States, ISPs still struggling to challenge its accuracy

No reputable provider is going to propose serving areas that do not make sense with fiber.

FCC’s new mapping fabric will drive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund 'true-up'.

Measured user download speeds have increased by more than 100 Mbps

The biannual report detailed the agency's latest national subscriber figures.

The 'Data Centers, Nuclear Power and Broadband Summit' took place on March 27, 2025.

Hope for a single auction, but not blanket authority, materialized at the end of the year.

Broadband speed requirements have increased dramatically across different federal programs.

Louisiana appears to have achieved the BEAD program’s objective for hundreds of millions of dollars less in subsidy costs than was budgeted.

The FCC said the company incorrectly claimed a state agency challenging its coverage had changed its mind.

FCC called on consumers to challenge inaccurate mobile broadband coverage data.

Wireline retains 90% of ACP subscribers, while wireless faces 70-80% losses.

The proceeding is unlikely to move forward under a Republican FCC.

Industry groups are urging FCC to reject long-term symmetrical speed goals.

Section 706 Report should recognize high internet costs keep millions offline, Benton said.

The company said the state's challenge process rules made it impossible to challenge broadband coverage data.

Personal data requirements deter users from using FCC speed test app, CCA says

Map would identify where federal funding is most needed

Larger ISPs had to display labels with their plans in April.

Ookla, rural advocates push for 'real-world' speed test data.

Stakeholders pushed for better data and stricter standards.

Speed data showed that performance was far from equal across the board.

NRECA pushing for consumer-driven speed tests to improve FCC broadband data.

Key recent developments include FCC fines on nine ISP, the annual 706 Report and a pending deadline for the FCC's broadband labels program.

Pre-qualification is strongly encouraged, and is designed to streamline the application process for BEAD.

The company defaulted on auction-won locations in three states

Power users are on the rise, with 1-in-5 projected to use over 1TB monthly by year end.

National Telecom failed to submit broadband data three times in two years, bureau said.

The inquiry hopes to identify and address how broadband policy can improve.

All ISPs will be required to display new labels to customers by October 10.

The new legislation aims to increase coordination between 130 federal broadband programs and 15 different agencies.

By end of the year, 20% of all broadband subscribers will consume at least 1 TB per month.

These vast, climate-controlled facilities, housing thousands of servers, support cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and data-driven decision-making.

The report shows a county not only rich in eligible locations, but also opportunities for competing with incumbent providers.

Trade group wants FCC to address ISP market concentration in a pending report to Congress

The lack of a skilled workforce needed to build, maintain and operate the networks is a major challenge that could lead to delays.

The app will enable users to obtain information about their mobile network performance.

In the evolving world of broadband, measuring internet connections is as crucial as it is complex.

The public can review draft project area maps and program guidelines.

The agency first circulated the update in May after taking comments earlier this year.

Will you be prepared to defend your BEAD deployment at a future state or federal hearing?

The state is currently in the BEAD challenge phase.

Allowing providers to submit advertised speeds results in overstated coverage, groups said.

NTIA official reveals ongoing efforts behind the scenes to expedite BEAD permitting processes.

The state had the highest average number of complaints to the FCC about internet per 100,000 broadband serviceable locations.

The city has an average download speed of 6.5 Gbps, claims the report.

ISPs say limiting outage reports to hard downs ‘would ensure that the definition of a reportable outage is straightforward, consistent, and meaningful.’

Rebuttal submissions began June 14, initiating a 45-day window for ISPs to support or dispute challenges.

Neglecting to map regions where both affordability and accessibility limit high-speed internet subscriptions could impair effectiveness.

A proposed order will enhance auditing and verification, the agency said.

Many budget priorities hinge on Congress reinstating the commission's spectrum auction authority.

Open Technology Institute thinks the FCC needs to address problems with ISP labels to ensure the intent of the mandate is being honored.

Arkansas and Tennessee now expect to service thousands fewer locations than originally anticipated through the BEAD program.

Only the FCC's own speed test mobile application is currently functioning to submit mapping challenges for the 5G Fund.

Government officials express optimism that the introduction of labels will signal a new era of transparency and competition.

Ookla announces new Speedtest Insights Analytics Tool to understand broadband data.

A leaked email from a company exec revealed that the false data was a deliberate attempt to prevent competitors from accessing government grants earmarked for broadband expansion in the region.

Major ISPs must begin deploying labels by April 10, 2024.

Commenters noted that the fabric is iterative, and changes to the data could cause confusion.

The agency said it will be announcing additional permitting initiatives ahead of BEAD.

The assumption that consumers have a choice in selecting broadband providers is often far from the truth, said panelists.

Current broadband mapping and data initiatives at the FCC appear poised to usher in a new era of transparency in the realm of digital connectivity.

The labels are tools to assist consumers in easily accessing information regarding the price, speed, latency, and privacy.

State broadband officers shared numbers of unserved and underserved locations within their respective states.

The pre-challenge modification permits the inclusion of speed test data gathered from phones and devices equipped with GPS chips.

The experts held split opinions regarding the impact of new consumer broadband labels mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC sought public input in November on including latency metrics in reporting requirements.

Moderators to guide multi-faceted coversation at Broadband Measurement Summit on Thursday, March 7, 2024.

Despite outreach efforts, only four counties, one native government, and two nonprofits submitted challenges to Kansas' state mapping fabric.

Providers reported progress on rebuilding and expanding networks in Puerto Rico.

What will happen to the agency’s rules that legally require ISPs to display broadband 'nutrition' labels that promote the ACP?

America's prices are 5–10 times higher than comparable data from other countries.

The FCC sought comment on upping the definition to 100 * 20 Mbps.

Tune in for the latest updates on BEAD mapping and challenge process.

'It should be easy to understand what you are paying and what you are getting for that price.'

Some state officials are concerned about county-level understaffing.

Commissioners and House lawmakers discussed key topics at a contentious hearing.

The NTIA’s Internet Use Survey doesn’t delve deeply enough into why people choose not to adopt broadband.

The Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday on using AI to enhance communication networks.

The commission would increase its standard to 100 * 20 Mbps.

It is the second state to start ground-truthing broadband data as part of the $42.5 billion program under IIJA.

The new guidelines specify that only subscribers of 100 * 20 Mbps service will have speed tests accepted.

A tutorial for investors, broadband providers, and political leaders

The next phase of broadband mapping is going to be very much state-driven, said panelists.

Demand for an accurate and reliable map has now reached a pivotal juncture.

Rules can increase the burden on small providers.

The countries with the most affordable broadband were Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark, and Finland.

Cartesian predictions follow closely with BEAD allocation announcements on Monday.

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel on Monday introduced the ‘Learn Without Limits’ initiative to update the E-Rate program

The 100 Megabits per second download * 20 Mbps upload does not satisfy needs in rural areas, said panelists.

An assortment of data will be useful in all phases of the broadband planning process.

There are ‘locations where we know it is not possible to receive that level of service,’ said Maine’s broadband authority.

The sheer magnitude of the overstatements in the FCC’s map makes the challenge process untenable.

Tribes needs to be prepared to approach states on what coverage data is not included in state maps.

New FCC map shows 8.3 million unserved locations.

South Carolina performs mapping audits to hold ISPs accountable for coverage claims.

The new map allows users to track projects subsidized by the federal government.

Fabric data will continue to improve with feedback implementation and process changes, said CostQuest CEO.

Overreporting in maps may prove to be detrimental.

Panel 2 video. Join the Broadband Breakfast Club to watch the full-length videos from Digital Infrastructure Investment.

Broadband leaders have ‘unrealistic expectations’ for mapping accuracy, panel hears.

State broadband offices are tasked with outlining their challenge processes amid other concerns.

Estimating how far the money will go does not require advanced math.

In a Fiber Broadband Association webinar, consultants, mappers and ISPs said states must verify broadband coverage.

Newly proposed legislation would add 7 months to the challenge process for states and other parties.

New York filed 31,000 location challenges against the FCC’s mapping data.

Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the second version of map fabric ‘largely completed.’

SHLB said FCC officials recommended a workaround that risked penalties.

ARPA has helped drive billions to broadband in the two years since it’s passing.

AT&T suggested the FCC look into relieving USF by considering other public funding in ACAM areas.

The top cities for remote work all have something in common: fast internet speed and free connection spots.

The group also recommended a more streamlined complaint process for digital discrimination issues.

The day the music stopped for rural America with the release of FCC’s “new” map.

Tribal leaders and citizens must gather data ‘on a scale large enough to ensure that Tribal nations receive’ funding.

More focus needs to be one removing unserviceable locations, says an observer.

The FCC is considering additional requirements, but that could be burdensome for small providers.

Sohn added the Supreme Court decision in West Virginia could challenge net neutrality rules.

FCC chairwoman said challenges to map data only a tiny fraction of locations identified.

Panelists are concerned that states may not have had the prescriptive guidance needed to maximize funding.

Former President Trump will face heightened penalties for future, repeated violations of Facebook’s and Meta’s policies.

FCC received over 1 million challenges to mapping data and added 1 million locations.

An agency official said states have asked for guidance on how to handle local challenges.

The data only became publicly available after the deadline passed.

The challenge process is important because mapping is a “zero-sum game,” panelists said.

States facing difficulties collecting coverage data may have more time to present challenges.

Signatories say the FCC’s map is inaccurate and local governments don’t have the resources to challenge it in time.

The amount of funding to each state is based upon the FCC maps — which are clearly flawed.

The Broadband Breakfast Report for January 2023 lays out the things to know about the challenge process.

Panelists compared the FCC’s process to flying a plane while it’s being built.

Cities and states are still in the midst of challenging the accuracy of the FCC’s maps.

The letter says the current version of the FCC’s map is highly inaccurate.

The CRS report references a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event held in October.

The second map submission window opens January 3 and closes March 1.

Some fear that state offices will lack the necessary resources to fully participate in the fabric challenge process.

Georgia will submit 167K location challenges within days and plans to submit tens of thousands more in early January 2023.

The FCC and industry have said there is a shortfall in rip and replace funding.

The report did not find a significant discrepancy for plans advertising speeds of 125 Mbps or slower.

Alan Davidson admitted he was “incredibly uncomfortable” with the January 13 deadline

According to the Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., up to 37,000 locations in New Mexico are unaccounted for.

Comments on the $1.5B fund are due January 27, 2023.

The U.S. and EU representatives announced a taskforce to share insights into growing the workforce in tech.

While some will “cash out,” other state broadband officials will seek the full measure of federal broadband infrastructure funds due.

Service providers that use GIS applications are able to reduce design time by 80 percent.

The BEAD timeline looms large for many who worry that two months is insufficient time to correct the map.

SHLB told FCC not all anchor institutions use non-mass market internet providers, which are left out of mapping.

The commission published the initial draft of its map Friday, unleashing a storm of controversy in the industry circles.

Commercial mapping products are emerging as complementary resources for both industry and government players.

Critics said that no one knows how thoroughly the map’s inaccuracies can be corrected before BEAD allocations must be made.

To correct for inevitable errors, the FCC is soliciting challenges to the map’s provider-submitted data.

CostQuest’s CEO said states need to look at their vendors if they pose a problem challenging FCC map data.

The FCC said individuals will also be able to challenge its broadband fabric once the draft map is released.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking each state's BEAD grant application window.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking fixed wireless access subscriptions.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking wireline broadband subscriptions.

Braodband Breakfast is tracking wireline broadband subscribers by technology.

Learn about Digital Infrastructure Investment–Washington on November 17, and register to attend.

WISPA’s letter notes that many of its member are small providers that serve sparsely populated areas.

‘There are serious questions about whether a strong, effective label is achievable with a 2–2 Commission’

‘If…you’re leasing that data from a private entity, you can’t just hand it over to another private entity.’

Earlier this month, the NTIA publicized its intention to negotiate a sole source contract with CostQuest Associates.

ISPs have begun selling home network equipment themselves, which has become popular.

‘Local communities have a lot of data and knowledge that CostQuest and the FCC don’t have,’ Dustin Loup said.

Study says California and Texas will be the biggest BEAD winners, with grants of more than $3 billion each.

Florida A&M University, the University of the Virgin Islands and Morgan State University will measure broadband speeds in underserved communities.

Some third parties are wondering about the terms on which they will be able to access the FCC’s mapping fabric.

Crowdsourced and bulk data are subject to a challenge process that has successfully eliminated crowdsourced data in the past.

There is a ‘massive difference’ between federal Form 477 data and state maps in Georgia and North Carolina

Officials on the panel said there was significant confusion among challengers regarding categories of challenges.

Incorporating equitable processes and outcomes from the start is crucial to avoid perpetuating continued inequalities.

The company says its map is based on millions of M-Lab speed tests conducted over a six-month period.

They objected to being required to help build CostQuest’s database, but are unable to utilize database for their own benefit.

A federal judge ruled that CostQuest made no misrepresentations in its bid for the FCC mapping contract.

‘Using the right information at the right time, we’re going to get to a better place.’

Better and more up-to-date information can come from harmonizing existing data sets, updated whenever a given map has new information.

Learn how your ISP and community can avoid the broadband mapping trainwreck.

Despite confidence in its mapping fabric, an FCC panel said the challenge process is important.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has set November as target date for broadband map.

State officials discussed working with academic, community and industry partners to craft its broadband maps.

The new FCC requirements in the broadband data collection program are important to meet the nation’s connectivity goals.

One trade group warns about providers leaving the program if data collection too onerous.

With FCC maps promised soon, some states are preparing to possibly challenge them by making their own.

‘The efforts that have been done in the past have been a great foundation.’

Measurement Lab said research it has conducted can show when there are network performance issues.

The data will go toward improved maps, which the FCC chair said will be available by the fall.

The coalition will play a crucial role in broadband data as government implements the largest expenditure of broadband funds.

The tutorials are designed to assist filers in the ongoing effort to create updated broadband maps.

In the absence of reliable federal broadband mapping data, communities are taking matters into their own hands.

Ookla can help your community get the funding you need to provide access for all to the digital economy.

The FCC has a September deadline for mapping data it will begin collecting at the end of June.

One of the most helpful things a state broadband director can do for themselves is pick up the phone.

T-Mobile was also named the most consistent mobile operator and topped 5G download speeds.

Fixed wireless providers will be given an opportunity to view data about their served regions ahead of fabric roll-out.

Montana’s chief data officer believes 2026 is too early for state mapping to be completed and funding requests submitted.

‘It is all systems go,’ the chairwoman said at a House Energy and Commerce hearing Thursday.

The key to states’ success on infrastructure builds lies in the analysis of the data they collect.

The FCC has added crowdsourced data to its repertoire for accurate broadband maps.

LightBox and CostQuest spoke to Broadband Breakfast after a decision to deny overturning the FCC’s mapping contract selection.

Whether infrastructure money should prioritize those with the lowest speeds has been a chief debate since the bill’s passage.

The FCC hopes companies will make it easier for consumers to choose a broadband plan that fits their needs.

Advocates say strict compliance requirements may economically harm small providers.

The Commerce agency will hold pre-funding technical assistance hearings for infrastructure bill money starting this month.

Bill Price discussed the work of LightBox in ensuring that states receive funding to close the digital divide.

The Government Accountability Office rejected LightBox’s bid to protest CostQuest’s award to build the map.

Alan Davidson applauded the FCC’s effort in getting better broadband maps.

Service providers must submit their data by early autumn to be included in the agency’s upcoming national broadband map.

Community broadband data can be collected by harnessing the power of the individual.

The timeline was provided by Associate Administrator Doug Kinkoph, although the agency plans to meet statutory deadlines.

Accurate maps will allow federal dollars to target unserved and underserved areas.

Broadband providers must now create “broadband nutrition labels” which list pricing and speed information.

T-Mobile ranks fastest mobile provider, improving on third quarter performance.

Mapping will play an essential role in the success of the IIJA.

Nevada, Louisiana, American Samoa and Puerto Rico will join.

Three broadband experts on a Broadband Breakfast live event discussed data collection and specificity of mapping.

We’ll look at the current state of broadband mapping and where it needs to be to successfully deploy broadband infrastructure.

TPI released their broadband map, which tracks speeds, availability, and adoption rates across the country.

The agency released a statement of objectives earlier this month.

Funds made available by the infrastructure bill will not need solid maps to make spending efficient, experts agree.

Bluepeak is investing $25 million in a high-speed broadband network in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

And experts weigh in on the benefits of crowdsourcing data for better broadband maps.

Indigenous connectivity advocates said Native Americans should have control over their mapping data.

For companies to have successful builds, they need to ensure they know how to interpret their data.

Partnerships for broadband need to emphasize community engagement to improve connectivity

Broadband Breakfast briefly breaks down the topics to be discussed at the TPRC conference.

Lightbox publishing new broadband map, Epic Games suffers loss in Apple antitrust case, 2021 Community Broadband Awards announced.

BroadbandNow launches a “consumer confidence” survey.

Broadband Breakfast revisits what some state legislatures did to narrow broadband gaps.

State broadcasters associations want a proceeding in light of proposed fees it said unduly burdens the industry.

Webinar hears how critical mapping is to bridging the digital divide.

Experts agreed that outreach and marketing to historically underserved and marginalized communities must be a part of the discussion.

In an interview with Broadband Breakfast, Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten blamed bad mapping for RDOF mess.

Senate votes to finish infrastructure bill debate, FCC releases new 4G map, report says Altice could buy Mint Mobile.

Experts argue for significant changes in order for broadband mapping efforts to be successful.

Though the FCC has claimed that broadband figures are improving, BroadbandNow’s data paints a less favorable picture.

Join Broadband Breakfast for a deep dive into into making sure that our nation’s broadband maps are better.

The NTIA unveils new broadband map, a new cybersecurity bill against equipment buys, U.S. and EU partner on tech council.

Some fear that there is no real plan to close the digital divide with Biden’s new infrastructure proposal.

Ivey announces $17 million to deploy broadband, Microsoft data for broadband map, and “Robin Hood” group involved in pipeline attack.

Industry groups ask for 5G space on 12 GHz band, new hotline for vaccines, NAB on Fox free speech case.

Washington State’s head of broadband says mapping to the premises paying dividends in the state.

A House bill raising the minimum connectivity threshold will need to convince lawmakers it is necessary, Steve Perry says.

Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis speaks about broadband rollout, education and bills more than a year into the pandemic.

Delgado’s speed and mapping bills, 500M LinkedIn accounts for sale, and 16,000 Facebook groups axed for fake reviews.

The agency hopes its new speed test will inform an initiative for more accurate broadband maps.

April 5, 2021—The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Google on Monday morning in a copyright dispute that has spanned more than a decade, setting precedent for the fair use of programming. In a 6-2 decision (the case was heard before Justice Amy Coney Barrett had been confirmed), the Supreme Court agre

A bill dedicating $150 million of anticipated federal funding to create a new state broadband office to coordinate and accelerate the expansion of high-speed Internet access throughout Vermont passed the State House of Representatives last week with overwhelming bipartisan support. On March 24th, th

April 2, 2021 – State broadband authorities working close to the ground say that the key to tackling the digital divide are states and local communities. Accurately mapping where broadband is available has been a challenge for many years, and the latest Federal Communications Commission effort is cr

March 25, 2021 – Wireless broadband providers need more regulatory support to meet broadband gigabit needs on a large geographic scale, including access to poles and expanding federal programs to more providers, said Wireless Internet Service Providers Association CEO Claude Aiken. Aiken took to the

March 23, 2021 – A former Federal Communications Commissioner and a former chairman of the agency exchanged disagreements Monday over a large broadband funding bill re-introduced in the House of Representatives on March 11. During a House Energy and Commerce Committee virtual hearing on the Leading

March 15, 2021 – Gigi Sohn, former president of advocacy group Public Knowledge, said authorities at the Federal Communications Commission and the states need to start with good broadband maps to see where connectivity gaps exist. “Start at square one, and that is with good data and good maps,” said

March 11, 2021 – The Federal Communications Commission’s new “fabric” for mapping broadband service across America will not only help collect more accurate data, but also unify geocoding across the broadband industry, industry experts said during a Federal Communications Bar Association webinar Thur

March 11, 2021 – Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has changed her stance on the timeline for updating the FCC’s broadband mapping data, and several House and Senate Republicans are wondering why. “On March 10, 2020, you testified before the Senate Appropriation

March 9, 2021 – Different departments in the federal government have different broadband maps, which has caused a lack of unity on a response to the United States’ rural broadband problem, experts said last month. Gigi Sohn, a distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law, said at the Michelson 20MM Build

February 25, 2021 – Broadband Breakfast Editor and Publisher Drew Clark interviewed BroadbandNow Editor-in-Chief Tyler Cooper for an exploration of the State of Broadband quarterly report, with a particular focus on the progress being made to bring every American online amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

February 11, 2021—Broadband providers are becoming increasingly vocal in their concerns over some of the winning bidders in the first phase of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that was completed last year. In late 2019, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would put more than $2

February 8, 2021—The former head of the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration is recommending the government expand the E-Rate subsidy program, which provides discounts to access the internet, to households. The current version of the legislation only allows for the E-Rate progra

February 8, 2021—On the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said that Congress should revisit the law to address modern demands for broadband and bringing service to underserved communities. The Telecom Act had many

February 7, 2021 – Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday made a visit to Children’s National Hospital, and a virtual visit to the University of Virginia, to emphasize the agency’s goals of investing in telehealth strategies, with a specific emphasis on se

February 3, 2021 – Gathering data at the community level is key to improving broadband mapping, industry experts said during Wednesday’s Broadband Breakfast Live Online event on the need for state and local engagement to improve broadband mapping. “Accurate data is important to mapping.” said Peggy

January 20, 2021—“We must look forward to the future in our uniquely American, bold and optimistic way,” said President Joe Biden during his inauguration on Wednesday. Recalling the words Abraham Lincoln uttered after writing the Emancipation Proclamation, Biden said “my whole soul is in this.” “The

The new rules are aimed at finalizing broadband mapping rules for the agency.

Hours after blocking legislation to increase direct payments in the coronavirus stimulus legislation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday introduced a bill tying $2,000 stimulus checks to unrelated items on President Donald Trump’s agenda, including a full repeal of Section 230 of the

In 2016, political ad spending hit $1.1 billion and it is projected to hit $2.7 billion in 2020, according to Advertising Analytics. The majority of those dollars will be spent on digital video ads placed on a variety of websites including Google, YouTube and social media platforms like Facebook and

December 27, 2020 – Broadband Now’s new report on gigabit internet coverage in the United States picks upon aspects of the Federal Communications Commission’s unreliable broadband data. FCC data shows that in 2016, only 4 percent of American had access to a gigabit connection. Fast forward to 2020,

If you have been following our series on the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, you already know the proposed legislation calls for a $100 billion investment in expanding broadband access and affordability in unserved and underserved parts of the country. In this fourth installment of the

Sunday evening, Congress announced reaching a deal on an emergency coronavirus relief package, which includes $7 billion in funding to support broadband internet access. The bill is expected to pass both the U.S. House and Senate on Monday. The $7 billion for broadband set aside in the stimulus agre

Without good information from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), the federal government is essentially shooting in the dark when it comes to determining how to best target the allocation of resources for underserved and unserved communities. Even private sector investments are less efficient because

It’s no secret that the Federal Communications Commission’s current broadband maps are flawed, many observers believe. The existing maps rely on industry-reported data that overstates broadband availability and prevents underserved communities from obtaining broadband funding. Consequently, many rur

When America built our railroads and highways, paper maps were updated continuously with feedback from the edge of the networks that provided regular status updates. When reports of obstacles were relayed (go through a mountain or around it, as an example) then strategists, managers, builders, polic

November 28, 2020 – The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and its Broadband USA program continues to track data about broadband usage, as well as provide resources surrounding state broadband initiatives. The agency recently released initial results fro

November 22, 2020 – In the event that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden seeks substantial funding for broadband infrastructure, there is a strong likelihood that such monies would be channeled through a reverse-auction mechanism, said panelists at the Broadband Breakfast Live

November 20, 2020 – In releasing a new open set on the state of broadband availability in the United States, Broadband Now continues is continuing its efforts to help improve the country’s real-time date warehouse of information on comprehensive broadband data. In this interview with Broadband Now E

More than half of the world’s population is online, but many people are still unable to access the resources and opportunities that the internet provides. Meaningful connectivity has wide-reaching benefits in terms of work, education, and communication. In 2016, the UN declared that the internet was

Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce committee on Tuesday demanded that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons cease work on any “partisan or controversial items” currently under consideration, in light of the results of last week’

September 20, 2020 — House Democrats criticized Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai as presiding over “four years of lost opportunity” at a Thursday Communications subcommittee hearing. In his opening statement, Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pennsylvania, argued the FCC, as the government a

September 15, 2020 – The lack of access to broadband is still a widespread issue across the country, especially in rural areas, two top House Democrats said Tuesday at the INCOMPAS virtual show ConnectIn. “The failures of this administration are forcing people to put their health and their family’s

August 6, 2020 – As the three-year anniversary approaches of the Unite the Right rally, a shocking display of white supremacist and neo-Nazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11 and 12, 2017, the city is attempting to reckon with the lasting consequences of its long history of s

Before you solve a problem, you’ve got to be able to understand it. The Federal Communications Commission recently voted to deepen its understanding of the digital divide by making several improvements to its broadband maps, as required by the Broadband DATA Act. The agency’s goal is to ensure that

July 23, 2020 — The COVID-19 pandemic brought Washington D.C. together in many respects, including technology and health, according to Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., ranking member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In a virtual town hall, Walden and former Federal Communications Commissioner

July 16, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission approved measures aiming to improve the accuracy and speed of the agency’s data collection practices in their July Open Meeting on Thursday. The measure is in accordance with the Broadband Data Act, which requires fixed and mobile broadband inter

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp recently publicized Georgia’s Broadband Availability Map, a new tool that aims to bring more transparency about which Georgia households do not have access to high-speed internet. The Georgia Broadband Deployment Initiative team embarked on the public-private data collaborati

June 19, 2020 — There is currently considerable buzz around the prospect of obtaining bids from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the largest federal initiative to subsidize rural broadband in America to date. However, it is no secret that the rural digital funding will be allotted based off of ma

May 20, 2020 — Broadband Breakfast Live Online panelists on Wednesday said that current broadband maps are insufficient and that they are harming the people they are meant to serve.   The forum was an opportunity for participants to describe the state of broadband in their respective areas as well a

May 15, 2020 — Guests on Wednesday’s Broadband Breakfast Live Online emphasized the need for increased broadband mapping efforts, and for including verified speeds, and prices, in a national dataset. The live event was part of a weekly series on the impact of broadband the coronavirus, and which tak

May 13, 2020 — “Among the 10 largest countries in world, the U.S. is the only nation that reported no substantial degradation last month in terms of speed,” said US Telecom CEO Jonathan Spalter at a Senate hearing on “The State of Broadband Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic” Wednesday. The assertion, which

Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 12 Noon ET – “How Broadband Maps Are Being Used to Help Identify Unserved and Underserved Communities.” WATCH HERE, or on YouTube. Also available on Twitter and Facebook. Or SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube Channel Russ Elliott,

May 7, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission does not plan any delay in proceeding with the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction, according to agency officials speaking at a webinar on Tuesday. The webinar walked attendees through the application process, timelines, as well as the “reverse

Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 12 Noon ET – “Measuring and Monitoring the Health of Broadband Networks During the Coronavirus, Including a Discussion of Bandwidth Caps” (Please note: Rescheduled from May 6, 2020.) WATCH HERE, or on YouTube. Also available on Twitter and

April 23, 2020 – CenturyLink’s chief technology officer said on Wednesday that while “parts of the network infrastructure ran hot” during the weeks-long COVID-19 quarantine, his company’s networks “handled it really well.” “I wouldn’t say we were too surprised,” said Andrew Dugan, the chief technolo

TYSONS, Virginia, and CINCINNATI, Ohio, April 14, 2020 – Marashlian & Donahue, PLLC, The CommLaw Group, and CostQuest Associates have announced a free webinar, “How to Prepare and Effectively Bid in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction,” on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 12 Noon ET. The webinar will

April 9, 2020 – Local broadband speeds may be impaired by upload speed, says analyst at a webinar hosted by the Fiber Broadband Association on Wednesday. While overall broadband usage during the coronavirus may have leveled out, networks that use symmetrical technologies, in which users require the

Broadband in the U.S.A.: Every state and territory

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2020— Representatives of states and municipalities discussed strategies to increase broadband availability and affordability in their regions on a Tuesday webinar hosted by the Schools Health and Library Broadband Coalition and moderated by Pew Charitable Trusts. Anna Read, off

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2020 – In term of impact on broadband connectivity, “Covid-19 doesn’t even compare to the Superbowl or series finale of Game of Thrones,” said Federal Communications Commission Advisor Evan Swarztrauber during a Tuesday webinar hosted by Recon Analytics Inc. In other words, we’

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2020—The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunication and Information Administration is moving forward with various forms of broadband mapping, agency officials said on a Wednesday webinar. Even without having federal funding to do a comprehensive national broadband map, as

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2020 – American and global society is right now living through the herculean task of moving fundamental aspects of society and commerce online — health, education, labor, and entertainment— at the very moment that people are retreating into a turtle shell of isolation. Are we a

As more and more customers move to working and studying from home, data usage habits are changing, according to a Verizon network report on Tuesday. The latest week-over-week numbers during peak hour usage showed many people are turning to gaming as a way to pass the time, with the technology leader

March 17, 2020 – Broadband Communities and the Rural Telecommunications Congress have announced that Broadband Communities Summit and its rural broadband track, which were previously scheduled for late April, have been postponed until August 2020 because of concerns associated with the coronavirus.

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2020 – House Energy and Commerce subcommittee chairman Mike Doyle, D-Penn., Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr all took turns addressing the homework gap and bad broadband maps at the Incompas policy summit Tuesday. “I play

The House of Representatives passed a revised version of the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) act on Tuesday to the applause of many broadband advocacy groups. If signed into law, the DATA act would establish more rigorous rules for the Federal Communication Commis

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2020 – Private partnerships play a more crucial role in rural broadband buildout than all the federal and public programs available to help, said C Spire Senior Vice President of Strategic Relations Ben Moncrief. He was a speaker on Tuesday at the INCOMPAS policy summit and tout

WASHINGTON, February 26, 2020 – Independent actors are leading the way in fixing the widely-identified flaws with the Federal Communications Commission’s Form 477 broadband mapping data, and they are using creative methods to do so. Four groups in particular — CostQuest Associates, Measurement Lab,

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., and Communications and Technology Subcommittee member Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., introduced the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today’s Networks Act, or the

While there are helpful strategies to deploy rural broadband on the local level, significant barriers persist, said panelists at a local meeting on broadband in Disputana, Virginia, hosted by local members of Congress Reps. Donald McEachin and Abigail Spanberger, and livestreamed on Thursday afterno

WASHINGTON, February 20, 2020— State broadband officials play a crucial role in addressing the digital divide, and officials from Georgia and Tennessee presented their best practices on the topic during a Wednesday webinar hosted by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Informati

A report published by tech.co on Wednesday ranks and categorizes the countries with the highest internet censorship. Among the reports most salient findings: Turkmenistan, North Korea, and China earned the top three spots, in decreasing order of censorship. Many popular vacation destinations like Vi

Broadband Communities and the Rural Telecommunications Congress have released the agenda for the rural broadband track at the forthcoming Broadband Communities Summit in April 2020. For the tenth year in a row, the non-profit RTC has co-hosted the rural track at the summit, the premier national gath

“The future of our economy is dependent upon how we treat our most vulnerable communities, including those most susceptible to job displacement/job disruption,” Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said at a Tuesday roundtable on the future of work. Highlighting the job-loss concerns

The European Union requested documents from Facebook to determine whether Facebook partially awarded users data to special third-party applications, The Wall Street Journal reports. This action comes in the wake of a $5 billion fine levied against the social media juggernaut by the Federal Trade Com

U.S. infrastructure hasn’t been able to keep up with the country’s demand to connect, according to a new report surveying the past decade and future 10 years by BroadbandNow. Despite promising gains in metrics like wired broadband connectivity and high-speed coverage, the report highlights the exten

WASHINGTON, January 24, 2020 – The broadband data collection activities of the Federal Communication Commission are inaccurate by an “order of magnitude,” agency critics said at a Next Century City panel discussion Thursday on “Creating Accurate and Reliable Broadband Deployment Data.” The panel kic

The Open Technology Institute of New America on Wednesday released a blog post focusing on Ammon, Idaho, and highlighted how the open access broadband networks there better meets customers’ needs and expectations that most vertically-integrated broadband networks. In comparing broadband prices globa

Most attempts to close the digital divide through smart city digital inclusion fall short of their overpromising corporate rhetoric, argues Burcu Baykurt for the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. Digital inclusion is “the idea that nobody in the city should be deprived of digital technolog

In advance of a Federal Communications Commission vote on the proposed Rural Digital Opportunity Fund on January 30, the agency released an analysis of areas eligible for the new federal subsidies. The new fund, a crafted version of the Connect America Fund, is expected to disperse $20.4 billion in

WASHINGTON, January 14, 2020 – Federally-recognized Indian tribes will have a six-month priority window, beginning February 3, in which to apply for access to the radio frequency spectrum available at 2.5 GigaHertz (GHz). At a workshop at the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, Chairman Aj

WASHINGTON, January 8, 2020 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday announced that the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, with $20.4 billion over the next 10 years, will be voted on by the agency at its January 30 meeting. Pai announced further details about the opportunity f

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2019 – The most vulnerable members of the population need to have the critical services they need from the Lifeline Program, Federal Communication Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Tuesday at a Practicing Law Institute conference. Lifeline remains the best method to keep eve

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, October 30, 2019 – The more one delves into the details of broadband mapping, the more complicated it becomes to understand issues of network topology, geographic information systems and consumer “crowdsourcing.” That was the conclusion of a panel discussing the topic at a Broa

WASHINGTON, October 30, 2019 – Broadband Breakfast on Wednesday posted the video of the “Mapping America’s Broadband” session at the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition’s #AnchorNets2019 conference from October 16-18, 2019. The session was moderated by Drew Clark, Editor and Publisher

ARLINGTON, Virginia, October 17, 2019 – Federal Communication Commissioner Geoffrey Starks summarized his keynote message to the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition’s #AnchorNets2019 with a simple scoreboard: FCC’s broadband maps-0, Libraries as anchor institutions serving communities-

WASHINGTON, October 10, 2019 – The tech world is buzzing about the alleged “negative latency” that the search engine giant hopes to achieve with its new cloud gaming service Google Stadia. But the service will have a big downside for broadband users, according to a new study. Indeed, millions of gam

WASHINGTON, September 26, 2019 – Comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s latest effort to improve broadband data collection were due on Monday, and responses to the FCC’s Digital Opportunity Data Collection were largely positive. The order would shift data reporting from the FCC’s 477 fo

The CBRS Alliance announced on Monday that the Federal Communications Commission has approved commercial deployment in the 3.5 GHz CBRS Band. Known as the “Innovation Band,” it is valued at $15.6 billion and opens the door to a huge market opportunity for operators, enterprises, industrial players,

WASHINGTON, September 11, 2019 – Given the widespread support for more accurate maps of broadband availability in Congress, lawmakers and telecom experts said Wednesday that the Federal Communication Commission’s mapping structure and reporting mechanism have room for improvement. “It is not an exaggeration to say this FCC’s terrible broadband

Two separate bi-partisan groups of state attorneys general on Friday confirmed that they are launching antitrust investigations into tech giant companies Google and Facebook. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, on Friday announced that she and eight other state attorneys general wil

Adding congressional oversight to the growing mix of interest in the broadband mapping debate, the House Energy and Commerce committee announced that the Communications Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “Improving  the Nation’s Broadband Maps” on Wednesday, September 11, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 2322

Ads that describe immigrants of color as an “invasion” violate Facebook’s community standards and should not be allowed to run, according to a Wednesday petition from Free Press. Between January and February, President Donald Trump’s Facebook page ran more than 2,000 ads that used the word “invasion

Broadband technologies are getting better and faster, but access is still concentrated in metro and suburban areas, Kim Hart and Sara Fischer report in Axios. Despite efforts to narrow the digital divide, rural areas, small towns and low-income neighborhoods in big cities still struggle to have acce

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2019 — The Federal Communications Commission  on Thursday initiated a new process for collecting fixed broadband data for mapping purposes. The new Digital Opportunity Data Collection aims to replace the current, Form 477-based data collection methodology utilized since 2000, o

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2019 – While U.S. carriers struggle to unveil real-world deployments with truly high-speed 5G deployments, South Korean carriers have demonstrated gigabit deployments with 5G, according a Wednesday webinar by the consulting firm HIS Markit. “The promise and hope of gigabit tech

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2019- Broadband mapping experts believe that the Federal Communications Commission and internet service providers are not doing enough to improve its reporting of nationwide internet coverage. The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition hosted a webinar on Wednesday to d

The Founder of Broadband Census and Breakfast Breakfast, and the former executive director of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois – one of the State Broadband Initiatives that actually created the National Broadband Map – comments on a growing controversy.

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2019 — Closing the digital divide will require a multifaceted long-term solution, and better broadband maps are an essential step towards getting there, said panelists at a discussion hosted by New York Law School and the Federal Communications Bar Association on Tuesday. Indian

The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act on Wednesday, Broadcasting and Cable reports. The bill was introduced in June by Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Gary Peters, D-Mich., John Thune, R-S.D. and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. The

On Thursday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging the agency to utilize public input to fix broadband coverage maps. “The FCC’s maps are still woefully inaccurate, and they are hurting the economy and the people of West Virginia,” said

The Hill reports that dozens of consumer advocacy groups have called for congressional committees and regulatory agencies to impose a moratorium on Facebook’s cryptocurrency project. Among the 33 groups include Public Citizen, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Economic Policy Institute

Taiwan has the world’s fastest broadband, while the United States comes in at 15th place, according to the annual Worldwide Broadband Speed League report released by Cable.co.uk on Tuesday. The report analyzes more than 276 million broadband speed tests collected by M-Lab, an open source project inv

Income is the most significant factor contributing to low broadband adoption rates, according to an analysis (PDF) released this month by the California Public Utilities Commission. Only about half of households in census tracts with a median annual income level of less than $20,000 have in-home bro

WASHINGTON, June 20, 2019 – In tackling the nettlesome question of improving broadband mapping, the telecom industry group US Telecom on Thursday showcased recent progress in their pilot program to better detect broadband serviceability. The discussion on a 45-minute webinar focused on how the initi

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2019 – At least a half-dozen separate pieces of broadband legislation are working their way through Congress, and panelists assembled by the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition on Wednesday commented on the pros and cons of how these bills would deploy broadband c

After wide bipartisan acknowledgement that broadband map currently being used by the Federal Communications Commission is wildly inaccurate, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has introduced the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act, urging the FCC to halt decisions on broadband

There is not a single county in Pennsylvania where more than half of the households meet federal standards for broadband, according to a report (PDF) released Monday by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the state’s general assembly. Researchers from Pennsylvania State Univer

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration released a comprehensive database of federal broadband programs on Monday. (See also this PDF for the 109-page guide of programs.) The database was created under the American Broadband Initiative’s mandate to expand connectivity for all

The divide between rural and urban internet access has “narrowed substantially,” according to an annual report recently released by the FCC. However, The Verge reported that several experts are debating the accuracy of this data. The report is based on data provided from service providers, which may

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: This is fabulous news. Pew has one of the best reputations for consistent, credible, and long-lasting research on broadband adoption. Coupled with the launch of its Broadband Research Initiative earlier this year, this begins to address some of the issues and complexitie

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: This OpEd last week highlights the importance of broadband data and mapping, the variety of efforts underway to address inadequacies in our informational base, plus the broadband coordination currently going on in the federal government, and among many of the state gover

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Together with her Democratic colleague Sen. Maggie Hassan, Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito on Friday introduced legislation designed to establish a national standard that would govern the Federal Communications Commission’s determination about whether mobile and bro

April 9, 2019 – There is exists a gaping digital divide between Rural America and the rest of the country, in which 146 million people (45 percent of the population) do not have access to a low-price plan for residential broadband. That is according to research released last week by BroadbandNow, wh

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2019 – The nation’s leading telecommunications companies on Thursday announced a new broadband mapping pilot initiative that aims to geolocate each address in the country, and link each location with broadband providers that offer service to that address. At a launch event join

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2019 – The Federal Trade Commission is hosting an event on Wednesday on “Competition and Consumer Protection Issues in U.S. Broadband Markets.”

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: We’ve been following SNG Group for some time. Think of this group as the “broadband economists.” They take data about broadband and help communities understand what they can do with it to enhance their usage of high-speed technology, and to find their competitive advanta

How Abraham Lincoln's passion for infrastructure improvements led to his belief in equal opportunity.

WASHINGTON, August 16, 2018 – New measures to improve broadband education and access in schools and libraries were among the innovations in broadband data touted on the second day of a conference last week on Measurement Lab. The 10 year anniversary conference was hosted on August 7 and 8 by the New

WASHINGTON, August 8, 2018 – Experts in broadband data analysis on Tuesday criticized internet service providers for overstating coverage in federal broadband data collection efforts, and for resisting cooperation that could increase network security. At an event commemorating the 10th anniversary o

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2018 – Many in the broadband industry commenting on broadband availability data exposed the weaknesses of current Federal Communications Commission data – and not only in the data itself but in the process by which it is collected. The Commerce Department’s National Telecommuni

PITTSBURGH, July 31, 2018 – Rural electric cooperatives and not “small cell” deployment powered by 5G networks, may be the solution to closing the digital divide, according to Jonathan Chambers, former chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Strategic Planning. Speaking at the reg

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2018 – In rural America, data-driven tools and libraries are heading efforts to expand broadband access, according to broadband policy experts. On July 18, BroadbandUSA hosted a webinar “Statewide Strategies for Rural Digital Inclusion,” discussing state-level measures to extend

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2018 – Colorado broadband officials stressed the importance of public-private partnerships in extending broadband access to unserved Americans in rural areas, and expressed doubts that the so-called fifth-generation wireless standard dubbed 5G will be the answer to closing the di

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2018 – The Pew Charitable Trusts recently announced a new broadband research effort amid concerns that government’s past data collection methods are not enough to inform policy makers on the nation’s broadband access gap. In a May 30 webinar event on this new broadband research

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 – The official topic of Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing was reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission, but the big focus was on net neutrality. “The Commission’s decision in 2015 to reclassify the internet as a public utility was a po

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: This new 60-page report by the National Regulatory Research Institute (and which was founded by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners), delves into the important state role in broadband deployment. It discusses the role of State Broadband Initiativ

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2017 – Without efficient data, the Federal Communications Commission can’t put together a model that shows what the cost would be to cover areas with no wireless coverage, the senior vice president of strategic relations of the broadband company C Spire said at a hearing on Tues

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 – The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force last week announced updates to a broadband mapping platform to allow communities and businesses to better use high-speed internet to help patients with chronic health conditions. “As a famous writer once sa

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2017 – Two organizations supportive of municipal broadband advocacy efforts last week issued differing reports critical of a May 24 report by a University of Pennsylvania professor. The report, by Christopher Yoo and Timothy Pfenninger, was titled “Municipal Fiber in the United S

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: United States broadband speeds are continuing to rise, according to Akamai’s periodic “state of the internet” report. The more urban “states,” including Rhode Island, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, conventionally do better in these rankings than less-dense state

DALLAS, April 18, 2017 – Over the past ten years, broadband mapping has gone through many changes. In the beginning, the Federal Communications Commission collected data about high-speed internet access, but didn’t release any local or granular data collected through its semi-annual forms. Through t

Broadband Breakfast Insight: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is continuing its efforts to ensure good-quality broadband data, even as broadband policy remains undertain under the incoming presidential administration. These steps will ensure a good foundation. Building

Broadband Breakfast Insight: This was an excellent webinar discussion probing connectivity, and helping government, non-profit and industry users to visualize data about connectivity. Think of this as the kind of activity that the National Broadband Map was designed to achieve. -> Mapping Connected

Broadband Breakfast Insight: Connected Nation has taken its broadband mapping skills from the State Broadband Initiative and pivoted into translated that expertise into knowledge for infrastructure deployment on the local level.-> COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 11, 2016. /PRNewswire/ — Speaking at the 2016 Sm

WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015 – A movement to make cities “smart” by using the power of broadband and information technology processing power is reaching critical mass, with the White House on Monday announcing a comprehensive initiative to support municipal efforts. Coinciding with the Smart Citi

WASHINGTON, September 16, 2015 – State broadband entities and commissions continue to plan an important role in fostering economic development and digital learning, according to a recent report from the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. The report, “State-Level Broadband Po

Editor’s Note: This Presidential Innovation Fellows Program, highlighted in a press release today from the White House, is a fascinating exercise of how President Obama has institutionalized technology innovation, one of the main accomplishments of his administration in technology policy. THE WHITE

Editor’s Note: Next Century Cities released the following press release, signed by representatives of 35 of the 95 cities supporting the organization’s six principles. The link to the release on the organization’s web site. 35 Mayors and Elected Officials Call for Accessible Broadband Performance In

AUSTIN, April 14, 2015 – The official from the Federal Communications Commission responsible for the agency’s unique “rural broadband experiment” on Monday said the experiment was less about learning than about teaching the rural telecom industry that it can do better. Speaking on panel at the Broa

Expanding the Benefits of Broadband in Mississippi February 11, 2015 by NTIA The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s BroadbandUSA team convened a productive workshop in Jackson, Miss., last week to explore ways to close the digital divide in a state that continues to expand

February 10, 2015 – With all the talk — and now the action — behind building Gigabit Networks by hundreds of cities across the United States, a key question emerges: What can actually be done with all the speed? Understanding the technologies that take advantage of Gigabit Networks is a key componen

WASHINGTON, January 14, 2015 – The White House on Tuesday announced efforts to end laws that harm broadband competition, several steps to support a growing national movement of local leaders for Gigabit Networks, plus new federal funding and a new initiative to support community broadband. The annou

January 12, 2015 – Gigabit Networks will be a featured discussion and two Kansas City- based broadband conference this week and next week. “Gigabit City Summit” will take place in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, January 13 through Thursday, January 15. “The State of Broadband – And the Road Ahe

WASHINGTON, October 29, 2014 – Small business owners, teachers, librarians and representatives broadband industry official gathered at the 2014 Michigan Broadband Conference in the city of Lansing on Wednesday to discuss affordable and innovative ways to enhance Michiganians’ internet access. The co

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., September 16, 2014 – Below are several links of interest to professionals involved in broadband planning: PLANNING RESOURCES “Partnership for a Connected Illinois and Internet Expansion in Illinois 1996 to 2011,” By Drew Clark and Layton Olson, Spring 2012, American Planning Asso

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 – Internet service providers are adopting more usage-based pricing models and consumers may be using the internet less as a result, according to preliminary results from a Government Accountability Office study. Consumers may also be neglecting benefits of lower-cost models

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2014 – The internet equity facing the nation isn’t the digital divide, but is digital readiness, according to a panel last month by internet researcher John Horrigon at an event of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation. According to Horrigan, digital literacy is rap

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2014 – Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly supports modernizing the E-Rate program, but not if it means increasing the “ever growing strain on [the average American’s] pocketbook,” he wrote in a blog post Monday. The solution to increasing the program size, O’Rie

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2014 – As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to vote on E-Rate modernization July 11, some educators are “threatening to derail” the process according to The Hill. These educators have criticized Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal for focusing large sums of funding on Wi

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014 – Republicans are concerned about the regulation of internet service providers as utilities under Title II of the Communications Act, but Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler said that he isn’t ruling out the section as a legal basis for agency authority. In a letter

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2014 – The House Judicary Committee on Wednesday approved the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act this week by a vote of 30-4, according to a press release from the committee. The act banned state-imposed taxation of internet access or discriminatory taxes on e-commerce. Original

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 – Most internet service providers are delivering upload and download broadband speeds as advertised, according to the Federal Communications Commission, although there is room for improvement in consistency of speed. In its “Measuring Broadband America” report released Thur

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2014 – Even the quickest and best-designed networks can succumb to Mother Nature when a hurricane or tornado strikes a community. And when thousands of people dial 911 at the same time, modern-day networks simply aren’t equipped to handle traffic of such tremendous scale. That w

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2014 – In spite of press reports to the contrary, U.S. broadband coverage is not falling behind European levels of service, academic Christopher Yoo said on Wednesday at the National Press Club. “It seems like every other week there’s a new infographic or news story that talks a

SOUTH BOSTON, Va., April 9, 2014 – Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation (MBC), a successful wholesale fiber-optic open-access network transport provider, completed a trial last week delivering multi-terabit capacity on its existing network across southern Virginia. […]

American energy production has increased substantially over the past few years.

As data centers proliferate, Nuclear Energy is potentially ready for a revival.

Cryptographic technologies and blockchain ledgers are driving a new era of decentralized finance.

The rapid rise of cloud computing and artificial intelligence has placed an unprecedented strain on America’s energy grid.

November 15, 2013 – Nevada has only two metropolitan areas (Las Vegas and Reno), 80 percent of its land owned by the federal government, and no fiber-optic wires that connect the two cities, said the head of the state’s non-profit broadband initiative. A deeply rural demography and highly remote geo

Monday, October 28, 2013 – Drew Clark, Chairman and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com, will lead a panel discussion at the Broadband Communities Conference next week on the role of fiber developments in fostering economic growth. The Economic Development Conference Series will be held in Tinley Pa

October 18, 2013 – With several state broadband entities hosting summits in the remainder of October, the Broadband Breakfast Club is hosting its next webinar on the topic of “Upcoming State Broadband Summits: Michigan, Utah and Others Bring Intenet Knowledge and Practice For Economic Development [h

October 18, 2013 – State Broadband Initiative entities have played the lead role in mapping high-speed internet services in their respective states. Now, these entities are also taking the lead to convene, connect and collaborate among broadband stakeholders. Several states will be hosting broadband

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2013 – In a blog post on June 18, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration highlighted its interactive map of broadband projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The map displays projects by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Pr

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2013 – The percentage of Americans with access to broadband speeds of at least 3 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 768 Kilobits per second (Kbps) upload grew from 95 percent in 2010 to 98 percent in 2012, according to a report issued by the National Telecommunications and I

May 15, 2013 – Gigabit-level connectivity is all the rage. It seems that everyone is asking, What Can Gigabit Do for Me? More and more companies and communities — from established communications companies to new market entrants — have announced plans for deployment that cross that psychological Giga

Fiber-optic technology is the gold standard for home or commercial broadband, and powers wireless connectivity, too.

Mobile communication has become a central part internet connectivity.

The internet has the potential to impact, and also to enhance, society's democratization.

Section 230 is sometimes called the 26 words that created the internet.

Whether broadband providers may prioritize delivery of bits by the entities they own is a divisive topic.

Open Access networks separate network operations from internet services. Ownership may also be separate from operations.

The pandemic has prompted a new era of funding for broadband infrastructure.

Because Rural America is often the least-connected region in the country, ensuring coverage is central to BEAD.

Wireless technologies are critical for mobile communications, and for being able to reach remote locations.

Satellite broadband remains an option those areas beyond the reach of fiber, terrestrial or mobile wireless.

The Universal Service Fund, codified in 1996 with the Telecommunications Act, remains the foundation of universal access.

Data Centers and Cloud Computing rely upon robust and high-speed upload and download internet speeds.

Tribal leaders say the federal government has failed to uphold its trust responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of Native American tribes.

The 5G wireless standard promises breakthrough in capacity, speed and dynamic spectrum-sharing capabilities.

Wireless Internet Service Providers play an important role in delivery of fixed wireless broadband.

We need humans to make digital inclusion work.

Technology, particularly broadband access and adoption, plays a vital role in K-12 and secondary education.

The innovations of telehealth and mobile health care has transformed medicine and health care.

Ensuring that emergency communications are enabled with broadband is the next frontier in public safety.

Broadband internet service allows many people to work from almost anywhere.

Digital locks and keys are necessary, but not sufficient, to ensure cybersecurity.

The scourge of robocalls is making America's once-vaunted telephone network less trustworthy.

The BEAD program is implemented by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department.

The last three years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of communities building publicly-owned, locally controlled infrastructure.

The entire concept of privacy has been transformed by broadband and the internet.

Cities of the future rely on high-speed internet access and advanced fiber and wireless connectivity.

The infrastructure necessary for advanced energy also powers the infrastructure necessary for high-speed internet.

Self-driving cars are one of many advances to come for smart cities and communities.

Drones and airborne transportation are one of many advances to come for smart cities and communities.

Antitrust has been re-invigorated by concern over the power of big technology, media and telecom companies.

Artificial intelligence is poised to transform humans' relationship with technology, and each other.

Social media plays a powerful force in the lives of most adults and teenagers.

Debates about the role of free speech have been transformed by broadband internet services.

Semiconductors are the world’s new oil.

Whether licensed, unlicensed or shared, radio frequency spectrum is the critical resource for wireless communication.

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2013 – “If we build super-fast networks, the innovators will come,” said Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Wednesday, in his first public statements since his announcement last Friday that he would leave the agency in a matter of weeks. While spea

SALT LAKE CITY, March 22, 2013 – When I was younger, family history was for old folks. Now that I am older, family history is for kids adept at using computers and mobile devices. What accounts for this change? Personal computing and broadband. Nowhere is this remarkable change — from the province

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, March 15, 2013 – Relationships between broadband providers and consumers can often be contentious. Gary Evans of the Minnesota-based Hiawatha Broadband Company, who spoke during the Monday afternoon session of the Freedom to Connect conference here last week, recounted how h

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, March 15, 2013 – A somber tone was set last week during the opening day of the 2013 Freedom to Connect conference here. Opening remarks by conference organizer David Isenberg were peppered with references to Wikileaks mastermind Julian Assange, Pvt. Bradley Manning currently

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2013 – The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday announced their approval of the proposed merger of mobile wireless carriers T-Mobile and MetroPCS. Two years after the two agencies nixed AT&T’s attempted acquisition of T-Mobile on antitrus

By Nick Feamster, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Georgia Tech  (The original version of this article is posted in Dr. Feamster’s Blog ‘Connection Management’) WASHINGTON, February 27th, 2013 — Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting on a panel of the Broadband Breakfast Club at Clyde’s of

WASHINGTON, Thursday, February 21st, 2013 – The broadband policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com held its February 2013 Broadband Breakfast Club event “Data Caps, the Spectrum Crunch and the Wireless Home” this past Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 at Clyde’s of Gallery Place. Speakers in

WASHINGTON, February 20, 2013 – Policy-makers and consumers alike are struggling to grapple with a rising-tide of data usage from wireless devices, according to the chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s wireless bureau and panelists speaking at the Broadband Breakfast Club on Tuesday at C

WASHINGTON, February 8, 2013 – The Federal Communications Commission is not able to flexibly adapt to changed  circumstances in the communications world, according to officials participating in a January 30 panel on here the transition to internet protocol networks. With the topic in hand of the “re

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 – The broadband policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com will hold its February 2013 Broadband Breakfast Club event: “Data Caps for Wireless Broadband, the Spectrum Crunch and the Wireless Home” on Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 at Clyde’s of Gall

WASHINGTON, January 24, 2013 – Whenever a large gathering commences, chances are that, in addition to cramped quarters and long lines, the influx will also mean a major increase in the number of cell phones, laptops and other Wi-Fi dependent devices. As when on January 21, 2013, President Barack Oba

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, December 26, 2012 – Many families would like to get an iPhone for their whole family, but the problem is the price. There are lots of families that have kids with iPods (which cost the same price as iPhones, excluding service plans) and lots of parents with phones. Many times,

WASHINGTON, December 21, 2012 – The Nation Cable and Telecommunications Association, the trade group representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s households, on Friday released a statement criticizing the Data Cap Integrity Act introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “Regre

WASHINGTON, December 20, 2012 – On Thursday Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore. proposed a data caps bill that encourages transparency for customers so they can further understand their data usage and to ensure that innovation is not hampered by a cap on data. The non-profit organization Public Knowledge has

December 18, 2012 – The year 2012 has provided significant progress in broadband within the United States. Whether through policy developments, or through technologies advancing the rate of internet speeds, the business case for making use of those higher speeds is also progressing in a meaningful w

WASHINGTON, October 19, 2012 – The internet policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com held its October 2012 Broadband Breakfast Club “Reforming the Universal Service Fund: What’s Changing?” on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, 707 7th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001 f

WASHINGTON, Thursday, September 20th, 2012 – The internet policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com held its September 2012 Broadband Breakfast Club event “Measuring Broadband Performance: What Have We Learned in Four Years?” on Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 at Clyde’s of Gallery Place,

WASHINGTON, Monday, September 17th, 2012 – The internet policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com will hold its September 2012 Broadband Breakfast Club event “Measuring Broadband Performance: What Have We Learned in Four Years?” on Tuesday, September 18th, 2012 at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, 707 7th St. NW, Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, Thursday, July 26, 2012 – Last week, the fourth year of the Broadband Breakfast Club Series came to an end with a timely panel on “Bringing Broadband Adoption to the Nation’s Underserved Population.”  Panelists from the private, nonprofit and state government sectors came together to dis

WASHINGTON, Thursday July 19, 2012.  As part of its July Open Commission meeting, the Federal Communications Commission gave an update of its Measuring Broadband America report.  This follow-up was the result of further collection of data from the over 7,000 measurement devices given to volunteers a

June 27, 2012 – Small businesses are the livelihood of any thriving economy. Increasingly, these start-up businesses need access to broadband to drive their products and services. BroadbandCensus.com has been no exception to this rule. BroadbandCensus.com has always been focused on ensuring that the

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012 — Last Thursday President Obama announced the launch of a new initiative, “US Ignite” and signed an Executive Order reducing the cost and barriers to broadband build out and construction along federal roadways and properties.  The Order aims to make construction 90 percent

ARLINGTON, Va., May 25, 2012 – The new national wireless communications network to serve police, firefighters and other “first responders” may provide a new opportunity to extend broadband stimulus-related activity, a top Commerce Department official said Wednesday. Dubbed FirstNet, this new public

April 2, 2012 – I admit to being taken in yesterday by Google’s April Fools prank – Gmail Tap. This priceless video promises to bring Morse code back for the smart phone era. Gmail Tap hit a powerful nerve: how to make smart phones more useful for the things we do besides talking on them. […]

November 14, 2011 – When the Federal Communications Commission identified six concrete goals in the national broadband plan, the one specific application highlighted by the agency was energy consumption: “To ensure that America leads in the clean energy economy, every American should be able to use

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, August 9, 2011 – It’s very easy to take broadband for granted. People want to go online to look up answers on Wikipedia, to watch movies on Netflix, to hang out on Facebook, or to Skype cousins across the globe — or across town. None of this can be done without broadband. Hig

If it were a piece of classical music, the “study” by Navigant Economics’ Jeffrey Eisenach and Kevin Caves could easily be titled “Variations on a False Narrative in the key of F.” They claim, after a review of three (count ‘em, 3) of the hundreds of broadband grants, the broadband stimulus cost too

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2011- Both AT&T and Verizon taken steps to to deploy their 4G LTE networks in recent months, with Sprint and T-Mobile heavily advertising their existing 4G technologies. With rampant speculation regarding the iPhone 5 industry watchers have predicted that consumers would be clam

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2011 – National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Program Director, Anne Neville, offered the keynote address Tuesday morning at the Broadband Breakfast Club’s June event, ” The National Broadband Map: Policy, Consumer and Economic Development Implications

WASHINGTON June 20, 2011 – The market research firm ID InSight released an analysis of the data collected by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for the national broadband map, which shows a high level of accuracy in data collection. “Through our initial analysis of the m

WASHINGTON June 2, 2011 – Cisco predicted the next four years of global broadband consumption via virtual forum when it unveiled its annual visual networking index Wednesday. Each year Cisco produces a networking index that predicts internet use and broadband consumption for the next five years. Wh

WASHINGTON May 12, 2011- After nearly two years of data gathering, the Oregon Public Utility Commission debuted its broadband map Wednesday. The state received a $2.1 million grant through the Broadband Data Improvement Act and chose to conduct the mapping through its Public Utility Commission with

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, May 4, 2011 – Later today, at 2 p.m. CT, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois will kick off our “Wednesday Webinar” series, beginning with a discussion about the Illinois Broadband Map. Registration for this event is free [https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/354267782].

WASHINGTON April 20, 2011- National Telecommunications and Information Administration Deputy Administrator, Anna Gomez offered the keynote address Tuesday at this month’s Broadband Breakfast panel, opening an event where panelists explored how to best to expand broadband adoption and maximize access

WASHINGTON April 12, 2011 – The American Cable Association (ACA) held its annual summit on Tuesday, featuring a keynote speech by Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2011 – The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing and passed draft legislation Friday that would require unused and returned broadband stimulus funds be returned to the U.S. Treasury, but subcommittee Democrats called the bill “duplicative” of policie

WASHINGTON March 30, 2011- The Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition assembled broadband stimulus award winners and government officials for their inaugural broadband summit on Tuesday to share solutions and success in solving digital literacy and adoption issues. The SHLBC, formed two

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2011 – The Institute for Local Self-Reliance unveiled its Community Broadband Network Map and Report on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2011 – The bipartisan technology policy group TechNet gathered government officials and leading broadband scholars Tuesday to present the first set of academic research using data from the national broadband map.

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2011 – The New America Foundation and Google gathered government officials Wednesday to present an overview of the organizations’ website that gathers, compiles and maps international broadband connection speed data. The site, Measurement Lab, provides the broadband data for r

WASHINGTON March 23, 2011- Broadband voice company, Bandwidth.com, unveiled Monday a nationwide map that displays availability and pricing data for business broadband connections, building on information from the National Telecommunications Information Administration’s national broadband map.

WASHINGTON March 22,2011 – The Federal Communications Commission released its annual Local Telephone Competition and Broadband Deployment reports on Monday which show the rapid growth of Voice over IP and the stagnation of broadband adoption.

WASHINGTON March 22, 2011-The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association [https://broadbandbreakfast.com/tag/NTCA/], a rural telecommunications association, kicked off their Legislative and Policy Conference Monday with a speech by National Telecommunications and Information Administration

WASHINGTON March 21, 2011 – The Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and Georgetown University’s Communication Culture and Technology Program gathered government officials and industry experts Friday to debate the federal government’s implementation of the National Broadband Plan.

WASHINGTON March 17, 2011 – On the one-year anniversary of the announcement of the National Broadband Plan, Broadband Breakfast gathered key industry experts to offer criticism and discuss the government’s implementation of the plan. The National Broadband Plan: A One-Year Update [https://broadba

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2011 – Apple’s initial iPad 2 sales and projections for 2011 say while that Apple probably will not face much competition in tablet sales, the competition for wireless data plans for the device are heating up. Apple sold over 15 million of the original iPad, and brisk resales

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2011 – Ookla, the company that owns and manages the connection testing website, Speedtest.net, relaunched the site Monday with an updated look and new functionality to better record consumer connection data.

WASHINGTON March 4, 2011 – Broadband continued to expand at a significant pace in 2010 despite a struggling economy, according to data released this week from the Leichtman Research Group. According to the data, cable companies added 2.3 million new subscribers while telephone companies added only 1

WASHINGTON February 23, 2011 – The Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map website received more than 150 million hits and more than 1,000 requests per second in its first day live, according to usage data released Friday by the agency.

SPRINGFIELD, February 21, 2011 – President Abraham Lincoln began his political career here with a passionate interest in infrastructure improvements. America knows President Lincoln today because his belief in equal opportunity. What connects that which we know about Lincoln and that which brought

WASHINGTON February 17, 2011- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission unveiled the National Broadband Map along with an update to the Digital Nation report this morning. The map is available at http://www.broadbandmap.g

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, February 17, 2011 – Illinois residents can now discover who offers high-speed internet service in their neighborhood with a single mouse click or touch on a smart phone. They do this by visiting http://broadbandillinois.org [http://www.broadbandillinois.org/], a new site laun

WASHINGTON February 17, 2011 – Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, Lawrence Strickling, presented a brief preview of the national broadband map and an update on the activities of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the annual winter meeting of

WASHINGTON, February 7, 2011 – Online content providers Netflix and Akamai released data recently indicating that U.S. internet service providers meet expectations for promised peak broadband speeds, but fall short when it comes to sustained speeds.

WASHINGTON – A widely supported program intended to subsidize internet access for schools and libraries continues to fall short of its goals, according to a recent report from the Federal Communications Commission. The E-Rate program offers subsidies for schools and libraries to obtain broadband con

WASHINGTON, December 10, 2010 –  The issue of competition among broadband providers has been greatly debated. Some claim that there is a cozy duopoly between cable and DSL while others claim that there is no competition due to lack of access. While it is true that not every area has a truly competit

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2010 – Now that all of the broadband stimulus funding has been distributed, its effectiveness can now be evaluated. That was the message at the Broadband Breakfast Club on Tuesday, October 19. Video of the event was released on Friday. While the long term value of the stimulu

WASHINGTON, October 14, 2010 – The internet and intellectual property news service BroadbandBreakfast.com announces the second event in its Fall 2010 – 2011 Broadband Breakfast Club series, “Evaluating the Broadband Stimulus.”

ARLINGTON, Va., October 2, 2010 – Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn emphasized the need for quality research in policy making, particularly with regard to reforming the universal service fund for telephone and internet connectivity. Speaking at the Friday evening dinner session at

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, September 28, 2010 – Broadband high-speed internet services are stimulating the economy, creating jobs and enhancing lives in Illinois through enhanced telemedicine, training, and public safety benefits. On Tuesday, dozens of federal broadband stimulus recipients will gather

WASHINGTON September 27, 2010 – NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling has announced the final list broadband data grants. The final set of grants will provide additional funding to each of the state’s designated mapping entities. “As Congress recognized, many communities are being left behind in t

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2010 – The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University has received a $1.5 million grant for its Herdict project. The grant was given by Omidyar Network, an investment firm targeting philanthropic projects established in 2004 by eBay Founder Pierre Omidyar.

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2010- The FCC has released a developer application programming interface designed to give researchers increased access to FCC data.

WASHINGTON August 11, 2010- The Pew Internet & American Life Project has released their Home Broadband survey. While adoption has generally been increasing this year adoption has slowed. The only group showing growth was African Americans.

WASHINGTON August 10, 2010- In the most recent Broadband Development Report the Federal Communications Commission stated that deployment was not increasing. This was the first time that the commission had made the claim due to their decision to update the definition of broadband. In reaction to this

WASHINGTON, August 9, 2010 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Rural Utilities Service are doing a pretty good job awarding broadband stimulus funding, although both agencies face risks as the Sept. 30 deadline nears for doling out the money.

WASHINGTON August 4, 2010-With only 60 days left to disperse the remaining $4 billion in stimulus funding the departments of Commerce and Agriculture have released a schedule of disbursement.

China Unicom and China Telecom account for 20% of worldwide broadband market share, a statistic which TeleGeography researchers predicted would only increase.

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2010 – In an effort to promote consumer welfare the Federal Communications Commission has launched a new web site entitled the Consumer Help Center.

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2010 – Ookla Net Metrics has made internet performance statistics available for countries, states, and localities available through its Net Index website.

WASHINGTON July 27, 2010 – Akamai has just released data from its annual State of the Internet Report and the US is falling behind. South Korea has the fastest average maximum speed of 33Mbps, followed by Japan with 26Mbps, Romania with 25Mbos, the US ranks 8th with a speed of 16mbps.

WASHINGTON July 22, 2010- Buried within the recent Broadband Deployment Report was the announcement that the Federal Communications Commission will publish a separate report comparing broadband services in the United States to the rest of the world. Section 1303 requires the commission include an in

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2010 – According to a study of general Internet and phone use released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, “African-Americans and Latinos continue to outpace whites in their use of data applications on handheld devices.” Among other things, the study found that wherea

WASHINGTON July 19, 2010 – Governor Mark Parkinson has established a 24 member advisory group to work with Connect Kansas to implement various broadband initiatives. The new group, called the Kansas Broadband Advisory Task Force, will develop a set of recommendations to help support statewide availa

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2010 –Oklahoma has announced its broadband initiative which will consist of two phases; the first phase will be mapping and data collection with the second phase consisting of broadband expansion.

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2010 – Late last week at the CommunicAsia conference in Singapore, Broadband Forum in conjunction with data from Point Topic GBS released a report on the state of global broadband. According to the report there are currently 484 broadband lines globally. It is important to note

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2010 – BroadbandBreakfast.com on Friday released, for FREE, the full-length video of the Broadband Breakfast Club event on June 15, 2010: “Challenges to Rural Broadband Availability and Adoption,” featurng a keynote address by Jonathan S. Adelstein, Administrator of the Rural Ut

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2010 – Connected Texas, a subsidiary of the national group Connected Nation, held a web conference today to give a demonstration of its new broadband mapping technology. The conference was hosted by Connected Texas Staff Member Wes Kerr, who walked the audience through the demon

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2010 – The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has just released its updated broadband statistics for December 2009. In a shift in their methodology, fixed wireless and satellite connections are now going to be their own separate categories due to the increase

WAsHINGTON, June 11, 2010 —The first panel of the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summit VI was on the regulatory outlook. With the recent announcement of the FCC to reclassify broadband under the so-called “Third Way,” the business community has become wary of the actions which the Federal Commun

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 – On Thursday of last week the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) held yet another meeting regarding their impending survey regarding home internet use. The agency is going to add 3-5 questions to the Current Population Survey as the Internet U

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 – Using funds from the Broadband Data Improvement grant North Carolina’s e-NC Authority has undertaken an online survey to determine present usage of high speed broadband internet in the state. The survey has been emailed to over 100,000 potential respondents with a special

WASHINGTON, June 7, 2010 – Early last year, Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs was given a $1.9 million grant for its mapping initative. Rather than conduct all of the mapping internally, the DCA has chosen to partner with the New America Foundation, the University of Hawaii and Br

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2010 – Alaska has chosen to change its designated mapping entity. The state has decided that rather than having the Denali Commission, an independent federal agency which is tasked with providing utilities within the state, conduct the mapping they have contracted Connected Natio

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2010 – Four out of five Americans do not know the speeds of their high-speed Internet connections, according to data released today from the Federal Communications Commission. However, most Americans say they are satisfied with their speed.

Now that the heavily attended Broadband Properties Summit in Dallas has passed, it is time to reflect on the overall issues facing broadband access, and adoption, as we move forward with a renewed vigor to reach the goals and objectives set forth in the National Broadband Plan. How will we move forw

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2010 – Small businesses must have better access to broadband technology to flourish, propel the nation’s economic growth and to better be able to compete on a global level, said experts at a Senate hearing last week. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who chairs the Senate Small Business

By now, the omnipresent television commercials have drummed Verizon’s 3G message into all our heads: big red map good, splotchy blue map bad. But nascent national WiMAX provider Clearwire has taken the “maps” battle to a whole new level, in a way that potential wireless users might find more useful

DALLAS, April 28, 2010 – There are a daunting number of rural American that do not have access to broadband, Rob Curtis, deployment director of the Federal Communication Commission’s omnibus broadband initiative, said at the Broadband Properties Summit here. With 14 million Americans without access

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2010 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners is applauding a decision that no Federal Communications Commission ruling preempts states from collecting broadband data.

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2010 – BroadbandBreakfast.com, a broadband and internet technology news service on Monday – Intellectual Property Day – launched a new series of breakfast events entitled “The Intellectual Property Breakfast Club.” [http://ipbreakfast.eventbrite.com] The series, which will occ

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2010 – The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced it has received 867 applications requesting $11 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects throughout the United States.

Twenty-five years ago, the World Wide Web did not exist. Very few Americans had even seen a mobile phone, and broadband networks were available only to a few businesses and research institutions. Today, innovations such as broadband and others like it drive the creation of a wide variety of product

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2010 – Section Four of the plan focuses on broadband competition and innovation policy. It’s one of the most far-reaching sections in the entire 360-page document. This second article summarizing Chapter 4 looks at the FCC’s overall recommendations to enhance the nation’s broadb

To see how broadband is transforming American life, walk down a busy street or pay a visit to any school, business or airport. Parents on business trips use their smartphones to check e-mail or watch short videos of their children playing soccer, hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. Americans

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2010 – The third chapter in the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan focuses on the current state of the broadband ecosystem. It sets out to show that the actual state of the broadband network is not about availability and the physical network but also co

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2010 – The Commerce Department on Thursday announced 10 investments in broadband growth across the nation that total approximately $63 million.

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2010 – Millions of people rely on library computers for employment, health and education information, according to a study released Thursday.

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2010 – The FCC launched its consumer broadband test [http://www.broadband.gov/] today, enabling consumers to test the speed and other performance measurements of their broadband connections.

LONDON, March 11, 2010 – European countries are adopting measures to reach 100 percent broadband penetration – and they’re going to reach that goal well before the United States.

Representing a congressional district that includes Omaha, Nebraska, Republican Rep. Lee Terry knows first hand the benefits of advanced telecommunications. Omaha is home to four Fortune 500 companies and as highlighted in Stephen Colbert’s “Better Know a District,” Omaha is the teleservices capital

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2010 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday announced a new initiative to remedy the low penetration and adoption rate for broadband among Native Americans. In previous remarks on the subject Genachowski had characterized the status of broadba

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission could do a better job of collecting and managing the information it gathers from consumers, businesses and other entities, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2010 – Affluent minorities are making big gains in broadband adoption, but lower-income, less educated black and Hispanics are lagging behind, according to a new study.

Washington, February 26, 2010 – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission this week previewed his agency’s spectrum recommendations in the FCC’s upcoming national broadband plan to be presented to Congress next month. In Julius Genachowski’s statement titled “America’s 2020 Vision for Mo

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, and WASHINGTON, February 25, 2010 – The Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a non-profit organization that includes partnerships with Southern Illinois University, Man-Tra-Con, and Connected Nation, on Thursday announced Drew Clark as its new Executive Director. On Wednesda

WASHINGTON, February 23, 2010 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski on Tuesday outlined goals for broadband supply and demand, and said that by 2020, 100 megabit per second (Mbps) broadband should be available to 100 million households. Speaking at the Brookings Institutio

WASHINGTON, February 19, 2010 – Commerce Secretary Gary Locke yesterday announced 10 grants totaling $357 million to help spread high-speed Internet access across the country.

WASHINGTON, February 18, 2010 – The New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative has expanded its broadband stimulus resource library by adding four application guides to help those interested in applying for funding from two separate government programs.

WASHINGTON, February 18, 2010 – The Agriculture Department announced Wednesday it has selected 11 broadband infrastructure projects that are designed to improve educational and economic opportunities throughout nine states.

WASHINGTON, February 18, 2010 – A coalition of public interest groups on Wednesday called on the Federal Communications Commission to include a set of ambitious benchmarks and policies in the agency’s upcoming national broadband plan. The agency will discuss aspects of the national broadband plan,

WASHINGTON, February 16, 2010 – New government data show demographic groups across the nation have experienced rising broadband internet access adoption at home but disparities persist among some groups.

WASHINGTON, February 12, 2010 – The FCC should do everything it can in the upcoming national broadband plan to restore competition in the communications market, shows a new study spearheaded by Economics and Technology and lauded by Public Knowledge.

WASHINGTON, February 11, 2010 – Sweden has nabbed the top spot from the United States on a global scorecard that measures nations’ digital connectivity and how it contributes to economic growth.

WASHINGTON, February 11, 2010 – Broadband Census News LLC on Thursday released, for FREE, the full-length video of the Broadband Breakfast Club event on February 9, 2010: “Setting the Table for the National Broadband Plan: Collecting and Using Broadband Data.”

WASHINGTON, February 10, 2010 – The head of the Federal Communications Commission’s internal “think tank” said Tuesday that the agency was taking a fresh look at all aspects of its broadband data-collection processes: collection, validation and analysis, and dissemination. Speaking to a roomful of

PHILADELPHIA, Penn., February 3, 2010 – Investment in broadband infrastructure, most believe, is essential to our nation’s future economic health. In an information economy, the race is to the swift: those who can quickly access more, better information will innovate, communicate, and transact at a

WASHINGTON, February 2, 2010 – A cast of key experts on the issue of collecting and using broadband data -including two key officials at the Federal Communications Commission, plus a former agency chief economist – have confirmed their participation in the Broadband Breakfast Club on Tuesday, Februa

WASHINGTON, February 1, 2010 – The United States took the top spot on the 2009 Connectivity Scorecard, a research project linking increased national technological connectivity with socio-economic transformation. Professor Leonard Waverman of the London Business School and economic consulting firm L

WASHINGTON, January 29, 2010 – The Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance is urging the FCC to adopt its price-cap plan so that its members, which are largely mid-size local exchange firms, can get better support from the Universal Service Fund.

WASHINGTON, January, 26, 2010 – BroadbandBreakfast.com today launches a new feature: We’re seeking answers to questions from our readers, and we will publish some of the answers that we receive back. This question will help prepare for the upcoming Broadband Breakfast Club on Tuesday, February 9, fr

WASHINGTON, January 21, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission in a Tuesday workshop explored consumer choice, user control of their online experience and the importance of transparency. The agency’s fourth Open Internet Workshop on Consumers, Transparency and the Open Internet focused on the

WASHINGTON, January 21, 2010 – Today’s edition of The New York Times includes a story about internet speed tests, including BroadbandCensus.com, and the various approaches that each of the major providers take in offering speed tests. The piece, “How Fast is Your Web Connection?” by Peter Wayner, i

WASHINGTON, January 15, 2010 – Researchers looking at California to determine whether broadband boosts local economic development found it’s tough to determine since broadband providers tend to target areas of expected high economic growth.

WASHINGTON, January 13, 2010 – The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Tuesday announced that it has awarded grants to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahom

WASHINGTON, January 11, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday launched http://reboot.fcc.gov [http://reboot.fcc.gov], a new interactive website attempting to foster public discussion on how to best improve the agency. The site includes many opportunities for public input on a var

WASHINGTON, January 7, 2009 – The head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission to take steps designed to encourage greater competition in the market for high-speed internet access. In a Monday letter to the FCC as part

WASHINGTON, December 31, 2009 – The Commerce Department agency responsible for the mapping component of the broadband stimulus program announced, on the last day of the year, that it had funded five more states’ broadband data programs. With the announcement – of funding for broadband data and mapp

WASHINGTON, December 29, 2009 – Rick Rotondo, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Spectrum Bridge, advises technology policy enthusiasts to keep an eye on wireless broadband legislation from Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

WASHINGTON, December 29, 2009 – Andrew Schwartzman, president and CEO of the Media Access Project, expects the Federal Communications Commission will issue rules to regulate internet access to support Net neutrality or open internet principles by the end of the third quarter of 2010.

WASHINGTON, December 29, 2009 – Dan Hays, director of the telecommunications practice at the management consulting firm PRTM, told Broadband Census News Monday that his company has some serious concerns about the overall direction of a government program to distribute funds to spur broadband penetra

WASHINGTON, December 29, 2009 – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., last week joined the bandwagon of lawmakers voicing support for the government grants currently being awarded to support broadband deployment and map broadband penetration across the country.

WASHINGTON, December 28, 2009 – Broadband Census News Reporter Winter Casey touched base with broadband business strategist Craig Settles this week on what to expect might happen on key technology issues in 2010. Settles addresses government broadband stimulus grants, legislation, and mapping in the

WASHINGTON, December 24, 2009 – Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-RI, said Tuesday he is thrilled that the government has allocated approximately $1.5 million to his state to lay the groundwork for enhanced internet services.

December 23, 2009 – Nearly half a year after designating four low-income Chicago neighborhoods as “digital excellence demonstration communities,” Chicago Mayor Richard Daley on Thursday announced the addition of a fifth community, as well as plans for use of federal broadband stimulus monies to brin

WASHINGTON, December 22, 2009 – Connected Nation, which bills itself as a national non-profit organization that seeks to expand access to broadband internet, hit the jackpot Tuesday when the government announced it will be receiving more than nine million in funding for broadband mapping work. “Con

WASHINGTON, December 22, 2009 – Internet use among Latino adults has been increasing at a faster rate than those categorized as white or black adults, according to research released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center.

WASHINGTON, December 17, 2009 – Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that $2 billion will be made available on a rolling basis over the next 75 days to increase broadband penetration across the country. The money is part of the $7.2 billion Congress allocated in January for national broadband inve

WASHINGTON, December 14, 2009 – Broadband Census Data announced the availability of highly granular Census block mapping services to state recipients of broadband mapping grants. BroadbandCensus.com [http://broadbandcensus.com] provides the information necessary for states to meet grant obligations

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2009 – The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development updated its broadband statistics Friday to reflect that the number of broadband subscribers in OECD member states increased by 10 percent from June 2008 to June 2009.

WASHINGTON, December 10, 2009 – Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., are claiming that a number of stimulus funds allocated to technology-related projects have been wasted, mismanaged, or directed toward shortsighted projects.

WASHINGTON, December 7, 2009 – A new report [https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Take-Rate-Brief.pdf] using an innovative approach to broadband data finds that the percentage of households in the United States that have adopted high-speed internet services is 72.9 percent. The

The Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration is seeking public and agency feedback on proposed information collection for the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, according to a Federal Register notice [http://www.ntia.doc.gov/frnotices/2009/FR

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., drew attention this week to her home state’s broadband mapping project that will be funded by money Congress allocated in January to encourage broadband deployment and use. The Louisiana Division of Administration, Office of Information Technology, has been awarded approximately $1.7 million for broadband

WASHINGTON, December 1, 2009 – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said Tuesday it will provide close to $3.4 million in grants to improve Internet connections for libraries in five states. The foundation is also partnering with 14 other states to assist efforts by libraries to secure some of the $7

WASHINGTON, November 30, 2009 – The U.S. government announced Monday that it has awarded millions of dollars to five state entities and one nonprofit organization – Connected Nation – that proposed projects to help collect better data on broadband availability across the country. The Department of

WASHINGTON, November 30, 2009 – The news [https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2009/11/ntia-seeks-access-to-fccs-form-477-database-for-better-broadband-data/] that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration aims to seek access to the Form 477 database is positive news — providing that

WASHINGTON, November 30, 2009 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration last week asked the Federal Communications Commission to release a key database of information about broadband deployment assembled from providers of high-speed internet access. In a public notice [http:/

WASHINGTON, November 25, 2009 – In a workshop held Monday at the Federal Communications Commission, academics and industry leaders outlined their concerns and suggestions about the upcoming national broadband plan. The workshop, organized by the FCC’s national broadband taskforce, sought answers to

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2009 – The Native American population is one of the most disconnected groups in the country, according to a study [ (http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/new_media_technology_and_internet_use_indian_country] released Thursday on broadband penetration. The Native Pu

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2009 – The Government Accountability Office on Monday released a report analyzing the possible challenges faced by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utility Service when they implement the broadband stimulus. The largest problem th

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2009 – Today, Broadband Census News launches BroadbandBreakfast.com, a new daily web site with definitive and independent news on broadband stimulus funding, wireless internet, and the national broadband plan. This new domain, BroadbandBreakfast.com [https://broadbandbreakf

WASHINGTON, November 9, 2009 – On Friday, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced seven new state recipients of the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program. These grants fund state efforts to map broadband availability and speeds. Each state was asked to p

WASHINGTON, October 30, 2009 – At a Friday workshop that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration held on data collection and the broadband stimulus, NTIA announced that the agency will be collecting large amounts of data that they would like to make more broadly available. Res

WASHINGTON, October 30, 2009 – Over the summer, BroadbandCensus.com split our operations between the news and events that we host, and the Creative Commons database with the local broadband SPARC: the Speeds, Prices, Availability, Reliability and Competition in the local broadband marketplace. As we

The Federal Communications Commission will hold a staff workshop at 10 a.m. on October 28 to explore possible revisions to the FCC’s current ex parte rules. The stated aim is to increase transparency of the Commission’s actions, while at the same time not scaring regulated interests away from sharin

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced on Friday it would award approximately $1.4 million to the state of West Virginia for broadband mapping and planning activities. The grant comes from NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development grant program, which is funded by

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2009 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Tuesday filed comments at the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency to select its web site, www.BroadbandBestPractices.org [http://www.BroadbandBestPractices.org], as the commission’s “clearin

WASHINGTON, October 15, 2009 – Six public interest organizations, including Consumers Union, on Wednesday filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission urging the agency to protect consumers from misleading and confusing advertising and billing practices by phone, cable and wireless prov

WASHINGTON, October 14, 2009 – In a draft 232-page report that the Berkman Center of Harvard University conducted for the Federal Communications Commission – and was released by the agency on Wednesday – the United States was rated less-than-the-best in broadband performance.

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2009 – The Federal Communication Commission last week issued an order allowing it to restrict the disclosure of information deemed proprietary or confidential in the creation of a national broadband plan.

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2009 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration last week awarded the first four broadband data and mapping grants to organizations that are not Connected Nation.

WASHINGTON, October 12, 2009 – Carl Weinschenck, writing in IT Business Edge, speaks about “Broadband Mapping: Treasure for a New Age.” Carl discusses the rash of interest in broadband data and mapping since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in February 2009, and highlights

WASHINGTON, October 11, 2009 – Current measures of broadband comparisons between the United States and the rest of the world – and within the country – have limitations, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office released on Friday. These limitations including the “lack of comprehe

WASHINGTON, October 9, 2009 – An advisory board to the Federal Communications Commission consisting of state utility regulators has developed a new web portal for tracking and referencing broadband expansion projects nation-wide.

Last week the Federal Communication Commission’s Broadband Taskforce delivered a status report on the national broadband plan. Below are edited excerpts of the key points points they made.

NEW ORLEANS, October 1, 2009 – Top officials from Connected Nation, BroadbandCensus.com and One Economy will discuss key issues in broadband data and mapping – including controversial questions about public disclosure of carrier information on broadband maps – here on Thursday.

WASHINGTON – September 29, 2009 – From the beginning, BroadbandCensus.com has aimed at providing academics, consumers, government officials and industry with the high-quality data needed about the state of broadband throughout the country. We believe in public and transparent broadband data. Without public and transparent broadband data, each of these constituents

WASHINGTON, September 29, 2009 – Current broadband mapping data is not specific enough in detail to help the Federal Communications Commission produce a national broadband plan, despite recent revisions to agency data-collection practices, staff members said Tuesday.

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) have embarked upon a 30-day period of accepting responses from existing service providers in their reviews of service area classifications, which will includes defining the unserved and the underse

The Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for General Consulting Services (No. 2010-MBI-01). The goal is to pre-qualify firms to provide consulting services to support the goals, activities, and work products of the MBI.

ARLINGTON, Va., September 28, 2009 – Top telecom officials from the Obama administration said that better broadband data, and greater transparency about the operations of government, were two of the key technology policy priorities factoring into the FCC’s, and the government’s, approach to technolo

WASHINGTON, September 28, 2009 – State utility commissioners want the Federal Communications Commission to put broadband carriers on notice that the agency’s own broadband data collection does not relieve operators of the obligation to comply with state requests.

ARLINGTON, Va., September 28, 2009 – “Beer and Broadband Mapping” was the informal name appended to a spirited and lively discussion that capped the first day of the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference here at George Mason School of Law on Friday, September 25.

Faculty members from the state of Pennsylvania participated in a three-day workshop to discuss the challenges that face the United States, in a conference titled “Beyond Broadband Access: Data Based Information Policy for a New Administration,” reported the Daily Collegian.

WASHINGTON, September 28, 2009 – The U.S. Broadband Coalition, an assemblage of more than 160 organizations pressing for a comprehensive national broadband strategy, on Thursday released its final report at the Federal Communications Commission. Drew Clark, Editor of Broadband Census News LLC and E

ARLINGTON, Va., September 26, 2009 – Fiber to the home has been touted by many as the next great leap in broadband connectivity, and in Japan has already become the leading method of broadband connectivity, with speeds reaching 1 Gigabit per second.

ARLINGTON, Va., September 26, 2009 – Whether internet service providers will accelerate early efforts to prioritize bandwidth, and what impact such measure might have upon the open internet, were actively discussed by panelists at the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference here.

ARLINGTON, Va., September 26, 2009 – Location-based software has become one of the hottest new web applications, fueled by the expansion of smart phone users, these applications allow users to share their location with their friends or search for businesses based on the user’s location.

ARLINGTON, Va., September 25, 2009 – In a panel about the socio-economic impacts of broadband, panelists all agreed that the overwhelming limiting factor in proving the benefits to broadband was the lack of solid broadband data.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of panelist summary articles that BroadbandCensus.com will be reporting from the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, September 25-27, at George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va. ARLINGTON, Va., September 25, 2009 – Mobile broadband is the fastest growing segment

WASHINGTON, September 25, 2009 – The annual Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, a must-attend event for academics focused on broadband-related topics, begins at Friday at 2 p.m. ET at Geoge Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Va. It is likely to be particularly noteworthy this ye

WASHINGTON, September 24, 2009 – A national broadband strategy must take steps to stimulate adoption and use of technology at a variety of levels, said a report by the U.S. Broadband Coalition, which presented the report at the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, September 22, 2009 – Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said Monday that a large percentage of African Americans still have not made the use of the Internet a priority in their lives, especially at home.

WASHINGTON, September 21, 2009 – Broadband data is important for the future of our country – and public and transparent broadband data is even more important. Today, at this moment, the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is making a speech in which he is highlighting the vital pri

WASHINGTON, September 11, 2009 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration late Wednesday released the names of all 2,200 applicants for broadband stimulus grants through an interactive and searchable database at the broadbandusa.gov [http://broadbandusa.gov] web portal during t

WASHINGTON, September 3, 2009 – The Federal Communications Commission broadband workshop on Thursday addressed “big ideas” with the “potential to substantially change the Internet,” in which a range of prominent thinkers attempted to peer into the future of connectivity.

WASHINGTON, September 2, 2009 – BroadbandCensus.com announced that it has released a beta version of a public broadband map of Richland County, South Carolina, which is available at http://broadbandcensusmaps.com [http://broadbandcensusmaps.com]. The map presents a Census block-by-Census block displ

WASHINGTON, August 20, 2009 – One of the largest challenges in developing a national broadband plan will be to find out who has it, who doesn’t and what it is used for, said Consumer Research Director John Horrigan in his opening remarks at an FCC staff workshop.

WASHINGTON, August 3, 2009 – Less than two weeks remain before the first round of applications are due in the federal government’s broadband stimulus grants. The key issues facing the government can be summed up in three words: data, data and data.

WASHINGTON, July 31, 2009 – The states of Nevada and Texas have selected Connected Nation for their broadband mapping needs.

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2009 – Broadband advisors to Washington state’s governor have issued a request for proposals on the state’s broadband mapping project.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 28, 2009 — Virginia Deputy Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson said here Monday that the second version of Virginia’s innovative, multi-platform broadband map would be publicly released on Friday.

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2009 – The National Telecommunication and Information Administration views the $240 million that it is awarding in broadband data and mapping grants as a responsibility of state governments, and expects them to be integrally involved in the process.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 27, 2009 – The top official at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Monday that that now is “a new era” for broadband data, including public data about carriers that provide high-speed internet service. “Whatever the tradition is, this is a new era,” said Strickling, the assistant

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 27, 2009 — The Obama administration’s broadband stimulus program “has not been marketed well,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said at the kick-off to a Monday morning event at which top federal and state officials were speaking on it.

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2009 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration held a workshop, via webinar, on Friday, July 24, from 1 p.m. ET to 2:45 p.m. The two NTIA officials on the call, Edward “Smitty” Smith, Program Director, State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program, an

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2009 – Broadband investment, deployment and adoption in the United States will bring significant benefits to the economy, and facilitate business growth and job creation, according to a study commission by the Internet Innovation Alliance, and other groups.

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2009 – The coordinator of the national broadband plan at the Federal Communications Commission, Blair Levin said Monday he is less optimistic about the broadband efforts than he was when he accepted the job.

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2009 – Carl Malamud’s talking on O’Reilly’s Radar about the need for a national broadband census. One of the things that BroadbandCensus.com has been doing since our launch, in January 2008, is to provide a crowdsourced, public and transparent collection of data about local broa

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2009 – The House Subcommittee on Communications will hold a hearing “in the near future” on making broadband maps a necessary component of awarding Broadband Initiatives Program and Broadband Technological Opportunities Program grants, subcommittee ranking member Rep. Cliff Stea

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2009 – The Phoenix Center on Wednesday released a report today that aims to further debunk the frequently-cited Organization for Economic Cooperation Development’s report ranking the United States at 15 in broadband penetration among OECD members.

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2009 – A coalition of religious organizations seeking to raise awareness of people still technologically disadvantaged on Tuesday launched a joint campaign to “Bring Betty Broadband.”

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2009 – BroadbandCensus.com announced that it will host two public webinars on navigating the broadband stimulus maze, with special reports from the news staff of BroadbandCensus.com, plus informed guests, on July 15 and July 16.

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2009 — The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved S. 649, the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act, which would give the National Telecommunications and Information Agency and the Federal Communications Commission 180 days to present Congress with a complete inventory of the rad

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2009 – The structure of the federal government broadband stimulus program finally began to take shape last week, as the NTIA and the RUS released regulations laying the framework for the way that many billions of dollars of funds will be spent.

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2009 – Blair Levin, recently appointed to head up the national broadband strategy at the Federal Communications Commission, laid out the agency’s framework for this plan – due in 230 days – at Thursday’s open meeting.

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2009 – Senior Administration Officials from the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration detailed the newly released Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, no

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2009 – Higher-speed broadband connectivity and prompt broadband investments will aid social and economic goals, Ireland’s Department of Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said in a report issued on Monday.

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2009 – Actual costs in the price of residential broadband in Japan are both cheaper and faster than those in the United States, according to a new report from the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Initiative.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 18, 2009 – House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., has no plans to influence the Federal Communications Commission’s development of a national broadband plan. But speaking Thursday morning at the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summi

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2009 – In comments filed before the Federal Communications Commission, BroadbandCensus.com said that basic broadband data — information about the speeds, prices, availability, reliability and competition of local service — is not proprietary and should be part of a public and tr

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – With Broadband being a keystone aspect of President Obama’s economic policies, it is important to understand where America’s broadband deployment and adoption rates stand internationally, a panel of experts agreed on Friday.

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2009 – Reading through the Federal Communications Commission’s 90-page report, “Bringing Broadband to Rural America,” it is clear that questions of broadband data loom large over the pending national broadband strategy.

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2009 – Rural broadband deployment has many possible hurdles to clear, the Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday in “Bringing Broadband to Rural America,” a report on a rural broadband strategy.

NEW SALEM, MASS., May 26, 2009 – Governor Deval Patrick (D) on Tuesday designated the Massachusetts Broadband Institute as the “eligible entity” for receiving broadband data funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2009 – By June 30, the NTIA intends to hire an outside contractor to help administer its broadband grants program, release rules for $4.7 billion in grants, and issue two separate notices of funds availability.

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2009 – One key area of the broadband stimulus package in which states are certain to have an impact is in the area of collecting and releasing information about local broadband deployment.

May 21, 2009 – A December 2008 study released Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows the United States, already the largest consumer of broadband in the world, appears to be halting its recent slide in international broadband penetration rankings.

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2009 – The federal government’s Commerce Department is at least one month off from finalizing the rules that will govern the broadband stimulus funds. But that isn’t stopping an array of states from getting started on a variety of broadband data projects.

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2009 – One of President Obama’s top technology and economic policy officials said Thursday that broadband infrastructure is and must remain a key priority of the Obama administration.

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2009 – The chairman of a House Communications Subcommittee on Tuesday warned against too narrowly defining eligibility limits for grants in dispensing $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus money authorized by Congress.

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 11, 2009 – With the FCC working on a national broadband strategy, many longtime boosters of the plan used a Monday panel at the 2009 Tech Policy Summit to debate what exactly it means to them in terms of speed or technology, and the effect of working with a new administration

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2009 – Broadband data collection needs to be more thorough and more transparent than currently existing models, a range of academic experts, builders of telecommunications infrastructure, and a key senator said last week.

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2009 – The Massachusetts Broadband Institute on Wednesday announced that it would work with the MassGIS, the state’s Office of Geographic and Environmental Information, to begin to develop a block-level map of broadband infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2009 – Officials at the agency responsible for crafting the federal government’s broadband stimulus policies held 36 meetings meeting over the past two months – 17 with federal legislators, 11 with private companies and non-profit groups, and eight with state and city officials

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2009 – With the fast-moving broadband stimulus package almost certain to stretch the capabilities of federal agencies such as the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, state governments and agencies say they can help expedite the proc

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2009 – According to a research report released Monday by BroadbandCensus.com, the broadband mapping provisions associated with the fiscal stimulus act should be (1) Narrowly scoped; (2) Ideally suited to visually depict unserved areas; (3) Related directly and exclusively to ex

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 – A White Paper released Tuesday by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association recommends broadband stimulus grants prioritize built-out to remote, unserved areas. Remaining monies should be used to fund programs to promote and encourage use of broadband service

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2009 – Most rural Americans do not subscribe to high speed internet services, according to an Agriculture Department report released last week.

WASHINGTON, February 13, 2009 – Advocates for federal promotion of broadband access breathed easier after a congressional conference committee reported a final version of the economic stimulus bill with $7.2 billion for broadband – more than either chamber had allocated individually.

WASHINGTON, February 11, 2009 – Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Copps said he had “no idea” how long he will hold the gavel, but he has no intention of being a mere seat-warmer.

WASHINGTON, February 11, 2009 – The New York Times highlights the efforts of BroadbandCensus.com to build a publicly-available database of the speeds, prices, availability, reliability and competition in the local broadband marketplace.

WASHINGTON, February 11, 2009 – Wireless industry veterans butted heads during a panel discussion at Tuesday morning’s Broadband Breakfast Club. Organized by BroadbandCensus.com, the event focused on the role of wireless services in next-generation broadband deployment.

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2009 – In a guest op-ed in Ars Technica, the founder and executive director of BroadbandCensus.com cautions that the broadband infrastructure investments planned as part of the economic stimulus package need transparency if they’re to be effective.

WASHINGTON, February 8, 2009 – Fellow journalist Geoff Daily has a wonderful little post over on App-Rising, in which he endorses the principle of public and transparent broadband mapping.

[http://www.eventbrite.com/img/button/register_blue.gif]http://broadbandbreakfast.eventbrite.com/WASHINGTON, January 28, 2009 – With broadband-related funding a key part of discussion about the fiscal stimulus legislation currently being considered in Congress, four top officials from companies with

WASHINGTON, January 27, 2009 – Search giant Google is preparing to enter the market for free broadband speed tests, through a collaboration with the university research consortium PlanetLab, and the New America Foundation.

January 23, 2009 – The government of Ireland on Thursday announced a “National Broadband Scheme” to deliver broadband throughout the island nation, investing €223 million (U.S. $362 million) on high-speed internet infrastructure.

WASHINGTON, January 15, 2009 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin on Thursday resigned from his position, effective Inauguration Day, and expressed the regret about the lack of interoperable communications networks for public safety officials.

WASHINGTON, December 19 – Connected Nation and the American Library Association will receive a $7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in a broadband initiative designed to improve internet connections in public libraries, the foundation said Thursday.

WASHINGTON, December 5 – This report, authored by BroadbandCensus.com Editor Drew Clark for the Aspen Institute’s Communications and Society Program in August 2007, asks and attempts to answer a series of questions about broadband adoption.

[http://www.eventbrite.com/img/button/register_blue.gif]http://broadbandbreakfast.eventbrite.comWASHINGTON, October 22 – Stan Fendley, the director of legislative and regulatory policy for Corning, Inc., has joined the roster of speakers for BroadbandCensus.com’s next big event: the Tuesday, Novembe

SAN JOSE, November 6 – Below is the Power Point Presentation made by Drew Clark, Executive Director, BroadbandCensus.com, at the Federal Communications Commission-National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioner’s Joint Summit: Connecting America.

WASHINGTON, November 1 – BroadbandCensus.com applied on Saturday for a News Challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The application, which can be viewed online at the newschallenge.org web site, lays out a plan of action for the future work of this web site.

October 22 – In an interview with BroadbandCensus.com, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Larry Landis reflected on the value of various efforts to obtain broadband data. He also made reference to his earlier work in the private sector, and the impact that high-technology tools can have on such

WASHINGTON, September 26 – A national broadband infrastructure fund should include the involvement of state regulators and focus not only on the extension of broadband service into unserved areas, but also on the adoption rate of broadband service by consumers, according to California Public Utiliti

WASHINGTON, September 26 – State and federal government programs to develop maps of broadband service availability at a granular level must overcome objections by carriers to revealing what they view as proprietary information, although carriers may actually find the resulting maps beneficial, panel

WASHINGTON, October 7 – Congress last week passed legislation, the “Broadband Data Improvement Act,” that seeks better information about high-speed internet connections but cuts all authorization of funds – an amount that had totaled $40 million for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 in the Sena

The Broadband Census for America Conference welcomes the nation’s foremost broadband policy-makers and experts on broadband data collection, distribution and mapping. Here are brief biographies on all the conference speakers and panelists as well as key resources to better inform those attending and

WASHINGTON, September 22 – One Web Day, DC style: New York has a rally celebrating the Internet and its democratizing power, DC holds a panel session focused on the policies that could either expand the web as a democratizing force or stifle it.

September 21 – The South Carolina Educational Broadband Service Commission is under pressure to develop an innovative solution for state-wide broadband access, but the clock is ticking.

September 21 – When it comes to broadband, the state of Maine is doing a lot with a little in order to keep a big promise.

WASHINGTON, September 16 – Senators on the Commerce Committee on Tuesday promoted the benefits of high-speed internet access and called for the passage of measures designed to provide more public information about broadband, and more broadband connectivity.

WASHINGTON, September 8, 2008 – Many of the nation’s foremost broadband policy-makers and experts will analyze and discuss best practices for improving the collection and sharing of public data about high-speed internet access at the Broadband Census for America Conference in Washington, D.C., on Fr

August 22 – In taking an inventory of North Carolina’s broadband assets, and in its push to stimulate high-speed internet investment and adoption, the e-NC Authority is arguably the most advanced effort of its kind in the nation. Long before the current wave of interest in broadband data, North Caro

WASHINGTON, August 12 – At the Heritage Foundation, Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell presented an overview of the FCC’s recent work concerning broadband internet services, including network management, cable franchising, spectrum auctions and management, deregulation of

Save the Date Announcement WASHINGTON, August 7, 2008 – BroadbandCensus.com, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Texas at Austin’s Robert S. Strauss Center, and the Virginia Tech eCorridors Program invite government officials, academic researchers and other key stakeholders to a half-day c

August 7 – New York City should not create a comprehensive municipal wireless network, but should instead take targeted actions to increase the public availability of high-speed internet service and encourage broadband adoption, city officials said last week.

WASHINGTON, July 29 – Basing telecommunications policy around the faulty ranking system of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development would lead to an “ill-defined national broadband strategy,” officials from the Phoenix Center think tank said Monday.

WASHINGTON, July 28 – By combining better public information, market mechanisms and smarter systems of subsidization, the government can play a positive role in funding infrastructure investments in telecommunications, according to three reports released Friday by the Brookings Institution.

July 22 – A senior AT&T lobbyist said that his company would alter the way that it advertises its high-speed internet tiers, and hinted that the telecommunication giant would soon move to usage-based billing.

Press Release WASHINGTON, DC, July 22, 2008 – BroadbandCensus.com and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors (NATOA) announced that they are working together to help provide the public with better data about their high-speed internet options.

July 21 – The United States government needs to expand its broadband mapping efforts and collect information about internet speed tiers, Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin said in Pittsburgh on Monday.

WASHINGTON, July 14 – A study about broadband adoption by the Phoenix Center is a better gage of United States deployment than the higher-profile reports of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Republican Federal Communications Commissioner said Monday.

WASHINGTON, July 10 – The lack of a cohesive national broadband policy in the United States is hampering the nation’s ability to deploy high-speed broadband, attorney James Baller said Thursday at the Alliance for Community Media conference here.

WASHINGTON, July 2 – Broadband growth in the United States has effectively stalled over the past five months, a possible victim of the economic slowdown, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

NEW YORK, June 24 – The final breakout panel of the Personal Democracy Forum examined the state of political watchdogging in the Internet age. Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation said she sees web and its access to information as fundamental to the recent movement for political transparency.

June 24 – Communications Workers of America has claimed credit for the Federal Communications Commission’s recent order requiring broadband companies to provide the FCC with more information — but it has ignored the fact that consumers won’t be able to make use of this information.

June 17 – During the opening sessions of Tuesday’s “Beyond Broadcast” conference, panelists took the “Mapping Public Media” conference title literally, and showcased a number of Web sites doing cool things with interactive maps.

Press Release WASHINGTON, June 16, 2008 – New Data Order ‘Inadequate’ to Provide Information About Local Broadband Availability, BroadbandCensus.com Executive Director Drew Clark says in a statement.

June 15 – In an effort to increase the data that the Federal Communications Commission has available as it designs broadband policies, on Thursday the FCC ordered broadband providers to provide the agency with more detailed information.

June 12 – Questions about the availability and detail of broadband data featured prominently in presentations and in discussions at Thursday’s sessions of Broadband Policy Summit IV.

Question and answer from the Broadband Policy Summit IV about congressional consideration of various broadband data mapping bill, including the Broadband Census of America Act by Rep. Ed. Markey, D-Mass.

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps said Thursday that the issue of a national broadband strategy is beginning to take on a life of its own in the presidential contest and in Congress.

What is BroadbandCensus.com? BroadbandCensus.com is a new Web service that provides you, the consumer, with FREE information about broadband availability, competition, speeds and services in your local area. Type in your ZIP code, and immediately see the number of high-speed Internet companies that