Broadband Roundup
Ending Mobile Dead Zones, 16 Million on Affordable Connectivity Program, NTIA Closes Minority Program
The proposal would allow space providers to get authorization to use licensed mobile spectrum to cover dead zones.

February 27, 2023 – The head of the Federal Communications Commission proposed Thursday to establish a framework to allow for wireless service providers on the ground and those in space to partner to provide continuous service where the former cannot reach.
The proposal would allow space broadband operators, such as Space X’s Starlink, to get commission authorization to use spectrum already licensed to agreeing ground-based service providers, such as Verizon, to fill holes in coverage not provided by the wireless carrier.
The pitch is that the FCC would authorize certain flexible spectrum bands (that can be used for either) for ground operations to include a mobile-satellite service provision. As such, the chair of the commission is proposing portions for that purpose from the 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz Cellular Radiotelephone Service, and the Wireless Communications Service (2305 to 2360 MHz) bands.
“This framework could enable innovation and investment in nascent satellite and terrestrial interoperable technologies and cross-industry stakeholder partnerships to flourish in the United States, and play a key role towards fulfilling other Commission goals in the public interest,” the proposal said.
“These goals include facilitating ubiquitous wireless coverage across the nation; expanding the availability of emergency communications to consumers and the geographic range of first responders to provide emergency services; and promoting competition in the provision of wireless services to consumers, among others,” the proposal added.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel touted the proposal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday. She said the FCC will need to investigate interference issues that may arise from the proposal, but added that this would be an international effort to align with global standards.
“We can make mobile dead zones a thing of the past,” Rosenworcel said in her remarks to the conference. “But even better, we have an opportunity to bring our spectrum policies into the future and think about how we move past the binary choices between mobile spectrum or satellite spectrum. In other words, we can reshape the airwave access debates of old and develop new ways to get more out of our spectrum resources.”
In August, SpaceX announced its Starlink satellites will be able to connect T-Mobile’s customers in rural areas to fill gaps in the ground network by having the space company use a portion of T-Mobile’s Personal Communications Services spectrum. The service is anticipated for later this year.
16 million households on Affordable Connectivity Program
The White House said Monday that more than 16 million households are now saving $500 million per month on broadband from the Affordable Connectivity Program.
The announcement was made from vice president Kamala Harris, who is in South Carolina on Monday to promote broadband access.
The White House said in a fact sheet that ACP enrollment is up 40 percent since the launch in May last year of GetInternet.gov, a portal to assist in enrollment in the program. The White House at the time said it partnered with internet service providers to deliver internet to low-income Americans for free.
The ACP provides broadband access subsidies of up to $30 per month – $75 per month on tribal lands – with a one-time device subsidy of $100. The Federal Communications Commission, which administers the program, has set up a number of outreach programs for the ACP because it said many more Americans are eligible for the subsidy but are not taking them up.
NTIA announces final grants from Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Monday that it is granting more than $175 million to 61 minority colleges and universities in 29 states and four territories.
The funding announcement closes out the $268 million Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, which is dedicated to historically Black, tribal and minority colleges and universities. It was created out of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
The program has awarded 93 universities, which includes 43 HBCUs, 24 Hispanic-serving institutions, 21 minority-serving institutions, and five tribal colleges and universities.
The grants are expected to expand community technology hubs, upgrade classroom technology and improve digital literacy skills.
“Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service is necessary for minority students and local communities to fully access school, healthcare, and jobs,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a press release. “The Department of Commerce has made significant investment into minority-serving colleges and universities, and I am proud to say that all funding from the Connecting Minority Communities program has been distributed to help make Internet connectivity a reality for tens of thousands of students at minority-serving colleges and universities across the country.”
Broadband Roundup
Debt Ceiling Bill Passes House, China Warns of AI Risks, Rural Internet Exchanges
Debt legislation will limit federal discretionary spending, facilitate environmental permitting for infrastructure projects.

June 1, 2023 — The House passed a bill Wednesday night to suspend the debt limit for a further two years on a bipartisan 314-117 vote.
The legislation was negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in late May that would suspend the debt ceiling for two years. In exchange, the Biden Administration would be required to limit growth of federal discretionary spending over the next two years to one percent, a budget cut when accounting for increasing inflation rates.
Biden will also be required to adjust work requirements for certain recipients of food stamps and the Temporary Aid for Needy Families program.
Suspending the debt limit, which caps U.S. borrowing and is currently set at $31.4 trillion, will allow the government to keep borrowing money as needed to pay its bills. Under this legislation, the new cap will be set at the spending level it has reached when the suspension expires in 2025.
The legislation includes some minor steps addressing environmental permitting for energy project reviews, although the changes are less sweeping than those proposed by Republications. The agreement as passed by the House amends the National Environmental Policy Act by requiring a single federal agency to lead environmental reviews for infrastructure projects. It also sets a one-year deadline for agencies to issue environmental assessments and a two-year deadline for environmental impact statements.
“These changes will help us build more quickly and responsibly; build more solar, build more wind, EV chargers, transmission, and the other infrastructure we need to secure a clean energy economy,” a White House official said during a media briefing.
The agreement must now pass the Senate and be signed by the president before Monday, June 5, which the U.S. Treasury marked as the day it runs out of funds, to take effect. It now heads to the Senate for a vote where it is expected to pass after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., endorsed it.
Although the bill received bipartisan support, conservative Republican representatives opposed the bill because it contains only a fraction of the deficit reduction they initially lobbied for, and progressive Democrat representatives opposed the bill over its expansion of work requirements for welfare programs.
Chinese president warns of AI security risks
The Chinese Communist Party warned in a statement Tuesday against the possible risks artificial intelligence can pose to political and social issues.
Chinese President Xi JinPing urged for China to adopt “dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence.”
He highlighted security concerns regarding advancing technologies and called for the CCP to stay “keenly aware of the complicated and challenging circumstances facing national security and correctly grasping major national security issues.”
The CCP must be prepared to “deal with worse-case and extreme-case scenario,” Xi said. He called for the establishment of a risk monitoring and early warning system and a “new pattern of development with a new security architecture.”
This comes a week after State Department officials called for a U.S-led global coalition to set AI regulations. Jennifer Bachus, assistant secretary of state for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, said that the United States and China should not pit against one another, claiming it would “ultimately always lead to a problem.”
Instead, Bachus called for an alliance of the U.S., the European Union, and Japan to take the lead in creating a legal framework to govern AI.
“This is the exact moment where the US needs to show leadership,” she said. “This is a shared problem and we need a shared solution.”
IXP operator to offer solutions to rural regions in U.S.
Germany-based operator of internet exchanges, DE-CIX, and Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points, a joint venture between nonprofit Connected Nation and Newby Ventures, announced in May a strategic partnership for operation of edge internet exchange points in unserved and underserved markets across the United States.
The deal will foster the development of new connectivity hubs in rural areas and will seek to “significantly improve” regional internet performance and build new carrier-neutral interconnection facilities in at least 125 communities in 43 states, a press release said.
With the deal, DE-CIX becomes the IXP platform operator inside CNIXP facilities. IXP’s enable the interconnection and exchange of internet traffic between more than two independent systems.
“People and businesses – and in particular the research and educational sector – in American cities beyond the major hubs need and deserve better Internet performance – faster, lower latency, more resilient, and more secure access to content, clouds, and applications,” said Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX.
“An IXP and its ecosystem of connected networks and data centers increases the speed and resilience of Internet connectivity through optimizing the routes for data transport and offering greater redundant data pathways,” read the press release. “It also brings down the costs of connectivity and enables locally bound data to remain local.”
Broadband Roundup
Mississippi Gets $151M for Broadband, FCC Commits $15M from ECF, FCC Proposes Fine Against SkySwitch
Mississippi will receive $151 million from Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund.

May 31, 2023 – The Treasury Department on Tuesday announced the approval of $151.5 million toward high-speed internet projects in Mississippi.
The money Mississippi will receive will be put toward the Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi fund. The program will fund three different types of broadband investments: community-based broadband projects, line extensions, and large-scale projects. The state is estimating these funds will connect approximately 47,300 business and homes to affordable, high-speed internet.
The money is being allocated from the Treasury’s Capital Projects Fund, which is part of the Biden administration’s Investing in America agenda.
“The pandemic upended life as we knew it and exposed the stark inequity in access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet in communities across the country, including rural, Tribal, and other underrepresented communities,” Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the treasury, said in a press release. “This funding is a key piece of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments to increase access to high-speed internet for millions of Americans and provide more opportunities to fully participate and compete in the 21st century economy.”
FCC commits another $15 million from Emergency Connectivity Fund
FCC announced Wednesday it is committing another $15 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund toward connectivity for students away from school.
The latest funding round will go to support approximately 50 schools, five libraries, and 35,000 students, including in New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Delaware, Indiana, and California.
“This program has helped millions of students get the digital tools they need for online learning and connecting with teachers,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a press release. “Today’s funding round is another step in our ongoing work to close the Homework Gap.”
In total, the program has supported 120 consortia, 1,000 libraries, 11,000 schools, and has funded more than eight million broadband connections and almost 13 million connected devices.
Almost $6.7 billion in funding commitments has been approved so far out of the $7.1-billion program
FCC proposes $1.4 million fine against communications service provider
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a fine of $1.4 million on a communications service provider that allegedly failed to pay fees to four agency funds and regulatory costs.
The FCC says PayG – which is doing business as communications service provider SkySwitch – has between 2018 to 2021 failed to pay $404,416.28 into the Universal Service Fund, the North American Numbering Plan, the Local Number Portability, and the Telecommunications Relay Service Fund.
“Each of these funding mechanisms play a critical role in supporting vital programs for the public that make the United States a global leader in the provision of communications services. Providers must fulfill their responsibilities to meet their deadlines and obligations to pay the full amount of what they owe in a timely manner,” FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal said in a press release.
PayG will have the opportunity to present its case to the FCC addressing the proposed fine.
Broadband Roundup
FCC Map Update, FCC Renews FirstNet Spectrum Authority, NTIA Warns EU Over Big Tech Proposal
New FCC map shows 8.3 million unserved locations.

May 30, 2023 – The latest update to the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband availability map shows 8.3 million unserved locations, an increase of 330,000 over the previous map that came out in November, according to a statement by the commission Tuesday.
According to the FCC’s statement, the new version has resolved 75 percent of the issues raised since November and reflects more than a million new serviced locations.
“These incremental updates reflect both challenge outcomes and any corrections providers make to their filings,” continued the statement. “We will continue to accept challenges every day, every week and every month, and those challenges will continue to improve the map.”
This is the second version of the map since November’s preliminary version. The commission has said it is putting “significant resources” in its improvement, as the map will be relied upon by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to allocate to the states by June 30 the $42.5 billion from its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
The commission’s underlying map data, called the fabric, has been met with challenges from local entities, which have shown an overestimation of the number of serviceable locations. The FCC makes changes to the data accordingly.
FCC renews FirstNet spectrum authority in 700 MHz band
The Federal Communications Commission renewed FirstNet Authority’s license to operate in the 700 MHz public safety band Friday.
“In sum, based on the totality of the record, we conclude that FirstNet has sufficiently demonstrated compliance with the requirements of the Spectrum Act to warrant renewal of its license,” read an FCC statement.
The spectrum authorization grants FirstNet use until at least 2027.
FirstNet submitted this application for renewal in August 2022, its first as a body.
Twelve parties submitted varied opinions regarding the unconditional renewal of its license. The Verizon First Responder Advisory Council and T-Mobile, among others, advocated for a more rigorous examination of the operation of FirstNet. Concerns mainly revolved around FirstNet’s contractual relationship with AT&T, its extension of the band deployment to non-public safety entities, and cybersecurity reasons.
In 2012, Congress enacted the Spectrum Act to establish FirstNet as a separate entity within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration responsible for managing “a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network” in the 700Mhz spectrum. FirstNet then secured a 25-year deal with AT&T valued at $100 billion to construct a nationwide network for first responders.
NTIA warns against Big Tech directly paying ISPs
The NTIA submitted comments Thursday opposing a European Union proposal to force Big Tech to pay internet service providers to build out infrastructure.
The comments pointed to “substantial risks” involved with mandating payments directly from Big Tech to telecom operators.
“Enforcing mandatory payments on a subset of traffic generators could be discriminatory and degrade equal access to the Internet, thereby endangering the principle of Internet openness/net neutrality,” read the submission.
The response also highlighted unnecessary costs and bottlenecks that would trickle down to the end-users, referencing similar findings by the The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications and in South Korea.
The comments come as heated debates take hold in the United States about whether or not large technology corporations should contribute to the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes telecommunications services upon which the companies rely. The FCC has recommended that Congress establish a more robust framework for addressing new contributions, but Congress has yet to make a decision on the matter.
Early this March, senators from Mississippi, New Mexico, Indiana, and Arizona introduced new legislation pushing Congress and the FCC to actively consider potential contributions from Big Tech revenue.
“The FAIR Contributions Act would help Congress assess the feasibility of making Big Tech companies contribute to the USF,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi. “It is important to ensure the costs of expanding broadband are distributed equitably and that all companies are held accountable for their role in shaping our digital future.”
Earlier this month, the Senate set up a working group to study the USF program.
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