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.
