition is similar but adds discriminatory intent as a necessary factor.
“To make business determinations regarding capital allocation, an ISP must consider a host of commercially important factors, none of which involve discrimination,” said the September 12 letter from USTelecom, which represents providers including AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Brightspeed, and Altafiber.
“As the Commission has consistently recognized, such deployment is extremely capital-intensive…This deployment process is therefore subject to important constraints related to technical and economic feasibility” added the letter.
US Telecom explained that ISPs’ will choose to invest where they expect to see a return on the time and money they put into building broadband.
The association added that factors like population density, brand reputation, competition and the availability of the providers’ other services all go into deciding where broadband gets deployed.
“The starting point of the Commission’s approach to feasibility should be a realistic acknowledgement that all ISPs must prioritize their resources, even those that invest aggressively in deployment,” added the letter.
The association also highlighted the fact that it hopes to see as little government intervention in broadband deployment activity as possible, a concern that has been echoed by lobbyists before.
“Rather than attempting to use Section 60506 to justify taking extra-statutory intrusive actions that could paradoxically undermine ongoing broadband investment, the Commission must enable ISPs to make decisions based on their own consideration of the kinds of feasibility factors discussed above” read the letter.
Section 60506 of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act says that the FCC may implement new policies to ensure equal access to broadband.
The FCC is also looking to develop guidelines for handling digital discrimination complaints filed against broadband providers.
USTelecom said that ISPs should be allowed to demonstrate financial and logistical concerns as a rebuttal to those claims, in addition to disclosing other reasons for directing investment elsewhere to demonstrate non-discriminatory practice.
Reasons for investment elsewhere would include rough terrain, low-population density, MTE owners not consenting to deployment, zoning restrictions, or historical preservation review.
“To aid in the success of the Infrastructure Act and facilitate equal access, the Commission must continue to foster an environment conducive to ISP investment in the high-speed broadband infrastructure that Congress rightly views as central to our connected future,” concluded the letter.
Digital Inclusion
FCC and HUD Partner to Promote Internet Subsidies for Housing Assistance Recipients
The effort is aimed at raising awareness about federal internet subsidies among housing assistance recipients.

WASHINGTON, August 18, 2023 – The Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Monday a partnership to promote the Affordable Connectivity Program to people receiving federal housing assistance.
The promotion efforts will include promoting the FCC program at public housing properties, joint enrollment events, and increased collaboration on messaging campaigns.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge touted the agency’s partnership with the FCC at a community event in Seattle, Washington, and encouraged residents to sign up.
The announcement comes a month after the launch of White House’s “Online for All” campaign, an effort to raise nationwide awareness of the ACP.
Part of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act, the ACP monthly discounts on internet service of between $30 for low-income American and $75 for Tribal residents.
The $14 billion program is serving more than 20 million households as of August 14, roughly a quarter of whom had no internet access at all prior to receiving ACP benefits.
A monitoring tool developed by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a community advocacy group, estimates that $6.3 billion in ACP funds have been used up.
The remaining $7.7 billion is expected to dry up in 2024. Lawmakers have called for funding increases, citing the racial divide in internet access – 71% of Black households and 65% of hispanic households have broadband access, compared to 80% of white households – that could worsen in the absence of ACP discounts.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, released in July a report calling for Congress to eliminate old broadband subsidies that have been rendered redundant by the $42.5 billion BEAD program and divert the funds to the ACP.
“Public energy and time in this space would be much better served fine-tuning and scaling digital inclusion efforts than being obligated to lobby for a program whose continuation should be a no-brainer,” wrote Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy at the ITIF and author of the report.
Digital Inclusion
Affordable Connectivity Program Tools Show One in Four Applicants Newbies
Data reveal the program’s benefit is reaching the lowest income households

WASHINGTON, August 18, 2023 – Roughly a quarter of applicants to the Affordable Connectivity Program did not previously have internet connection at home, said panelists at the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s webinar on August 11.
Describing the statistic as a “surprising” revelation, Katherine Aquino, a data analyst at the nonprofit EducationSuperHighway, drew attention to her organization’s data tool, which tracks participation in the ACP – a program designed to provide monthly internet bill discounts of $30 and $75 to low-income Americans.
John Horrigan, senior fellow at the nonprofit Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, nodded to the data, adding that Benton’s ACP Enrollment Performance Tool also found the same implication.
The tool indicates a positive association between poverty level and ACP enrollment, meaning the poorest zip codes have some of the highest ACP participation rates, he explained.
“This should be good news for policy makers,” added Horrigan. “It means the benefit is reaching the target population the policymakers have in mind.”
The Federal Communications Commission announced on Monday that about 20 million households have enrolled in the ACP, which accounts for nearly half of the total eligible households. The agency also emphasized its ongoing outreach efforts to encourage a higher number of registrations for the program.
However, an enrollment uptake does not necessarily translate to good news.
Another ACP data monitoring tool developed by the advocacy group Institute for Local Self-Reliance paints a somewhat grim picture, estimating that as of August 2023, only approximately $6.3 billion in ACP funds remain out of the initially allocated $14 billion.
Experts have also predicted the ACP will run out of funding in early 2024, depending on how fast new households would sign up for the program.
“There’s still maybe 63% of the ACP eligible households that are still not benefiting from a potentially $360 federal benefit that they could be receiving,” said Aquino.
Meanwhile, ACP’s future seems to hang in the balance as numerous calls for funding replenishment have met with a lack of response from the halls of Congress.
-
Community Broadband3 weeks ago
Rural Broadband Provider Touts Cooperative and Coalition-based Models
-
#broadbandlive2 weeks ago
Broadband Breakfast on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 – Broadband Deployment from India, Australia, South Africa
-
Broadband Roundup4 weeks ago
5G Fund for Rural America, FCC Disaster Information Reporting System, US Cellular Expands 5G,
-
Digital Inclusion4 weeks ago
FCC and HUD Partner to Promote Internet Subsidies for Housing Assistance Recipients
-
Funding4 weeks ago
Proposed Buy America Waiver Makes BEAD Projects Feasible, Say Fiber Manufacturers
-
Funding3 weeks ago
A Deep Dive into the BEAD Program’s Matching Funds
-
Broadband Roundup3 weeks ago
NTIA Announces Middle Mile Funds, NDIA Director on Closing Digital Divide, More Tribal ACP Outreach Funds
-
Broadband Roundup3 weeks ago
FCC Waives Hurricane Idalia Rules, North Carolina Awards, Fiber Deployment in Kansas