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.

The Education Department released guidance this month which intended to provide strategies for the safe operation of higher education institutions, as well as address the impact of COVID-19 on higher education students, faculty, and staff. Among other issues, the guidance specifically addressed helping higher education navigate online learning in a pandemic and broadband and device access for students, faculty, and staff.

Nongovernmental entities can now apply for some of the $5 million set aside to fund projects that will bring high-speed broadband infrastructure to underserved communities in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced.

Municipal modernization efforts, particularly when deploying emerging technologies like 5G and broadband, don’t come without challenges. For the city of San Jose, Calif., it’s about overcoming challenges that ensure the residents are not left behind.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a radical shift in how Americans worked, learned, and interacted with the government. As a result of those changes, state and local government (SLG) policymakers focused heavily on expanding access to affordable, highspeed broadband services.

In the first week of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, more than 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.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on April 30 released a draft of a proposed order for the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund, which would reimburse schools and libraries for their purchases of devices and broadband connections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.