Telecom companies, public interest groups, and both the Biden and Trump administrations are united in the fight over the FCC’s Universal Service Fund.

More than 85,000 locations meant to be served by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund remain without service.

The data could inform policy decisions where the FCC doesn't regulate poles, the group said.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on whether the fund is constitutional March 26.

New contribution factor will apply in the second quarter of 2025

The fund's constitutionality is being challenged at the Supreme Court, and lawmakers are looking for new revenue source besides voice.

'This is an opportunity for the FCC to strengthen the [Universal Service Fund],' Gomez said.

Congress needs to be ready for a ruling against USF, memo says.

The groups called on Congress to preserve USF’s funding structure ahead of Supreme Court ruling.

Democrats also sought to scrutinize FCC's recent investigations of broadcast television networks.

But the justices didn't rule on the question of whether all E-Rate funds are government cash.

The telecom giant will not offer fiber to many copper customers, potentially jeopardizing broadband access.

More than a dozen conservative legal groups filed briefs pushing to expand the nondelegation doctrine.

Panelists also discussed BEAD at Technology Policy Institute event

Bill would cap amount low-income households can pay for Internet.

States are exploring new approaches to maintain broadband affordability for low-income households.

The Supreme Court is set to decide whether the $8 billion-per-year fund is constitutional.

The Supreme Court is reviewing a ruling that found the $8 billion-per-year program's funding scheme unconstitutional.

Beyond legal battles, SHLB will push for swift broadband expansion and sustainable digital opportunity efforts

Other bipartisan measures related to broadband expansion, supply chain resilience, and emergency communications.

Incoming NTIA chief Arielle Roth would abolish fiber preference, low-cost mandates.

Executive session will include vote on Capito USF bill.

Supreme Court to rule later this year if USF's funding mechanism is unconstitutional.

Spalter wants Big Tech to support USF and seeks end to permitting delays.

Broadband experts McDowell, Olsen predict BEAD, USF reforms under Trump.

Competitive Enterprise Institute team calls for FCC auction authority renewal, USF funding overhaul, and NTIA bureaucratic reform.

In all, 29 lawmakers and eight former FCC commissioners signed the briefs.

The program will provide $200 million to strengthen cybersecurity systems for schools and libraries.

Group says the country needs to elevate affordability over availability

They said the underlying statute should survive even if SCOTUS expands the non-delegation doctrine.

The administration argued the law standing up the $8 billion fund didn't run afoul of the non-delegation doctrine.

Board members will provide leadership at a time of possible reform.

High last-mile deployment costs, permitting delays, and inflationary pressures continue to hamper rural broadband expansion.

Loper Bright sets the stage for a Republican-led overhaul of broadband and telecom policy in 2025.

In 2024, USF encountered widespread calls for reforms to ensure its sustainability and effectiveness.

BEAD money is start-up capital and not designed to provide on-going support for long-term operating expenses.

Advocates called for strict conditions if the merger proceeds.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging the $8 billion fund's legality.

Analyst likened the ACP to other essential government programs like SNAP and Medicaid.

Analyst Blair Levin said that policymakers unlikely to intervene.

Bill simplifies SEC reporting for providers with High-Cost support and assets under $10 million.

Proposal relies on Universal Service Fund amid Supreme Court scrutiny.

The FCC chairwoman told lawmakers half the participants reported being unable to finish work without more funding.

'We’ve been living under this cloud of censorship,' Carr said.

The high court agreed Friday to review a decision finding the $8 billion-per-year broadband subsidy unconstitutional.

The outcome could affect millions who depend on the USF for affordable communication services.

Whether a second Trump administration will seize the moment to reset telecom policy is unknown, but the time for action is now.

Congress would have to act in order for tech companies to be assessed, said Pai

Musk’s influence could drive changes to BEAD, spectrum policy, and the Universal Service Fund

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., would likely rein in Sen. Ted Cruz on USF, experts said.

The Ohio Republican currently heads communications and technology subcommittee.

The GOP is not entirely in agreement on the issue, with some wanting to tap big tech revenue instead.

Schools and libraries should be able to style their lending practices, coalition says

The court weighed whether a school bus can be considered a classroom under the E-Rate program’s guidelines.

Justices appeared receptive to a narrow ruling in the government's favor.

USF fees could increase monthly bills by more than $17

The agency's senior Republican outlined policy priorities in his Project 2025 chapter.

Roslyn Layton calls for including digital services in USF funding to relieve burden on telecom consumers.

The company wants SCOTUS to find the fund isn't covered by the False Claims Act.

Organization cited a wealth of experience shared by the two nominees

Going forward, we could mitigate risks by designing our networks with resiliency in mind.

Legal challenges put USF and FCC powers at risk.

They want justices to find the Universal Service Fund unconstitutional.

The Affordable Connectivity Program should change the income-eligibility threshold to 135% of the federal poverty line, says report.

The Nov. 5 election could bring significant changes to the FCC

The FCC separately asked SCOTUS to intervene earlier this month.

Implementation of federal funding is being watched by investors.

The litigious conservative nonprofit challenging the Universal Service Fund says its case could make it harder for Congress to delegate duties.

Panel discussed USF, ACP, and Net Neutrality

Regulator concerned decision could delay closing the digital divide.

Adjacent providers say they had subsidy awards reduced because of a misclassification.

The group did not oppose the FCC's petition for the court to review its controversial lawsuit.

The move wouldn't raise prices for consumers, the two said.

FCC and Justice Department want the Fifth Circuit's July ruling, which found the $8-billion annual fund unconstitutional, overruled.

The legislation requires thorough vetting of participants in FCC’s high-cost programs

They say Midco doesn't offer voice service in their areas.

The FCC's senior Republican said he worried SCOTUS would find arguments against the fund appealing.

The FCC moved to throw out the case, involving cyberbullying, earlier this month.

The FCC said the deal will not remove competition from the market

The contribution factor will be raised from 34.4 percent to 35.8 percent

The group has been working to modernize the fund for more than a year.

Two right-leading panelists agreed that federal agencies must better measure success for the Universal Service Fund.

The world is watching America’s presidential election November 5, and tonight’s debate may be the only face-off.

A Fifth Circuit Court decision threatens funding of the $8.1 billion subsidy program

The Molaks also have a petition for reconsideration pending before the FCC.

Current USF funding system is not only regressive but also wastes money, say Scott Wallsten and Greg Rosston.

Nominations are due at the agency by October 28.

The agency said it's planning to petition the Supreme Court by Sept. 30.

The Government Accountability Office found the program management 'consistent with selected FCC requirements.'

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

The Minnesota companies said a local competitor does not offer voice service.

The law requires high financial penalties for defrauding the government out of money.

Consumer groups are trying to resolve the issue with the agency directly.

Public interest groups want a pause in their legal challenge to a key USF funding decision by the FCC

A recent Fifth Circuit decision conflicts with other federal court rulings, making a Supreme Court review likely.

The Fifth Circuit's decision declaring the Universal Service Fund unconstitutional is an upheaval, but also an opportunity.

The court ruled the fund's contribution scheme unconstitutional last week.

The court held yesterday that the $8 billion subsidy program was unconstitutional.

Experts tout USF as outdated as Fifth Circuit rules it unconstitutional.

The decision creates a split with other circuits, making an appeal to the Supreme Court likely.

Democratic Senator from Arizona wants to lower the cost of high-speed internet for consumers and rural providers.

Like another E-Rate expansion last year, the order passed along party lines.

The Justice Department said Armstrong failed to 'comply with FCC regulations that governed what costs they were allowed to report for purposes of claiming subsidy payments ..."

The website will serve as a launching point for the group's advocacy measures.

‘The USF contribution mechanism is sadly really outdated and needs to be repaired,’ NTCA CEO says

'A permanent, fully funded solution to the ACP is essential for a competitive marketplace,' USTelecom says.

GOP lawmakers and commissioners aired grievances with several agency actions.

The company’s affiliate has been waiting 11 years for the same approval from the FCC.

The program has seen recent decline in the contribution base and a significant shift to broadband connections.

The first round of public comments is due on July 17 .

Just 14 companies have finished replacing gear from Huawei and ZTE.

The companies told the FCC that the transaction will serve the public interest.

‘Why shouldn’t [Big Tech] participate in ensuring affordable and equitable access to the services of today?’ AT&T says

The FCC wants the case moved to the D.C. Circuit, which has previously ruled in the agency's favor on net neutrality.

Industry groups sued to block the rules in February. Oral arguments are set for late September.

The groups want the FCC to reconsider its April decision to exempt broadband ISPs from helping sustain the USF.

USF contribution base should include tech companies, AT&T says

An AT&T subsidiary argues it should not be subject to higher penalties for false remibursement claims.

Consumers’ Research lost in the Sixth Circuit and lost in the Eleventh Circuit. Last Monday, the Supreme Court declined to review those decisions.

The company says it could transition former ACP subscribers to other subsidized plans.

The contribution factor will go up to 34.4 percent from 32.8 percent.

Trade groups join a push to use USF to fund affordable connectivity efforts.

A conservative advocacy group has been challenging the $8 billion fund in court.

The company said it may have to shut down money-losing cell towers.

A proposed $200 million pilot program was approved by a 3-2 vote

Industry advocates want clarification as the FCC moves ahead with cybersecurity funding for educational institutions

ACP participants make up 4% of the company's nearly 3 million broadband subscribers.

The group seeks a multiyear delay for the FCC to await the results of the $42.45 billion BEAD program.

The Spectrum and National Security Act would infuse the program with $7 billion.

A decision to forbear from applying Title II’s rate regulation provisions would preempt New York’s law, argues one scholar.

A conservative nonprofit argued the Fifth Circuit is likely to create conflicting precedent.

The last of the low-income internet subsidy's cash is set to run out this month.

As federal ACP support wanes, state broadband subsidy solutions in New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia offer innovative solutions to maintain connectivity.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján signaled his USF working group is looking to fold ACP into the fund.

As full funding for Affordable Connectivity Program expires, FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel issues letter to lawmakers.

The agency is set to vote on the measure next week.

INCOMPAS and CCIA side with Affordable Broadband Campaign, and against Rosenworcel, on simmering battle over USF.

At issue now is whether the FCC has left the door open for states to require them to contribute to state USF programs.

The measure would force a House vote without the blessing of Speaker Mike Johnson.

A majority of the House would need to sign on to the discharge petition.

Benefits will fall to $14 for low-income households and $30 for those on Tribal lands in the last month of funding.

Smith Bagley, Inc., is asking the FCC to provide more money to the Tribal Lifeline benefit.

Thursday's draft net neutrality order excuses broadband internet service providers from contributions.

The program will be fully exhausted at the end of May.

Broadband ISP trade associations from 15 states are seeking a broad exemption from pending federal regulations.

The fifth round of funding makes $700 million available for rural broadband.

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

The House of Representatives passed a $1.1 trillion spending package Friday morning which omits funding for key broadband initiatives.

A similar bill seeking to exempt BEAD from state income taxes recently received near unanimous approval in the Georgia House.

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel has argued that appropriations make the USF less stable.

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

The association wants certain USF-eligible areas excluded from an upcoming reverse auction.

The company needs to be designed as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier to promote the Lifeline option, it said.

Including broadband providers in the USF would likely cost consumers more, Rosenworcel said.

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

The group thinks the Fifth Circuit is poised to issue a conflicting decision.

The Fifth Circuit is rehearing a similar case filed by the same conservative nonprofit.

The FCC rules have drawn strong pushback from industry groups and praise from Democratic leadership.

The fund spends $8 billion annually to subsidize networks.

We’d be building broadband to no one without the ACP. The ACP extends every BEAD dollar further.

The FCC has proposed a pilot program to help schools and libraries protect against cyberattacks.

The FCC also approved support for domestic abuse victims, inquiry on AI and robocalls and preventing cell phone scams.

Hamid Akhavan is to be the CEO and president of DISH Network and Echostar following the finalization of their merger.

Of $10 billion spent through 2021, 93 percent of households received only 10 * 1 Mbps service.

A coalition of telecom associations are urging Congress to appropriate money to fund the Rip and Replace program.

The fund is set to run dry in 2024.

The commission took action on expanding E-Rate, maternal health data, and opening the 6 GHz band.

Policy experts were not all in agreement on whether to wrap ACP into the Universal Service Fund.

The Sixth Circuit struck down another similar petition from Consumers’ Research.

The agency’s Office of the Inspector General said providers were still paid for un-enrolled subscribers.

Under consideration: Opening the Universal Service Fund to contributions from broadband and Big Tech companies.

It’s not just about building networks, but providing affordability through programs like the ACP.

Missing out on BEAD-funded fiber could ‘materially impair’ the Beaver Island’s ability to compete, a local committee argued.

Consulting firm Brattle Group said in a report the move would be economically sound.

The FCC’s challenge process is insufficient to allocate Enhanced ACAM funds, the Rural Broadband Association said.

E-ACAM offers more funds and extended deployment deadlines for higher speeds.

The USF is facing dwindling funds and pending court challenges.

The FCC broadened the E-rate eligibility to tribal colleges used as public libraries.

A rehearing of the case means that the full court will reconsider the case and the previous ruling is vacated.

The USF needs to first be reformed for its own sustainability.

While the USF remains vital in an ever-increasing connected world, it is in serious jeopardy of surviving.

Including all broadband internet revenue will alter the internet in uncertain ways, claims expert.

Sixth Circuit adopted reasons from another appeal court.

The bill requires the FCC to study and reform the contribution base of the Universal Service Fund.

The matter is also in front of the 6th and 11th Circuit courts.

Sohn was first nominated in October 2021.

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

Critics urged the FCC to expand the fund’s contribution sources, but the agency chose to punt the decision to Congress.

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.

‘These reports detail problems customers have faced,” wrote Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone

Big communications companies want Congress to tax telecom, while many others want higher fees on broadband service.

FCC should not ‘wait for Congress to sort through these complex issues.’

A recent study by CostQuest suggests that 37,000 more towers are needed to bring mobile coverage up to speed nationwide.

Responders fear that updating the E-Rate process will increase complexity for applicants.

Future broadband funding should target those who need it, even if they live in cities or the suburbs.

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

The Universal Service Fund’s base is shrinking.

A number of players have pitched the idea of having big tech platforms pay into the basic telecommunications fund.

The legal brief comes at a time when the FCC studies the future of the fund.

This shift away from local autonomy for procurement would be the most radical change to the program since its inception.

If formally adopted, the agency would be changing longstanding rural health care telecommunications subsidies.

Expanding the number of internet providers eligible to contribute to the fund may decrease costs for telecommunications providers and consumers.

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

The agency implemented new rules on the Affordable Connectivity Program, which makes a new subsidy permanent.

Industry officials say the commission’s approach to E-rate competition would burden applicants.

The commissioner also said he thinks Biden will support Big Tech contributions to the Universal Service Fund.

Letter cites Carol Mattey report, which recommends broadening the base.

Consultants say the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to do so.

The FCC should hit the pause button on a current plan to zero out support for voice-only services.

A Mattey Consulting report finds broadband revenues can help sustain the fund used to connect rural and low-income Americans.

April 1, 2021 – Experts are concerns about the long-term implications of the $3.2-billion Emergency Broadband Benefit program (EBB) running out of money without a plan for what happens after. The fund, created by Congress in December, provides up to $50 in a monthly internet discount for families an

February 2, 2021 – Democratic Sen. Ed Markey’s communications policy focus this Congress will be on net neutrality, children and climate change, the long-serving Massachusetts lawmaker said at a Federal Communications Bar Association event Tuesday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Telecommuni

January 29, 2021 – With contributions into a program intended to extend basic telecommunications services to all Americans now adding an additional 32 cents on top of every dollar of telecommunications service, experts on January 15 debated whether, and how, the Universal Service Fund can be sustain

Remote work and learning during the pandemic compelled some lawmakers to get creative in expanding broadband availability. In Delaware and Alabama, state officials earmarked parts of their CARES Act funding to create broadband vouchers—monthly service rebates—for households with school-age children.

December 16, 2020 – Render Networks has announced the launch of its new RDOF Deployment Guide, sharing key considerations for network deployment success and insights into developing a compelling and complete Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) long-form application. Render’s role in the Federal Co

December 15, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission recently announced the winners of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. In the reverse auction,180 bidders won $9.2 billion in federal monies to be distributed over the course of 10 years, to provide broadband to 5.2 million locations across th

December 4, 2020 — Broadband industry leaders on Thursday called for the Federal Communications Commission to modernize Universal Service Fund programs, and highlighted other steps critical to making broadband affordable and available to all Americans, speaking during a US Telecom forum. “Affordabil

The longest, costliest, most contentious election in U.S. history has finally ended. Notwithstanding pending legal action, victors have been declared for the most part at the federal, state, and local levels. With the transition of governance underway, it’s time to look ahead to what the 2020 electi

August 3, 2020 — The economic fallout resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically worsened the financial condition of the United States Postal Service, necessitating financial relief if it is to continue operating through fiscal year 2020. Analysts predict that the agency will run out of m

July 7, 2020 — Huawei has repeatedly stolen American technology and is a “serial intellectual property thief,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday. Speaking in a Hudson Institute webinar, Wray claimed that China severely threatens America’s technology companies and intelligence agencies. “

June 12, 2020 — A new bill introduced by Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., would get rid of a Federal Communications Commission restriction on which Internet Service Providers are eligible for the agency’s Universal Service Fund. The Expanding Opportunities for Broadband Deployment Act would approve I

WASHINGTON, February 11, 2020 – A panelists on the new rural funding program  at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ winter forum generated a start difference of view from two Washington insiders. US Telecom Law and Policy Vice President Mike Saperstein disagreed with fello

WASHINGTON, February 3, 2020 – ITTA, which called itself “the voice of America’s broadband providers,” closed on Friday due to financial obstacles after over 25 years of advocating for wireline communications. ITTA – which was originally known as the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alli

WASHINGTON, January 30, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission voted in favor of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund on Thursday in spite of concerns voiced from the democratic commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the successor to the Connec

Presidential hopeful and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg released a $1 trillion dollar infrastructure plan that he says will create millions of jobs, reports The Hill. Buttigieg’s infrastructure plan focuses on changes at the community level, including “expanding and repairing road and public

Last month, Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai announced a new plan to allocate $9 billion toward deploying 5G wireless in America’s rural areas. From these funds, $1 billion would be earmarked for precision agriculture. The 10-figure sum is impressive, but it’s not all new money. Pai would re

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

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday authorized more than $61.8 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to nearly 22,000 unserved rural homes and businesses in 14 states. This funding marks the sixth wave of support from last year’s Connect America Fund Phase II auc

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

It seems that everyone except California and Alabama wants in on the action, whatever that action is, against Google. Attorneys general for 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico on Monday announced an antitrust investigation, although not a lawsuit, against search engine giant Goo

The Universal Service Fund should be subject to a budget cap, argued Technology Policy Institute Senior Fellows Sarah Oh and Scott Wallsten in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission. “A budget cap will create incentives for the entire USF community to assess the program, experiment with n

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, June 17, 2019 — Among the items passed unanimously at the Federal Communications Commission July 10 meeting was the creation of a three-year, $100 million pilot program to support the delivery of telehealth services to rural and low-income Americans. “From chronic disease management to p

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2019- A budget cap to the Federal Communication Commission’s Universal Service Fund will provide “plenty for all,” said FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly Tuesday. The fund is currently paid for through fees imposed by consumers’ phone bills with four sub-programs dedicated to sp

Next Century Cities on Tuesday announced that it had named Francella Ochillo as the non-profit organization’s new executive director. Ochillo, currently the Vice President of Policy and General Counsel for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, has been active in testifying before Congress, meeting

The Federal Communications Commission’s recent auction of the 24 GigaHertz (GHz) spectrum has been criticized by both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. One of the concerns raised by NOAA and NASA is the potential for interferen

On May 31, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes imposing an overall cap on the Universal Service Fund. USF programs provide subsidies that make telecommunications and broadband services more available and affordable for millions of Americ

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Doug Dawson once again nails it on his blog post. The 10 megabit per second (Mbps) download / 1 Mbps upload was outdated when it was announced, just as 25 Mbps/3 Mbps (“broadband”) is today. It is especially disheartening to see the same requirement in the Agriculture De

SOURCE: The Federal Communications Commission WC Docket No. 10-90 The Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces the availability of illustrative model results intended to aid parties that are preparing comments in response to the 2018 Rate-of-Return Reform NPRM.1 In that NPRM, the Commission so

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: A great visual tidbit of history here. We found it when searching for information about the regulation of AT&T from the 1913 Kingsbury Commitment to the founding of the Federal Communications Commission in 1934. A Telephone Map of the United States Shows Where You Could

WASHINGTON, January 8, 2018 – The Trump Administration plans on making increased access to broadband in rural areas a priority as it implements the recommendations of its’ Rural Prosperity Task Force, said National Economic Council Special Assistant for Technology, Telecommunications, and Cybersecur

WASHINGTON, November 21, 2017 — The White House on Friday defended the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to prevent telecommunications service resellers like TracPhone and Simply Wireless from participating in the Universal Service Fund Lifeline program, and to restrict participation in t

WASHINGTON, November 1, 2017 — After nearly a year in the minority on the Federal Communications Commission, Democratic FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn  told reporters on Wednesday that she has had enough of a Republican majority that “is not putting consumers first.” “The first 10 months [under Cha

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing a creative response to repair the damage done by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico by tapping into the Universal Service Fund for necessary infrastructure repairs. A decision on the matter is planned for the a

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2017 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai came to his re-confirmation hearing Wednesday with a message that network neutrality regulations were hurting infrastructure investments. The hearing joined Pai, current FCC chairman, with Jessica Rosenworcel, who had be

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2017 – Among rural Americans, 39 percent lack access to high speed internet compared to only 4 percent of urban Americans who lack access, said Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, at a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill. He said more needs to be done to get rural Americans service on par with

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

DALLAS, April 18, 2017 – The Universal Service Administrative  Corporation may not grab broadband headlines, but the once-obscure federal agency is central to helping rural America and other stakeholders get Broadband Broadband, Better Lives. USAC’s programs, plus its “new look,” will be the subject

DALLAS, April 6, 2017 – The Rural Telecommunications Congress program at the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit here on May 1-4, 2017, will feature panelists on the Universal Service Administrative Corporation’s role in bringing broadband to underserved and unserved communities, the role of broadband

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2017 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai defended his very vision of the agency’s role, as compared with his predecessor, during the first Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing this year. The difference in attitude between Pai and former Chairman Tom Whe

BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Great piece from Ozy, a publication about which we weren’t familiar until this article, about the need for, and power of, broadband in rural communities. This, if anything, is an issue that blue states and red states can unite upon! The Battle for the Internet in Rural A

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2017 – Despite high hopes that President Trump’s campaign promise for a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill would lead to additional investment in high-speed internet access, it appears that broadband deployment and accessibility is taking a back seat in Congress to brick-and mo

Broadband Breakfast Insight: New York State continues its innovative efforts to provide broadband funding to underserved areas of the state. In addition to funding for traditional and non-traditional telecom companies, the program has received funding from the Federal Communications Commission’s Lif

Broadband Breakfast Insight: This is a significant development to see emerging from the House of Representatives, which is generally less focused on rural broadband issues than the Senate. This new measure, the “New Deal Rural Broadband Act,” has an array of items, but one significant part appears t

Broadband Breakfast Insight: This item from the “Friday news dump” got less attention, but may be the more significant of the measures taken by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. In addition to overturning aspects of the Lifeline changes made by the Obama-era FCC, he and the Republ

WASHINGTON, January 26, 2017 – In his first substantive action since being named to his position on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced approval of the petition by New York State’s broadband program to access the Connect America Fund. The agency’s full press releas

Editor’s Note: The White House announced that it would be releasing a report from its Broadband Opportunity Council on Monday, September 21. Read more about the council. Coming Soon: Building on Our Progress of Broadband Investment and Competition August 20, 2015 at 5:57 PM ET by Jeffrey Zients Summ

June 18, 2015 – Recent changes to the eligibility rules for the Federal Communication Commission’s eRate program open the door for new fiber connections for schools and libraries using agency funds. Among the rule changes were the suspension of the requirement that applicants seek funding for large

In a story from Communications Daily about the progress of WiredWest, the Massachusetts-based municipal broadband effort, reporter Samantha Madison quotes me as follows. Drew Clark, of counsel to Kirton McConkie, said this is an exciting time because it’s a great implementation of the next phase of

Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Conference [https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shlb_2015_masthead_print-1024x256.jpg]https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/shlb_2015_masthead_print.jpg WASHINGTON, May 18, 2015 – More than five years after

AUSTIN, May 18, 2015 – The Rural Telecommunications Congress posted the entire video and presentations made at the recent Rural Telecommunications Congress held here last month at the Broadband Communities Summit. The original link to the sessions is at http://www.ruraltelecon.org/2015-rtc-bbc-summ

AUSTIN, April 16, 2015 – The board of the directors of the Rural Telecommunications Congress voted here on Wednesday to elect a new slate of officers to lead the organization, building upon its work over the last several years. At its annual meeting held jointly with the Broadband Communities Summi

AUSTIN, April 14, 2015 – The Rural Telecommunications Congress portion of the Broadband Communities Summit opens here Tuesday with a series of conference sessions focused on looking beyond conventional rural telecom. Rural Telecommunications Congress [https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploa

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

__1421904841 [https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/1421904841-300x107.png]AUSTIN, April 9, 2015 – The Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC) will take center-stage at the 2015 Broadband Conference Summit here next week. Preconference workshops begin on Monday, April 13 and the

WASHINGTON, November 19, 2014 – Although some believe that the digital divide is not a problem, there are Americans who have not adopted broadband due to the cost or lack of access. Some states have played an active role in getting their citizens online, and one such organization is the California E

WASHINGTON, November 17, 2014 – Federal Communications Committee Chairman Tom Wheeler and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on Monday proposed increasing the $1.5 billion cap to the E-rate portion of the Universal Service Fund. Schools and libraries, who would benefit from such an increase, have been calling

WASHINGTON, October 30, 2014 – Members of the White House Rural Council and the trade group NTCA, or Rural Broadband Association, met on Tuesday at the Executive Office Building to discuss the group’s Smart Rural Community Initiative. Additionally, the NTCA held a telecom executive policy summit and

WASHINGTON, October 27, 2014 – An Alliance for Excellent Education webinar on Tuesday highlighted the integral role that high-speed internet access in schools plays in the success for both the institutions and their students. As highlighted in the Pew Research Center’s recent report, next generation

WASHINGTON, October 10, 2014 –High-capacity internet and networked services are the future of education because they will provide instructors and students with the necessary connectivity and capacity for 21st century educational technologies, said the Indiana state director of Education Networks of

WASHINGTON, September 18, 2014 – During a House Small Business Committee meeting on Wednesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler comfortably discoursed on his years as a small business owner. The hearing covered topics including broadband’s impact on small businesses, that lack

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2014 – The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit held a hearing on coordinating the future of broadband investment. Lang Zimmerman, vice president of Yelcot Telephone Co., a member company of rural broadband association NTCA testified that fun

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2014 – In a webinar on Thursday, July 17, the Fiber to the Home Council hosted a webinar with Federal Communications Commission officials on a $100 million fund for expanding broadband capabilities to rural communities. FCC officials encouraged companies to apply for the funds,

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2014 – The Federal Communications Commission on Friday voted to modernize of its E-Rate program Friday, reallocating funds from technologies considered obsolete to Wi-Fi based connectivity in schools and libraries. However, owing to strong skepticism from opponents over funding,

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2014 – In a phone conference on July 1, in the lead-up to last week’s open meeting of the Federal Communications Commission, agency officials discussed Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to modify the E-rate program. The agency seeks to spend more funds on Wi-Fi gap connectivity wi

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014 – In an effort to combat ongoing complaints of inefficiency within the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund, Chairman Tom Wheeler on Monday announced a strike force dedicated to “rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.” To be led by Loyaan Egal, a former

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014 – Some of the world’s leading tech giants, represented by a lobbying firm called the Internet Association, have officially filed their petition for net neutrality. The companies include Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon, among others. “The internet’s continued success is

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, May 29, 2014 – Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has defended his company and its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable against critics, reports Re/code. Saying that he could accept “some kind of net neutrality law,” he scorned the idea of reclassifying broadband as a public utility under Title

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2014 – The National Journal reported that the Federal Trade Commission released a report charging the data brokerage industry with collecting “troves” of information on nearly all American consumers. The agency urged Congress to push for more transparency. Believing that an invas

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2014 – Efforts to construct Gigabit Networks will be featured prominently at the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition meeting this week in Washington, the fourth annual event for this community of broadband users. The even will run from Wednesday, May 7 through Friday

In light of new developments in the Universal Service Fund, this press release about the Tribal Mobility Fund caught our eye…. March 5, 2014 – The Federal Communications Commission announced that Alaska’s largest telecommunication provider, General Communication, Inc. (NASDAQ:GNCMA), is eligible to

Although it is the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) that is charged with implementing the ambitious universal service policy goals set forth in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Act”), the FCC designated the Universal Service Administrative Company (“USAC”), an indepe

WASHINGTON, January 29, 2014 – President Obama highlighted the importance of broadband connectivity in his State of the Union address Tuesday, and announced that Apple, Microsoft, Sprint and Verizon were contributing funds to enable ultra-high-speed broadband connections “over the next two years, wi

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.

WASHINGTON, September 6, 2013 – The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday released a map demonstrating the location of more than 600,000 homes and business targeted to receive higher-speed broadband connections. The map, dubbed the “Connect America Fund, Phase I, Round 2,” follows on the FCC

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2013 – Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn discussed her work at the agency and her plans for the future of the FCC with National Cable and Telecommunications CEO Michael Powell at the opening session of the second day of the NCTA’s annual Cable Sh

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2013 – Spectrum policy, net neutrality, and Universal Service Fund reforms were among the topics discussed by congressional staffers at The Cable Show panel entitled “Capitol Perspectives: Commerce Committee Staffers on Communications Policy.” The panel, held at the annual conve

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2013 – On Tuesday evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, kicked off the new debate on the Senate’s  consideration of the farm bill when the chamber returns to session on Thursday morning.  A number of amendments proposed to the measure impact broadband in rural are

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2013 – The Federal Communication Commission will offer $485 million to expand fixed broadband access in rural areas, Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn said on Wednesday. The funding is part of a public and private effort to provide broadband services in areas, predominantly rural,

WASHINGTON, Thursday, May 23, 2013 – The internet policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com will co-sponsor VCXC‘s (Voice Communication Exchange) June 12,
2013 “Start!Forum” at Wiley Rein, 1776 K Street NW in Washington, DC. Use promocode “BBBC” for free registration at http://vcxc.org/j

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

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2013 – America is lagging behind a number of foreign countries in terms of broadband penetration, according to a Telecommunications Industry Association documentary entitled “Broadband Capacity: Are We Ready?” According to the video, America’s deficiency is due to the fact that A

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.

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.

Accurate broadband mapping and data has been central to America's broadband buildout.

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.

Julius Genachowski plans to announce his departure from the Federal Communications Commission.

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2013 – At Tuesday’s oversight hearing of the Federal Communications Commission, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.V., on Tuesday put the focus on the portion of the Universal Service Fund designed to provide connectivity to schools and libraries, as well as on the public safety network

LAS VEGAS, January 11, 2013 – Taking the stage here at the Consumer Electronics Show, former President Bill Clinton returned to a theme that he pioneered in the Oval Office: technology has the power to accelerate economic development and improve people’s lives. Whether through high-bandwidth capabil

LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2013 – Netgear announced a range of broadband-focused products at the Consumer Electronics Show designed to get “the other 99 percent” of the population to use high-speed internet more effectively. The wireless router company’s CEO said that his company wanted to make sure ever

November 5, 2012 – In the lead-up to the 2008 presidential election four years ago, then-candidate Barack Obama repeatedly raised the importance of “expanding broadband lines across America” as part of the economic stimulus plan that become the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. During the firs

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, Monday, October 15th 2012 – The internet policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com will hold its October 2012 Broadband Breakfast Club event “Reforming the Universal Service Fund: What’s Changing?” on Tuesday, October 16th, 2012 at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, 707 7th St. NW, Wa

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 – The internet policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com has a new schedule for October and November Broadband Breakfast Club events. “Reforming the Universal Service Fund: What’s Changing about the Connect America Fund and the Mobility Fund” w

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 May 17 2012 – Nearly two years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s (ARRA) broadband deployment and adoption projects were funded and the National Broadband Plan was adopted, we are still dealing with 100 million Americans who do not receive broadband in the home.

WASHINGTON, January 27, 2012 – A couple weeks ago, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the FCC’s Order to modernize the Universal Service Fund’s Lifeline Program. In a week where almost all of the media’s attention was focused on new technologies and innovative ga

WASHINGTON December 8, 2011 – Wednesday TheHill.com reported that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission filed suit against the Federal Communications Commission for it’s Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to reform the Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation regime.  T

WASHINGTON, Friday October 28, 2011.  Vice President & Associate General Counsel of NCTA, Steve Morris gave Broadband Breakfast his first impressions on yesterday’s USF Reform Proposal. Morris told us: The Chairman, the commissioners, and the FCC staff, all deserve a great deal of credit for bringin

WASHINGTON, Friday  October 28, 2011.  The Federal Communication Commission unanimously voted to overhaul its outdated the Universal Service Fund and reform its intercarrier compensation fund at yesterday morning’s Open Commission Meeting. The FCC predicts that an effort to expand high speed interne

WASHINGTON, DC October 24, 2011 – Forbes Mercy, President of Washington Broadband Inc and WISPA VP/ Legislative Chair shared some thoughts and comments with BroadbandBreakfast.com after our panel on “Bringing Broadband Infrastructure to Rural Areas: Where is the Progress?” You can watch the video of

WASHINGTON, October 21, 2011 – Rural broadband providers, national union members, federal agency officials and state broadband administrators squared off on Tuesday at the Broadband Breakfast Club’s keynote and panel presentations on “Bringing Broadband Infrastructure to Rural Areas: Where is the Pr

Thursday October 13th 2011 – As BroadbandBreakfast.com gears up for our panel on “Bringing Broadband Infrastructure to Rural Areas: Where is the Progress?” we have been taking some notes on the FCC’s efforts to reform the Universal Service Fund and listened in on Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Hearing

WASHINGTON, Thursday, October 13th, 2011 – The internet and intellectual property policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com will hold its October 2011 Broadband Breakfast Club event: “Bringing Broadband Infrastructure to Rural Areas: Where is the Progress?” on Tuesday, October 18th 2011 at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, 707 7th St.

WASHINGTON, August 22, 2011 – The beauty of the internet has always been the disconnection of content and infrastructure. Landline phone service was a one-to-one medium. It required the phone company’s infrastructure of wires and switches and telephones. Broadcast television was one-to-many. It rel

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2011 – The July Broadband Breakfast Club gathered key industry experts to discuss how the Universal Service Fund could be transformed to support next generation broadband communications technologies on Tuesday. “The Universal Service Fund (USF) has done a great job in getting p

WASHINGTON, Monday, July 18th, 2011 – The internet and intellectual property policy news and events service BroadbandBreakfast.com will hold its July 2011 Broadband Breakfast Club event, “Making The Universal Service Fund into a Universal Broadband Fund” on Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at Clyde’s of Gal

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2011 – The FCC should consider costs and service areas of rural broadband customers as it reforms the Universal Service Fund (USF) to include broadband expansion, urged members of congress and rural telecom associations Thursday. The rural telecom associations announced at the

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2011 – The Free State Foundation, a free-market think thank, assembled key industry experts Wednesday and pressed for the immediate need for reforms to the Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation systems. For the past year, the Federal Communications Commission has

Last year, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recognized the role of technology in strengthening this country’s economy by investing 7.2 million in funding into technology and broadband adoption initiatives through the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP

The National Broadband Plan won’t do jack until more folks in Wunderland acknowledge and aggressively address one stark truth – broadband competition is mostly a myth, expensively maintained through lobbyists, think tanks and easily-influenced politicians. Until we get meaningful competition, a sign

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2011 – The Rural Cellular Association issued a statement on Monday encouraging the Federal Communications Commission to reject reverse auctions and seek Congressional authority to institute Universal Service Fund reform.

WASHINGTON May 20, 2011- The Federal Communications Commission held its final in a series of Universal Service Fund reform workshops, featuring key industry officials in Omaha, Nebraska on Thursday. One of the key reforms that the FCC has proposed in its USF reform proposal is the use of reverse au

WASHINGTON April 28, 2011 – The Federal Communications Commission gathered key industry experts on Wednesday to explore the different ways that the Universal Service Fund can be modernized to effectively deploy high speed broadband to rural America.

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2011 – The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) and the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO), in conjunction with 30 state and regional associations released to the FCC their recommendations to fix

WASHINGTON March 2, 2011 – Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies held a panel on Wednesday on how the federal government should promote broadband adoption and access to underserved communities. The panel served as an update the National Broadband Plan, which came out one year ago.

WASHINGTON February 16, 2011 – Officials from the Federal Communications Commission updated the telecommunications subcommittee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on the current state of wireless, public safety and wireline competition at the Association’s yearly convent

WASHINGTON February 15, 2011 – On Monday, the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners gathered a diverse group of experts to discuss the Proposed Rulemaking on Universal Service Fund Reform the Federal Communications Commission recently issued.

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2011 – The FCC adopted a measure during Tuesday’s open meeting that lays the groundwork for revisions to the nation’s telephone subsidy systems in the near-term and an eventual overhaul to transition those systems into building and supporting broadband infrastructure. The No

WASHINGTON, February 8, 2011 – FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski pushed for Universal Service Fund reform at the offices of the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) on Monday, a day in front of the Commission’s vote to adopt a rulemaking on the issue. Genachowski began his remarks by

WASHINGTON, February 7, 2011 – Blair Levin, head of the team that authored the National Broadband Plan and Craig Settles, a leading industry analyst, debated at the New America Foundation on Monday the best way to deploy broadband to unserved and underserved areas.

WASHINGTON, January 24, 2011 – The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), released his legislative agenda for the upcoming year on Friday. The senator plans to prioritize three broad areas: economic security and growth, proactiv

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2011 – After 15 years of explosive growth and innovation in telecommunications since the last major revision, the 112th Congress is faced with the question of whether the law is keeping up with technology. On Tuesday, our panelists discussed whether Congress should consider a

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

TEXAS – Companies receiving state and federal Universal Service Funds (USF) must pay federal income tax on those funds, according to a judgment from the Fifth Circuit earlier this month. The appellate court upheld a summary dismissal from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas aga

LAS VEGAS, January 10, 2011 – FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski highlighted the Commission’s successes in the 111th Congress and looked to its goals in the 112th during a discussion with at the Consumer Electronics Show on Friday. The conversation between the Chairman and the Consumer Electronics Ass

WASHINGTON, November 29, 2010 – As the next phases of the National Broadband Plan draw near, states with significant rural area have expressed concern that they may lose funds vital to affordable telephone service.

WASHINGTON, November 9, 2010 – After a year of data crunching and analysis, the Commerce Department has released a report titled “Exploring the Digital Nation Home Broadband Internet Adoption in the United States,” concluding that a digital divide still exists but is decreasing.

WASHINGTON, November 8, 2010 – A key policy goal of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s is the reform of the Universal Service Fund, which is a program designed to help bring communications service throughout nation. The recent National Broadband Plan proposed the creation of a mobile broadband fund t

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

When Washington thinks about the “broadband stimulus,” what should it remember? The federal government spent nearly $7 billion on new, broadband-related activities, that in many respects were completely unlike traditional federal telecommunications spending on telephone service. Tomorrow’s Broadban

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

WASHINGTON, September 16, 2010 – The Universal Service Fund is clearly in need of reform but rather than fully overhaul the program, Reps. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Lee Terry, R-Neb., have introduced a bill targeting the high cost fund, the method of fund collection and the inclusion of funds for the

WASHINGTON, September 14, 2010 – This week is the second annual “National Lifeline and Link Up Telephone Discount Awareness Week” brought to you by the Federal Communications Commission, National Association of Regulatory Commissioners and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates

WASHINGTON, September 7, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission late last week laid out part of its plan to reform the universal service fund, including pushing Sprint and Nextel to live up to their commitments to surrender their high-cost universal support over five years.

Join the cause to bring home the internet to mom and the kids on the farm. BIHT’M (Bring Internet Home to Mom) leads the fight to reconnect a mother with her property, relations and the world around her. The time for seclusion is over. Let the inundation of over-stimulation in the information age co

WASHINGTON, September 3, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission has updated its latest report on Internet access service subscribership, revealing that only 44 percent of fixed communications connections to households met or exceeded the agency’s target speed for universal access.

SAN FRANCISCO, August 11, 2010 – One of the more unfortunate pop-cultural legacies of Ted Stevens as far as telecommunications policy is concerned is his 2006 comment that the internet is like “a series of tubes.”

WASHINGTON, August 9, 2010- Google and Verizon have announced a joint statement of principles on network neutrality and hosted a conference call Monday to outline their effort to the press. Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg announced that this new policy calls for an open and t

With the advent of continued proliferation from wireless coverage throughout the U.S., and the projected exponential growth in mobile access, adoption and affordability through LTE to 4G technology; the realities of serving less populated areas becomes increasingly more likely. The strides being mad

WASHINGTON, August 4, 2010 –Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) attributed the aftermath of the Big Branch Explosion in West Virginia to “a troubling lack of communications facilities in our rural communities.” The cause of this void, Rockefeller argued, was the Federal Co

WASHINGTON August 3, 2010- While many of the nations of the world are struggling to bring basic high speed access to their populations Australia has announced that it will expand its already ambitious goal. Initially the National Broadband Network was supposed to reach 90% of the Australian populati

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2010 –Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, speaking to the annual Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies (OPASTCO) convention in Seattle yesterday, told his audience that he agreed with bipartisan critics of

WASHINGTON July 22, 2010- Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA) Chairmen of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, and Lee Terry (R-NE) introduced a new bill to update the Universal Service Fund. This update will include broadband as a mandatory serve, modify the contribution

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2010 – The principal author of the National Broadband Plan has several suggestions on how to achieve universal first-class digital citizenship.

WASHINGTON, July 19, 2010- Three Federal Communications Commissioners Robert McDowell, Meredith Baker, and Mignon Clyburn encouraged use of the internet and new media applications to assist minorities and women entrepreneurs and connect them to financial resources.

WASHINGTON July 15, 2010 – With a tightening budget the United Kingdom government has decided to push back their universal service deadline by 3 years. Last year the nation had committed to bringing 2 Megabits per second to all citizens by 2012 but will now push the deadline to 2015. Tory Culture Se

WASHINGTON July 15, 2010 – The American Cable Association has publicly endorsed the Federal Communications Commission’s plan for the creation of the Connect America Fund. “Like the FCC, ACA is convinced that the time has come for the USF to focus on the infrastructure technology of the future: Broa

WASHINGTON July 15, 2010- Rural America lags the rest of the country in both access to quality healthcare and high speed broadband but today’s action by the Federal Communications Commission seeks to change that. In a unanimous vote the commission supported expanding the Universal Service Rural Heal

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2010 – Last week, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) released a budget projecting that $900 million in unused administrative costs would be extended to schools and libraries, pursuant to the FCC’s Universal Service Program. The unused funding comes from FCC budge

WASHINGTON July 7, 2010 Independent analyst firm Ovum presented a webinar to present the drivers and barriers to telehealth adoption, the current competition environment, and recommendations for health-care providers and patients. The webinar was presented by the authors of two recent telehealth re

WASHINGTON July 1, 2010- In an amendment to the Communications Market Act broadband access was added as a right for all citizens and business. The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) will ensure that all citizens have access to broadband connection with a minimum down speed of 1Mbps

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2010 – Public libraries are key resources for job seekers, researchers and others thanks to their position in the community as an access point to the internet, says a new study from the American Library Association.

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2010 – Universal Service reform is one of the key components of the National Broadband Plan and a principal which many in the telecommunications industry believe needs to happen before the current system collapses. On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transpo

[https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/099-300x225.jpg]https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/099.jpg WASHINGTON, June 23, 2010. Blair Levin, former executive director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the Federal Communications Commission, spoke about so

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2010 – In a letter to FCC Chairmen Julius Genachowski the leaders of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have request a review of the Universal Service Program.

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2010 –Commissioner Mignon Clyburn spoke at the Mid-America Regulatory Conference in Kansas City about the National Broadband Plan’s goal to have every American have access to affordable, dependable broadband service at home.

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2010 – The National Broadband Plan recommends that the current Universal Service Program be updated and split into two separate programs the Connect America Fund and the Mobility Fund. To achieve this shift the FCC has created a Universal Service Working Group to be headed by Sh

WASHINGTON June 2, 2010– A bipartisan coalition of 40 congressional officials has sent FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski a letter asserting that the official goal of 4 mbps for rural broadband is too low.

WASHINGTON, May 27, 2010 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski spoke about the United States’ broadband development and challenges regarding education at the World Telecommunications Development Conference in Hyderabad, India. He addressed the International Telecommunicatio

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2010 – FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski this morning announced his agency’s plan to take steps to deal with the issue of broadband regulation.

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2010 – Chapter 8 of the National Broadband Plan deals with the fundamental issue of availability. The chapter sets out a very systematic and long-term set of policies intended to expand availability.

WASHINGTON, April 27, 2010 – The Commerce Department has announced nine broadband investments totaling more than $114 million in grants, in more than a dozen states. The announcement marks the final grant awards from the first round of BTOP applications.

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2010 – Qwest Communications has announced a merger with CenturyLink. The new firm will span 37 states with 5 million broadband customers, 850,000 wireless consumers and 17 million access lines. The new firm will maintain the CenturyLink name and maintain prominent visibility in

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission has kicked off its latest efforts to reform the much-maligned Universal Service Fund, which was created to help bring communications services to all Americans.

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2010 – Aiming to stem a rising swell of concern over a recent court decision curbing the Federal Communications Commission’s regulatory authority, the agency has released an ambitious agenda for implementing key recommendations of its National Broadband Plan.

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2010 – Ford Foundation President Luis Ubiñas is urging foundations and other grant-makers to dive into the broadband issue to help expansion and adoption of high-speed Internet access 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

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

THE MISSION OF THE PLAN is to create a high-performance America—a more productive, creative, efficient America in which affordable broadband is available everywhere and everyone has the means and skills to use valuable broadband applications.

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2010 – The national broadband plan aims to present not just a roadmap of how to expand broadband but also to provide a long-term vision of innovation. While the first chapter of the plan explains its overarching goals and congressional mandate, the plan is really outlined in th

The National Broadband Plan submitted by the FCC is a window into the possibilities of creating a Gateway of economic growth for America.

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2010 – The Federal Communications Commission will present its congressionally mandated plan to bring high-speed Internet access throughout the United States to lawmakers tomorrow, outlining six long-term goals and detailing its views on better ways to encourage broadband compet

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, 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

WASHINGTON, February 22, 2010 – A meeting of regulatory commissioners last weekend included much discussion of major telecommunications issues such as the state of the nation’s broadband.

Washington, February 16, 2010 – Federal Communications Commission chief Julius Genachowski previewed the agency’s upcoming plan to outfit the nation with broadband access at a winter committee meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

TAMPA, Fla., February 1, 2010 – Broadband is as important today as television and radio were in the last century, a senior policy advisor for the Federal Communications Commission said at an association annual meeting this week.

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.

LAKE FOREST, Ill., January 11, 2010 – Last July when the Round 1 of Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program was announced, Don Samuelson suggested that public housing authorities across the country ought to be applying to BTOP for financial assistance to promote the use of the Internet by their s

Predictions for 2010 for Broadband, Cable TV, Telecom, and Wireless seen through the eyes of The Cable Pipeline.

WASHINGTON, December 23, 2009 – Proponents of Broadband over Power Lines got a boost last week as Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced the Rural Broadband Initiative of 2009, to amend the Rural Electrification Act to include programs meant to bring broadband to areas where BPL might be most e

WASHINGTON, December 18, 2009 – An association representing locally owned and controlled telecommunications cooperatives and commercial companies in rural America sent a letter Friday to members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce urging lawmakers to oppose a recent request by a number of

WASHINGTON, December 17, 2009 – The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday laid out a rough draft of its national broadband plan after weighing through 66,000 pages of written comments, 27 public notices, 100 items posted on its “blogband” web site, and 700 blog comment posted to the record.

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2009 – In order to provide universal broadband, national policymakers will need to better understand and motivate under-indexed minority groups. That was the message at the Internet Innovation Alliance’s ‘Universal Broadband: Access for All Americans’ conference on Thursday.

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2009 – The Broadband Opportunity and Affordability Act, which would direct the FCC to expand the Universal Service Fund’s Life Line program to support broadband service, as well as explore programs to subsidize computer ownership for low-income Americans, was introduced in t

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2009 – The FCC’s forthcoming national broadband strategy must include steps to improve services to Native Americans, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps told attendees Thursday while delivering the keynote at the Practicing Law Institute’s Telecommunications Policy and Regulatory

WASHINGTON, December 10, 2009 – Developing countries frequently ask the World Bank for advice on how to roll out a national broadband strategy, said a speaker Thursday at a Federal Communications Commission workshop on the benefits of global broadband connectivity.

WASHINGTON, December 7, 2009 — Eliminating the high cost portion of the Universal Service Fund could endanger plans to roll broadband out to rural America, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association said Monday in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission.

WASHINGTON, December 7, 2009 – Broadband should be the central focus of the next generation of the Universal Service Fund, OPASTCO said Monday in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission. TheOrganization for the Promotion and Aid of Small Telecommunications Companies’ comments highl

WASHINGTON, November 22, 2009 – In unanimous 5-0 decision, the commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to standardize the application process for tower siting requests. Advocates of the move said that the action marked another step by the agency to speed adoption of b

WASHINGTON, November 18, 2009 – The Universal Service Fund is in need of an overhaul to equalize costs among stakeholders and modernize programs to include broadband services, a group of industry representatives and regulators told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Communications, Techno

WASHINGTON, November 14, 2009 – Congresswoman Doris Matsui touted legislation [http://www.matsui.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2123&Itemid=98] in a speech Friday that would require the Federal Communications Commission to create a program that would enable qualifying low-income

WASHINGTON, November 13, 2009 – Access charges are well above the actual costs to connect telephone calls, despite the efforts made by the Federal Communications Commission, said Andy Regitsky of Regitsky and Associates, in a webinar presentation on “Access Charges and Network costs – A Guide to FCC

October 31, 2009 – Finland made headlines earlier this month in declaring that broadband had become a legal right. While this startled some people, the Finns were not the first people to declare this – the Swiss were. Further, in 2003, at the World Summit on the Information Society, a declaration of

The universal service fund has been growing at an alarming rate over the past few years, and in order to curb its growth the Federal Communications Commission choose to cap the amount of support a competitive eligible telecommunications company could receive in 2008. The Rural Cellular Association f

As the new Federal Communications Commission takes up the task of changing the Universal Service Fund, the task will be all the more complex because of the intrusion of broadband policy objectives and proposed changes to the contribution methodology, panelists said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2009 – A panel of broadband experts agreed Monday that the Universal Service Fund should direct more of its funding to low-income areas and away from exclusively focusing on rural high-cost areas, where funds are not being spent efficiently.

ARLINGTON, Va., June 18, 2009 — Properly measuring rural broadband access and availability with a broader set of definitions was necessary to reform the Universal Service Fund, a group of rural and tribal telecom executives said Thursday at the Pike and Fischer Broadband Policy Summit.

WASHINGTON, June 18, 2009 – The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday voted to advance the nominations of Julius Genachowski and Robert McDowell to serve on the Federal Communications Commission. If approved by the full Senate, Genachowski would serve as chairman and McDowell would serve a second te

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2009 – Americans are increasingly supportive of government programs to guarantee universal internet access while remaining wary of regulation, said a Zogby poll released Friday.

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 – In comments filed Monday before the Federal Communications Commission on its plan to unveil a national broadband strategy, Old foes got a fresh chance to spar over long-standing battles on Special Access rates, Universal Service reform, and deployment versus adoption rate

By Ryan Womack, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.com WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009  –  The proposed increase in the consumer contributions to the the Universal Service Fund came under fire Tuesday from the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. “With high unemployment levels, foreclosures across the nation and everyone’s household budgets being

SAN MATEO, CALIF, May 11, 2009 – Familiar faces gathered and familiar arguments on the best way to spend $7.2 billion rang out Monday at the San Mateo Marriott as the 2009 Tech Policy Summit kicked off with a Broadband Innovation mini-conference, with an opening “town hall” on the “state of the stim

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2009 – Congress is unlikely to act on major broadband issues until after the August recess, aides to House and Senate committee chairs told attendees Tuesday at the American Cable Association summit here.

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2009 – Making broadband applications more relevant in underserved and unserved communities could be a better use of stimulus funds than building infrastructure, a group of state and local regulatory officials Friday at a cable industry show here.

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2009 – The NTIA/RUS broadband grant program is “a landmark opportunity” for the cable industry, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., said Thursday during a speech at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association’s annual con

SILVER SPRING, Md., March 30, 2009 – The morning session of the Freedom to Connect conference here probed the status and conditions of broadband quality and access in municipal America.

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2009 – A consortium of broadband interest groups calling itself the Rural Mobile Broadband Alliance (RuMBA) USA, on Wednesday announced its “Broadband Bill of Rights.”

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2009 -The Obama administration’s priority in broadband deployment injected an undercurrent of excitement into a Thursday hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Technology, Communications, Technology and the Internet.

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2009 – As 700 of Washington’s technology and political elite gathered Tuesday night at the Center for Democracy and Technology’s annual fundraising gala, guests celebrated new-found progress and the hope brought by a new administration, but called for further action to fulfill

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 19, 2009 – State utility commissioners approved a resolution endorsing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to expand Lifeline and Link Up telephone subsidization programs to offer broadband service for low income consumers.

WASHINGTON, February 16, 2009 – With $7.2 billion in fiscal stimulus grants and loans marked to expand broadband infrastructure, industry groups, consumer advocates and some state regulators are supporting a proposal to fund broadband for low income households by tapping into the Universal Service F

WASHINGTON, February 16, 2009 – The CEO of Frontier Communications, America’s second largest rural telecommunications, provider told state utility commissioners Monday that quality broadband internet service is the key to shoring up a rapidly evolving rural economy.

WASHINGTON, February 15, 2009 – State regulatory commissioners are split on how strongly to express longstanding grievances with Federal Communications Commission processes. A resolution on reform of FCC management and practices dominated the agenda as the National Association of Regulatory Utility

WASHINGTON, February 14, 2009 – State utility commissioners are considering a resolution to “strongly encourage” Federal Communications Commission implementation of a pilot program to make broadband internet access service eligible for subsidies drawn from the Universal Service Fund.

WASHINGTON, February 14, 2009 – With $7.2 billion in stimulus funds soon to be available for broadband service – and with the transition to digital television freeing huge swaths of spectrum – wireless communication could be poised for some technological advances. But defining and regulating these c

WASHINGTON, November 4 – The Federal Communications Commission on Monday deleted one of the four big-ticket items that it planned to tackle at its Tuesday open meeting, but resisted pressure to spike a rule that would force broadcasters to share the vacant spaces between television channels.

June 20 – All Americans, whether they be poor, handicapped, or rural, have the right to universal broadband service, Rep. Ed Markey said on Friday. The congressman also blasted the compromise foreign surveillance legislation that passed Congress on Friday.

June 12 – Industry and consumer groups butted heads at the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday over early termination fees, or charges imposed on the customers of communications services prior to the expiration of their contract.