#broadband access

[ivygorgon]

The Affordable Connectivity Program: A Need-to-Have for Closing the Digital Divide

In the final days of 2020, Congress approved a COVID-relief package that included $3.2 billion for the FCC to establish th

AN OPEN LETTER to THE U.S. CONGRESS

Fund the Affordable Connectivity Program NOW!

130 so far! Help us get to 250 signers!

I’m a concerned constituent writing to urge you to fund the Affordable Connectivity Program or ACP. Digital connectivity is a basic necessity in our modern world and the internet must be treated as a public utility. We use the internet to apply for jobs, perform our jobs, receive telehealth medical treatment, and pay bills, and students use it to complete homework assignments. But for millions of people in rural and urban areas, and Tribal communities, the internet is a luxury they cannot afford. Failure by Congress to fund this program will force millions of households already on tight budgets to choose between being able to stay online or potentially losing access to this essential service. If Congress doesn’t act fast, funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program will run out and more than 22 million Americans -- 1 in 6 households -- will lose this vital service. The implications of this will be devastating. In 2019, 18% of Native people living on Tribal land had no internet access; 33% relied on cell phone service for the internet; and 39% had spotty or no connection to the internet at home on their smart phone. The ACP has enrolled 320,000 households on Tribal lands -- important progress. The largest percentage gains in broadband access are in rural areas. Nearly half of military families are enrolled in ACP, as are one in four African American and Latino households. Losing access and training on using computers and the internet will have devastating impacts on all these communities as technology becomes increasingly integral to work, education, health, and our everyday lives. Without moves to address tech inequality, low-income communities and communities of color are heading towards an “unemployment abyss.” The Affordable Connectivity Program has broad bipartisan support because it is working. As your constituent, I am urging you to push for renewed funding for the ACP before it runs out in the coming weeks.

▶ Created on April 11 by Jess Craven

📱 Text SIGN PJXULY to 50409

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Fund the Affordable Connectivity Program NOW!

Text SIGN PJXULY to 50409 to send this to your officials.

[dragoni]

The FCC Just Authorized a $3.2 Billion Dollar Program Meant To Bring Low-Income Americans Online

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted late Thursday to adopt the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program—a $3.2 billion dollar initiative meant to lower the cost of internet services for the tens of millions of families struggling with connectivity during the ongoing pandemic.

👏👏👏 FCC  #EndDigitalDivide

The Commission will offer eligible households of up to $50 dollars per month for broadband access, or up to $75 dollars per month if their home is built on designated Tribal lands. Those that qualify will also be getting a one-time discount of up to $100 dollars off a tablet or computer. FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated that she expects the Program to be open to eligible recipients “within the next 60 days.”

Per the FCC, the Program is open to households that are already plugged into a pandemic-relief program offered by their broadband provider, or those that are part of the FCC’s Lifeline program. It also includes Pell grant and Medicaid recipients along with those that have “lost jobs and seen their income reduced in the last year.”

The $3.2 billion dollar sum was approved by Congress as part of the $900 billion dollar COVID-19 relief package late December.

[alternateworldcomics]

[libraryjournal]

In New York, Bringing Broadband to Everyone by 2018

Under a state-led initiative, even far-flung homes are getting wired, giving residents faster access to the internet and changing lives.

While President Trump’s pledge to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure has focused largely on roads, bridges and airports, the need to expand the broadband network is just as dire. The United States ranks 15th in broadband connectivity, behind countries such as South Korea and Canada, according to a 2011 study from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The challenge in the United States is that it has vast tracts of sparsely populated regions where the cost of laying new fiber and cable wiring for broadband significantly outweighs the profits — 39 percent of Americans living in rural areas lack broadband access, compared with 4 percent of those living in cities, according to the F.C.C.

Under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s “Broadband for All” initiative, New York’s program is one of the most aggressive broadband expansions in the country, and is designed to help stem any losses a private company incurs through what is known as a reverse auction process.

[dragoni]

Trump's FCC Can't Get Its Way on Net Neutrality

Ajit Pai @AjitPaiFCC is going to Kill Net Neutrality on Dec. 14, 2017. The “FCC plan would give Internet providers power to choose the sites customers see and use“.

#SaveNetNeutrality #ResistTrump #ResistAjitPai #ResistGOP

[dragoni]

Verizon, Other ISPs Won't Say How Badly They Plan to F*ck You Over Now

Now that the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission has decided to toss a massive favor to their friends in the telecom industry and revoke open internet rules, there may soon be no regulatory barrier preventing ISPs from implementing paid prioritization schemes or outright blocking or censoring competitors.

Based on the tax cuts, Republicans will fast-track and RAM it down American throats no matter what the majority wants.

GOP:  Choice means Pay to Play  #CronyCapitalism

According to an Associated Press review of seven of the country’s biggest telecom providers, ZERO were willing to “rule out the possibility” of establishing fast or slow lanes for various streams of content. 

Three providers—Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile—declined to specifically say they would not block or censor content in the future.

Of course, trying to plumb these statements for actual commitments is a fool’s errand, since ISPs have 

a long history of lying

throttling applications they claim consume too much bandwidth, or blocking competitors and things like BitTorrent.

While ISPs trying to force their users back into AOL-style walled gardens is probably not going to happen, consumers should be prepared for telecoms to renege on their promises of self-regulation as soon as it’s convenient.

“But hey, these guys didn’t run most of their competition out of the business by playing nice.”

Make Monopolies Great Again!

[nepalenergyforum]

ADB Plans $70 Billion Investment in Energy and Digital Infrastructure Across Asia-Pacific

Kathmandu — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it will invest $70 billion in energy and digital infrastructure by 2035 to connect power grids across Asia and the Pacific, expand cross-border electricity trade, and improve broadband access in the region. “Energy and digital connectivity will shape the region’s future,” said ADB President Masato Kanda. “These two initiatives will…

ADB Plans $70 Billion Investment in Energy and Digital Infrastructure Across Asia-Pacific

[mentalhealthcenterdirectory]

Bridging Telehealth Gaps in Frontier Mental Health Care

WHY FRONTIER BROADBAND STILL MATTERS A counselor in a desert town can schedule video therapy, but when upload speeds dip beneath 2 Mbps the session freezes. In frontier counties that is a daily event, and each glitch erodes trust in care. PRACTICAL FIXES ON THE GROUND - Satellite kits on fishing docks keep crisis check-ins alive during storms. - Local co-ops barter for tower upgrades and share Wi-Fi in church basements. - Clinicians split visits: live video for risk review, async messages for skills coaching. These hacks work, yet they cost time and leave elders without the digital know-how to log in. WHERE POLICY CAN HELP Broadband deserves the same priority as roads. Grants that tie speed benchmarks to clinical outcomes can steer fiber toward ranches, not just resorts. Pair that buildout with digital navigators—trusted staff who sit beside a veteran or tribal elder the first time they click “join session.” When infrastructure and guidance travel together, distance stops deciding who gets to heal.