Much has been made over the glacial pace at which the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is rolling out its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. To date, not a dollar of the $42.5 billion program has been put...
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Universal Service Fund unconstitutional
The U.S. Supreme Court will review a circuit court ruling which held that the Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional.
The U.S. Solicitor General asked SCOTUS to review a Fifth Circuit Court decision from earlier...
With all BEAD state plans approved, vendor selection is starting
As of this week, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories which are participating in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program have had their plans for connecting all...
Bridging the digital divide is more than a matter of convenience — it’s essential for ensuring equitable access to critical services and opportunities
The digital divide in rural America is a persistent issue, with millions of people lacking access to reliable high-speed internet. According to...
As $42.5 billion in federal funding makes it way to the states to be translated into infrastructure deployment projects, Ookla recently assessed how the 50 U.S. states stand in terms of delivery of broadband speeds.
Ookla examined its Speedtest data for broadband services in terms...
AT&T has struck a deal with Kinetic, the broadband brand of Windstream Communications, to create a fiber + wireless service bundle across Kinetic's 18-state, rural-focused footprint.
Kinetic serves customers in the central U.S. from Minnesota to Texas, across the Southeast and in parts of...
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the initial plans of the states of New York and Wyoming, for how they expect to use their respective portions of federal funding to expand broadband services.
New York was allocated more than $664 million...
Court ruling reverses an earlier panel decision on USF constitutionality
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the mechanism by which the Universal Service Fund is funded and administered is unconstitutional, which imperils the existence of the program that supports...
A remarkable shift is underway in Africa. Driven by the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, dynamic companies across the vast continent continue to revolutionise diverse sectors, from transport to financial services and renewable energy. As a result, Africa will account for eleven of the...
The significant funding allocated to broadband deployment through various U.S. legislative efforts will play a crucial role in overcoming the primary obstacle to bridging the digital divide: the high infrastructure costs that have led to delayed or absent ROI. However, another challenge has emerged:...
The unprecedented governmental investment in infrastructure to provide universal and reliable connectivity for all is hampered by a looming labor shortage. Training the workforce of the future can help us bridge the great divide, but the growing demand for skilled workers requires a collective...
There have been 'great strides' in closing the digital divide, NTIA says, but wide variations in who is connected remain
The numbers of United States internet users increased by about 13 million between 2021 to 2023, according to new numbers from the National Telecommunications and...
The subaquatic optical network connects 500,000 users across more than 400 communities in the Amazon rainforest
Nokia has partnered with fiber optic network operator Global Fiber Peru — a subsidiary of Satelital Group — on the deployment of a new subaquatic optical, IP and fiber...
Just what would it take to actually get ubiquitous 5G in rural America?
UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel walked through that scenario for just one county in rural Iowa at last week's CTIA 5G Summit, illustrating the challenges and the need for coordinated federal funding...
ACP Extension Act would continue monthly broadband service subsidies for more than 20 million households
In the wake of the Federal Communications Commission announcing wind-down procedures for the Affordable Connectivity Program, a bipartisan group of Senators and House members have put forward legislation that would...
How fast should internet access be, to be considered "broadband"? The Federal Communications Commission wants to increase the minimum required speed for broadband, which it currently considers to be at least 25 Mbps upstream and 3 Mbps downstream, to 100/20 Mbps.
That minimum broadband speed...
Another $3.1 billion would fully fund eligible carrier requests
The Biden administration has asked Congress for an additional $3.1 billion to fully fund small-and-medium-sized network operators' efforts to remove and replace network gear and services from banned Chinese vendors.
The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks...
According to SoftBank, the HAPS payload delivered 5G connectivity continuously for approximately 73 minutes at a maximum altitude of 10.5 miles
SoftBank — via its subsidiary HAPSMobile Inc. — and the government of Rwanda revealed this week that they recently conducted a 5G communications trial...
Nokia said the expanded program allows BEAD participants to more quickly and cost effectively bring broadband services to US communities
Nokia has expanded its “network-in-a-box” program to simplify broadband network builds for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program participants as they focus on bridging...
Nokia will manufacture multi-rate optical modules for Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) at Fabrinet’s facility in Santa Clara, California
Following on a recent announcement that it would manufacture fiber electronics in the U.S., Nokia has now revealed additional plans to manufacture fiber broadband optical modules in...
One of the telecom industry's concerns about the massive amount of federal Infrastructure Act dollars that are poised to pour into the market to close the digital divide over the next few years, has been associated requirements on buying American-made products for use in...
New NOFO for Tribal funding provides up to $980 million
More broadband funds are poised to flow to Tribal areas, with the Biden administration releasing a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) with a nearly billion-dollar pot to draw from.
The National Telecommunications and Information...
Huge swaths of the U.S. population still struggle to work, study, or even communicate without access to reliable or affordable high-speed connectivity. This situation, given greater attention as our working and learning routines have shifted over the past few years, disproportionally affects tribal communities...
MIIT’s chief engineer said that Chinese telcos need to accelerate 5G deployments outside of urban areas to better address underserved populations
SHANGHAI - Officials from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) urged Chinese mobile operators to...
