The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has begun soliciting bids for a potential 10-year, $980 million satellite broadband contract to provide satellite communications services under the Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP), according to a request for proposals (RFP) notice posted on the SAM website. […]
A wide-ranging executive order released by the Biden administration on June 9 is seeking to revive an Obama-era push for more public disclosure of broadband service performance and contract terms – an effort that fell by the wayside during the Trump administration. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced an interagency agreement to coordinate the distribution of Federal broadband deployment funds. […]
President Biden on June 26 pledged his support for a separate voting track in Congress for legislation containing a $1.2 trillion compromise infrastructure agreement that the White House reached last week with a bipartisan group of senators. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in coordination with a consortium of 35 wireless communication corporations, announced the fourth testbed in a diverse portfolio of large-scale wireless research platforms located throughout the United States. This wireless research platform is intended to drive innovation in rural broadband connectivity in Ames, Iowa. […]
Reps. Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., and John Curtis, R-Utah, have introduced the Accelerating Rural Broadband Deployment Act, which would increase internet access in rural America by relaxing government regulations. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced a companion bill in April of this year. […]
The House Appropriations Committee released a draft of the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Financial Services and General Government funding bill, to be considered by a subcommittee on June 25. […]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the Final Rule for its Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program this week, to provide $268 million to historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to expand their broadband. […]
Witnesses at today’s House Small Business Committee hearing stressed that community-based broadband expansion solutions are key to ensuring small businesses can best utilize broadband capabilities. […]
Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Angus King, I-Maine, introduced a bipartisan bill that aims to close the digital divide and promote “digital equity” utilizing $250 million in annual grants, according to a press release. […]
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced their partnership with the Department of Defense, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Apple, Google, IBM, and other industry players to coordinate new research into the connectivity landscape of tomorrow, future-facing Wi-Fi and 6G capabilities. […]
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) announced that 2.3 million households have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program in its first three weeks. […]
Vice President Kamala Harris announced the availability of nearly $1 billion in U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) grants to expand broadband access and adoption on Tribal lands. […]
In the first week of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, over one million households enrolled to benefit from the subsidy program, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. […]
Senators Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., on May 18 reintroduced the Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act that would provide a boost in rural broadband investment to state and local governments. […]
To close the broadband divide in both urban and rural America, the Federal government must focus on providing significant funding, ensuring accurate data, and work to ensure equity is baked into broadband expansion plans. During a House Committee on Appropriations hearing today, telecommunications and civil rights experts shared their thoughts on what the Federal government, […]
The Department of Education has launched an outreach campaign to alert K-12 and higher education students that they are eligible for a monthly discount on broadband internet service. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it has granted additional spectrum licenses for Tribal lands. […]
Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing to discuss the disparities in broadband access and affordability across the country with Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., calling for government intervention to invest where the marketplace doesn’t support broadband. […]
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said today he’s hopeful Senate Democrats and Republicans can come together to pass an infrastructure package that will include funding for broadband and emerging technologies. […]
A bipartisan group of senators has reintroduced the Rural STEM Education Act, which would provide Federal support for STEM training in rural schools and instruct the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to provide grants to support training for rural STEM teachers. […]
Senate Democrats and Independents reintroduced legislation this week to expand the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the start of the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which will allow eligible households to receive a monthly discount off broadband service costs from an approved provider as of May 12, 2021. […]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation advanced a number of bipartisan bills out of committee in an executive session today including four with tech implications. Those bills are a telecommunications workforce bill, one on tech research, one that would map broadband connectivity and maternal health outcomes, and another to protect victims of domestic violence. […]
Republicans in Congress on April 22 presented their own version of a framework to improve infrastructure in the United States. While it doesn’t look too much like President Biden’s much larger American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal, for tech-related issues the key overlap appears to be funding for broadband infrastructure expansion. […]
Witnesses at today’s House Agriculture Committee hearing agreed that involvement of the Federal government is a prerequisite to any successful expansion of broadband service access in rural areas of the United States. […]
Have you ever wondered just how fast your broadband service really is? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a press release today reiterating that it wants the public to find out the answer to that question by downloading its “FCC Speed App.” The app allows consumers to measure the speed of their mobile and in-home broadband networks, while also contributing data to the FCC’s Measuring Broadband America program. […]
The Biden administration is proposing that the Federal government take a giant leap into the national broadband service market – traditionally the province of the private sector – in order to close persistent service availability and affordability gaps across the United States. […]
A bipartisan group of House legislators urged internet service providers (ISPs) and trade associations to participate in and help make consumers aware of the newly created $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program. […]
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a meeting on Monday to consider the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act, or the LIFT America Act, which would provide billions of dollars in broadband funding. […]