The Council adopted a multi-year Open Access program to deliver county-wide high-speed connectivity.

Establishing Best Practices for U.S. State Broadband Program Accountability

BREAKING NEWS: One state, Louisiana, had access to its BEAD funds Tuesday, the agency said.

Fiber cuts and related acts can paralyze critical operations, creating cascading disruptions that may affect millions of citizens simultaneously.

To protect economic and public safety interests, regulators, legislators, law enforcement, municipalities, and communications providers must work together.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, also Republicans, also want the funding.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, also a Republican, has also asked Commerce not to claw the funding back.

NTIA has added a secretive new 'Best and Final Offer' step to the $42.5 billion BEAD program, raising concerns it will further cut rural broadband.

He proposed that Commerce limit spending to AI or 'America First' policies like workforce development.

Pennsylvania revised its draft results to award slightly more locations to SpaceX and Kuiper.

Arkansas’s $3,889 per-location average compares to Louisiana’s revised average of about $3,900 per location in that state’s draft plan.

That's the highest among states that have posted drafts of their final spending plans.

The satellite broadband provider said the same of Virginia's spending plan.

The company said it should have won more locations in the state.

‘Howard Lutnick cares about making money and saving money,’ says Gigi Sohn.

That's down from 95% under the state's Biden administration plan

ISP still subject to financial penalties in the Cornhusker State

Virginia Tech researchers estimate the technology could make up to 1.1 million locations ineligible.

But NTIA declines to issue high-cost threshold

Notice of Funding Opportunity rescinds Biden administration approvals of plans by Louisiana, Delaware and Nevada

Lawmakers have been pushing the Commerce Department not to issue sweeping rule changes.

They join the list of those urging speed and minimal disruption to existing rules.

There are a variety of technologies to consider for environments where fiber isn't a viable option

Two BEAD winners urged the Commerce Department to allow the state to move forward last week.

Two fiber providers said delays were causing financial strain.

Louisiana joins multi-state legal effort to ease deployment of next-gen nuclear tech.

The agency hasn't yet signed off on three BEAD spending plans under the Biden administration.

'While I am all for improving the program, I do not want to see West Virginia wait longer than is necessary or have to redo their proposals and application,' Sen. Capito also said.

GOP lawmakers have signaled a desire to increase participation from fixed wireless and satellite.

Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz told Broadband Breakfast he was 'certain there will be' changes to BEAD.

A White House memo directed agencies to pause all grant spending until Feb. 10.

The GOP governor's state, the first to get funding, wants easier funding for satellite and wireless.

It became the second state to get necessary NTIA approval, one day after Louisiana reached the milestone.

It's the first state to reach the deployment stage of the $42.5 billion program.

States are beginning to get spending plans together for the $42.5 billion broadband expansion effort.

It's the final step before projects can get underway.

NTIA said it has significantly reduced barriers to participation by LEO satellite providers.

2024 was big for Bitcoin, but 2025 could be bigger, in spite of risks.

The state plans to spend its surplus BEAD cash on workforce development and network resilience projects.

Every state and territory’s BEAD Initial Proposal includes a workforce readiness plan.

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

About $800 million in additional broadband funding will be allocated by the end of this year.

State to receive more than $1.16 billion in federal broadband funding

NTIA has approved every state and territory plan for implementing the $42.5 billion program.

The state will serve all its eligible locations, with 95 percent set to receive fiber.

Evan Feinman said to expect the first BEAD final proposal 'in about two weeks.'

There’s no universal system in the U.S. to flag texts as suspicious or unwanted before they are viewed.

State broadband official expects only incremental changes under the new administration.

After fielding applications, Louisiana is still locking down commitments for nine percent of its eligible locations.

Some states are already fielding grant applications under the current rules.

Illinois says that the Connect Illinois program is the largest state broadband funding program in the U.S.

More than 17,000 additional CWA workers are stiking against AT&T Southeast.

The state’s BEAD application process is expected to become available by late October.

Two federal efforts aimed at protecting children online have stalled as Congress went on a six-week recess without a vote.

'Congress must closely monitor NTIA’s implementation of the program,' Chairs Rodgers and Latta said.

The first application round will close August 29, with a final second round to follow.

It included recommendations to federal agencies, online platforms and parents.

The provider will award grants to ensure small businesses can connect to digital resources.

The process will determine ISP capability to complete the proposed projects.

Jobs board funded by Pew and supported by employers also aims to elevate training of broadband workers.

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

It's "unclear whether all RDOF providers will meet the service milestones set by the FCC," the state's legislative auditor wrote.

NTIA approval process is a critical juncture for state initial proposals.

The preliminary pre-qualification will allow subgrantees to prepare qualification materials.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said there will be more approvals handed down in the coming weeks.

The states will have one year to award subgrants with their allocations.

Are you prepared to watch a competitor bring fiber optic infrastructure into your service area?

The state increased its low-cost option from the draft circulated in September.

In the same notice, the FCC announced it will waive noncompliance penalties for an ISP unable to meet its obligations in the CAF II auction.

Their Republican counterparts and conservative groups have opposed the agency's low-cost policies.

Altice USA joins the growing list of near 100 companies that have failed to fulfill commitments made under RDOF.

Four other states are accepting challenges and three more are planning to begin the process soon.

More than 20 think tanks asked Republican lawmakers to push the NTIA to approve lighter touch state plans.

Several state offices expect to utilize nondeployment funds in conjunction with infrastructure deployment funds for BEAD.

The experts expressed doubts about addressing workforce shortages that could potentially stall BEAD build-outs.

The proposals detail plans for the $42.5 billion broadband expansion program.

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

State broadband offices should look to local organizations for digital equity efforts, panelists said.

Comments are due to Oregon’s broadband office on December 10, and to the University of Hawaii by December 9.

The state became the first in the nation to receive approval from the NTIA on part one of its BEAD proposal.

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

Outlines subgrant processes and application scoring criteria.

Maine is one of the first states to submit its plan to the NTIA, following Delaware.

Digital Equity projects will be an ongoing effort for many states.

Overreporting in maps may prove to be detrimental.

What are states focusing on in order to maximize the amount and impact of their federal broadband funding?

Since November, library cardholders can check out Wi-Fi hotspots for home use.

Louisiana enjoys ‘absolute alignment’ between the governor, legislature, and local officials on closing the digital divide.

Special Representative for Broadband Andy Burke announced Louisiana as first state to receive $2.9 million broadband planning grant.

Officials from Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine and New Mexico outline how they are preparing for broadband funding.

Kamala Harris was initially slated to visit Louisiana last month, but cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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

Leaders addressed strategies and importance of private spending.

Geoffrey Starks says speeds are outdated, Starlink users complain of heat-impacted services, Louisiana waiting on $180 million for broadband.

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WASHINGTON, September 29, 2014 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said that the agency was committed to modernizing the E-rate program. He made the statement in remarks at the 2014 Educational Technology Summit here in Washington. Schools and libraries participating in the FCC’

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