Fifth-generation (5G) wireless technologies will bring scale and speed to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) healthcare operations, but one VA official today said the focus must shift to closing the digital divide for veterans in rural communities – in parallel to the advanced 5G work. […]

Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., have joined with Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., to introduce the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act, which calls on President Biden to develop a national broadband strategy. […]

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is busy deciphering how to best distribute $48 billion of new broadband funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which the head of the NTIA said is a “once in a generation opportunity” to close the digital divide. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it will commit another $240 million in its eighth wave of the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program support.   […]

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, access to care, specifically telehealth care, was increasingly important. However, the lack of broadband internet access or internet-connected devices, especially in rural areas of the country, created a significant barrier for Veterans looking to access these services, an official from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said during an FCW virtual event on Dec. 1. […]

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel outlined the future of 5G technologies today and how 5G will help bridge the digital divide, saying the possibilities of the technology extend “far beyond just the smartphone.” […]

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. […]

With the rise in telework, distance learning, and telehealth, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown a spotlight on the importance of broadband connectivity. In a move to promote broadband expansion in rural America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Technology Engagement Center (C_TEC) released nine policy principles to close the digital divide. […]

There are two fairly obvious ways–plus another great big one that is more philosophical in nature–to look at the announcement late Tuesday from the Federal Communications Commission that the agency’s chairman, Ajit Pai, is circulating to his fellow commissioners a draft report to Congress finding that the digital divide in America narrowed “substantially” during 2017, and that rollout of broadband service in the U.S. is happening in a “reasonable and timely” way. […]