Postal 4 no regret rate12/24/2022 ![]() ![]() Benton Institute, Free Press and other civic associations that have been advocating to close the digital divide for many years are applauding NTIA’s broadband grant work to public private partnerships and tribal communities. And on June 27, NTIA awarded Michigan State $10-million to fund internet fiber expansion in partnership with internet service providers (ISP) in Michigan. In addition to the initial funding for the four states, on June 23, NTIA awarded nine grants, totaling more than $7.7 million, as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program These grants are being awarded in six states – Alaska, California, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington. On June 7, 2022, Joshua Stager, deputy director of broadband and competition policy at New America’s Open Technology Institute, congratulated NTIA as it approved funding to four states-New Hampshire, Louisiana, West Virginia and Virginia: “After years of rhetoric about closing the digital divide, it’s great to finally see real progress in funding the affordable, high-speed broadband networks that so many communities lack.” ![]() Many self-styled public interest groups are also happy with the additional funds made available by the infrastructure bill. Still, the business lobby is happy to take more taxpayer money and fight the other issues down the road. But, predictably, the business lobby is unhappy about NTIA’s support for unions, a preference for fiber telecommunication, net neutrality regulation, and a requirement that potential grantees may not exclude cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public utilities or local governments. The Chamber of Commerce is happy about the additional taxpayer dollars that will go to public/private partnerships that “demonstrate strong financial, managerial, operational, and technical capabilities.” They probably think this language will give existing telecom corporations an advantage in accessing funds. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to support distance learning and telemedicine in rural America. An additional $2 billion was appropriated for the U.S. In the same legislation, Congress set aside $14.2 billion to support the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) work in creating a more reliable map of broadband deployment, and investing in the Affordable Connectivity Fund, which subsidizes access to broadband. Congress has also set aside $2.75 billion to NTIA to promote the opportunity for all individuals in diverse communities to acquire computers and digital literacy skills. An agency in the Department of Commerce, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will administer the bulk of this funding ($48.2 billion) to the states. ![]() Congress allocated $65 billion for investment into advanced digital telecommunications service – broadband. Broadband and the Digital Divideįirst, the good news: In 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, taking one step forward to address, among many other infrastructure issues, the now nearly three decades-long concern over the digital divide in the U.S. In short, the record on communication policy is mixed at best. And it is especially urgent that we realize this approaching the midterm elections. This is especially true regarding how we communicate in our supposed democracy. But as of the summer of 2022, to assess the work of the national governing bodies after the last national election, the focus should be on Congress and the executive branch and independent regulatory agencies. The radical right Trump/McConnell Supreme Court may soon change this by limiting the power of regulatory agencies. This has been true for at least half a century. WASHINGTON, DC - Given the amount of attention paid to presidents, it may come as a surprise to some that the action in Washington that affects most Americans takes place in the Congress, the often invisible regulatory agencies, and the courts. Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons ![]()
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