Broadband's Impact
Armed With Broadband, Libraries Are Resuscitating Communities Ravaged by COVID-19
No offense to Melvil Dewey, but what does his system of decimals have on the algorithmic horsepower of the Google search engine?
Rural
Because Rural America is often the least-connected region in the country, ensuring coverage is central to BEAD.
FCC
Application Deadline of July 15 Announced for $16 Billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction
May 21, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission announced Monday that it would accept the so-called “short-form” applications for its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund reverse auction beginning on July 1 and continue until July 15. The agency also announced that the auction of the monies for this
Infrastructure
Senate Committee Simultaneously Praises Broadband Providers and Scorns Broadband Maps
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
FCC
Federal Communications Commission Outlines Steps for a $16 Billion Broadband Opportunity in Rural America
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
Federal Agencies
USDA Announces Broadband Infrastructure Grants for Rural New Mexico Towns
May 6, 2020 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced $23 million in grant investments for rural broadband infrastructure in New Mexico on Tuesday. The three recipients, Pueblo of Acoma, Penasco Valley Telephone Cooperative and ENMR Telephone Cooperative, will receive the funds through
CostQuest
Why the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is So Significant, and How to Succeed in Applying For RDOF
TYSONS, Virginia, May 4, 2020 – The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”) is a significant acceleration of the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to subsidize the construction of broadband infrastructure in rural communities. The FCC has pledged to allocate $20.4 billion of support, over
COVID
Federal Government Agencies Provide Broadband and Coronavirus Updates, Including Telemedicine, for Western Region
April 22, 2020— Executives in major federal agencies such as the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency and Small Business Administration provided updates on the economies and coronavirus grant programs for rural
FCC
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction Should Favor Fiber Builders, Says Corning Analyst
April 20, 2020— There are aspects of fiber-optic cabling that make the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction “very favorable” to the technology, said Kara Mullaley, a market development manager at Corning Optical Communications at a webinar hosted by Corning on Thursday. The Rural Digital Opportuni
CostQuest
CostQuest and The CommLaw Group Join to Host Fine-Grained Webinar on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund
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
FCC
Coronavirus Roundup: NCTA on Rural Fund, New York Times on Big Tech, New Rural Broadband Bill
NCTA, an internet and television association, urged the Federal Communications Commission to choose census blocks as the smallest bidding unit for the upcoming $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund reverse auction that will provide broadband to most remote of locations, according to John Eggert
precision agriculture
Precision Agriculture is About Harvesting Data as Well as Harvesting Fields, Say Experts at FCC Task Force Meeting
WASHINGTON, March 25, 2020— “We won’t be calling it precision farming anymore, we’ll just be calling it farming,” announced Ken Sudduth, an agricultural engineer at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. Sudduth spoke Wednesday at a monthly electronic meeting of the Federal Communication Commissi
events
Broadband Communities and Rural Telecommunications Congress Announce Postponed Summit on August 10-13, 2020
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.
NTIA
Senate Advances Legislation Creating Office of Internet Connectivity Within Commerce Department’s NTIA
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2020 – The Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted to advance a version of legislation creating a new office with the Commerce Department, and re-authorizing the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to protect consumers from deceptive internet marketing. One bill would es
FCC
In Rural Areas, Private Partnerships Waste No Time in Closing the Digital Divide
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
FCC
Federal Communications Commissioner O’Rielly and Others Promote Upcoming Uses of NextGen TV
WASHINGTON, February 25, 2020 – Public broadcast experts and Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly discussed the special role public broadcasting can play in expanding broadband and promoting education, and projected their hopes for the NextGen TV technology. NextGen TV, formally kno
FCC
Poor Broadband Maps and Lack of a Consolidated Voice Hinder Advocacy for Better Rural Internet
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
