Benton Institute for Broadband & Society - C|Net

Author:

Lisa Eadicicco

Send date:

Fri, 04/26/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/25/2024

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Thu, 04/25/2024

Coverage Type:

Upcoming policy issue

Digital Divide

Federal Broadband Programs

Affordable Connectivity Program (was Emergency Broadband Benefit Program)

Internet/Broadband

Affordability/Cost/Price

Universal Broadband

Legislation

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Wireless Telecommunications

Low-income

Wireless Internet

Bridging the Gap: Can $90 Billion in Broadband Funding Close the Digital Divide?

benton — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 17:20:50 +0000

To connect more Americans, Congress designated a slice of the $1.2 trillion 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act), as well as a portion of the $350 billion 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that passed to provide financial relief during the COVID pandemic, to fund projects that would cross this digital divide. All told, the bills provide around $90 billion in funding for connectivity spread across a plethora of initiatives. The question remains: Will this colossal sum be enough to bridge the digital divide? If it doesn't connect every American, how many will be left out of the modern digital world? Some of the $90 billion has already been spent, but the largest chunk is waiting to be assigned state-by-state, providing a once-in-a-lifetime pile of money dedicated to solving a difficult problem with many thorny issues and piecemeal solutions.

Benton Content:

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/bridging-the-gap-can-90-billion-in-broadband-…

Teaser:

Congress has a war chest of funding to connect every American left out of the modern digital world. Will it be enough?

Source:

Author:

David Lumb

Send date:

Mon, 04/15/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/12/2024

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

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Publish Date:

Sun, 04/14/2024

Coverage Type:

Digital Equity/Digital Inclusion

Digital Divide

Digital Literacy

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Federal Broadband Programs

Affordable Connectivity Program (was Emergency Broadband Benefit Program)

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program

State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program

State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program

Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Individuals who are Members of a Racial or Ethnic Minority Group

Individuals with a Language Barrier

Individuals with Disabilities

Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Incarcerated Individuals

Low-income

Seniors/Aging Individuals

Veterans

Internet Aid Cut: How the Loss of FCC's ACP May Worsen the Mental Health Crisis

zwalker@benton.org — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 22:17:59 +0000

The looming end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and the alarm it has triggered among dozens of experts I've talked to, reveals that this federal program is about much more than internet access. Amid a rising mental health crisis, limited access to broadband has been clearly linked with negative health outcomes for America's lowest-income communities. So what does a $30-per-month subsidy mean for the mental health of America's lowest-income communities? The number of US adults with a mental illness has increased every year for nearly a decade, going from 43 million in 2015 to over 59 million in 2022, according to surveys conducted annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. With that increase has come a normalization of treatment, which has unfortunately lead to a shortage of mental health care providers. The mental health industry has embraced telehealth, and online therapy is the default treatment. The end of the ACP could cut many American's off from that critical access to treatment.

Benton Content:

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/internet-aid-cut-how-the-loss-of-fccs-acp-may…

Teaser:

For some Americans, losing the ACP may mean losing access to mental health care services

Source:

Author:

Joe Supan

Send date:

Fri, 04/12/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/11/2024

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Thu, 04/11/2024

Coverage Type:

Upcoming policy issue

Digital Divide

Federal Broadband Programs

Affordable Connectivity Program (was Emergency Broadband Benefit Program)

Health and Media

Health Information Technology

Telehealth

Internet/Broadband

Affordability/Cost/Price

Legislation

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/as-broadband-access-lags-cities-build-their-o…

Low-income

As Broadband Access Lags, Cities Build Their Own Networks to Get Communities Online

zwalker@benton.org — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:14:58 +0000

In Fort Collins, Colorado, residents have a unique option when signing up for internet service. Instead of being limited to giant providers like Comcast, Charter or Cox, they can opt for a city-owned and operated service, called Connexion. Connexion's genesis took place about a decade ago, when the city was looking for ways to bring faster, more affordable internet to the community. In November 2017, voters approved a ballot measure to build a municipal fiber network. By 2023, Connexion was available to all homes and businesses in the area. Fort Collins is one of many cities pursuing innovative ways to bring more affordable, reliable broadband to communities. In Ammon, Idaho, the local fiber optic network is owned and operated by the city. This has benefitted private internet service providers, too, since they can use that existing infrastructure to enter the market, lowering the barrier for entry and boosting competition (and therefore reducing prices for consumers). These initiatives highlight the ways communities are bridging the gaps left by large, private internet service providers, whose services can be unaffordable or simply unavailable to many people, especially among rural, low-income and marginalized populations. For many of these communities, municipal and publicly owned networks are the only way to truly get connected. But there are obstacles. Around two dozen states have laws that ban or restrict cities from building municipal or publicly funded broadband networks. Lobbying by private internet service providers has played a significant role in maintaining those restrictions.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

Cities are stepping up to bridge the gaps left by large, private internet companies

Source:

Author:

Abrar Al-Heeti

Send date:

Thu, 04/11/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/10/2024

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Wed, 04/10/2024

Coverage Type:

Competition/Antitrust

Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

The ACP Helps Millions Afford Internet. It Could Be Gone by Next Year

zwalker@benton.org — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 21:49:20 +0000

According to projections from the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, sometime around the middle of 2024, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will run out of money. The ACP offers monthly subsidies of $30 to $75 to help low-income households pay for home internet. It was initially born out of a pandemic-era program called the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which was replaced by the longer-term ACP when Congress devoted $14.2 billion to the program as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Today, less than $5 billion in funding remains. More than 22 million households are currently enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, around half of all eligible households. That means around 19 percent of all broadband subscriptions in the US rely on the subsidy. An analysis by the Benton Institute found that the ACP has had a significant impact on broadband adoption, particularly in cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore, which have some of the highest poverty rates in the nation. Enrollment has also been higher than expected in areas with larger Black and Hispanic populations, and in places with high unemployment, according to an analysis of ACP data by Benton Institute Senior Fellow John Horrigan. While the White House requested an additional $6 billion to keep the router lights on for the ACP through 2024, this is largely a stopgap measure and a far cry from the permanent funding many advocates would like to see.

Benton Content:

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/the-acp-helps-millions-afford-internet-it-cou…

Teaser:

The clock is ticking on the Affordable Connectivity Program, the most ambitious home internet subsidy in US history

Source:

Author:

Joe Supan

Send date:

Wed, 12/06/2023

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 12/5/2023

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Tue, 12/05/2023

Coverage Type:

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/net-neutrality-what-it-means-for-your-everyda…

Headlines Specific Topic:

Benton Foundation

Net Neutrality: What It Means for Your Everyday Internet Access and Streaming Speeds

benton — Sun, 26 Nov 2023 13:05:27 +0000

One of the longest-running debates about internet access has entered a new phase, and the way it unfolds could directly affect everything you do online. You might remember the net neutrality debate from a decade ago. Originally voted in by the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama administration, net neutrality guidelines were subsequently ended by Donald Trump's FCC in 2017. Now a new push for it is back under President Joe Biden. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel proposed restoring net neutrality rules in September, but there's a long road ahead still. Net neutrality is the principle that all internet traffic is treated equally -- meaning your broadband provider won't slow down or speed up sites you visit according to whether those sites pay extra money to have their traffic prioritized, or whether they have a special relationship with your provider.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

The FCC wants to make broadband an essential utility like water and power. Here's what that regulation could actually mean for you.

Source:

Author:

Corinne Reichert

Send date:

Mon, 11/27/2023

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 11/22/2023

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Sun, 11/26/2023

Coverage Type:

Upcoming policy issue

Digital Content

Regulatory classification

Internet/Broadband

Legislation

Communications Act of 1934

Telecommunications Act of 1996

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/features/internet-for-the-people-the-movement…

Network Neutrality

Internet for the People: The Movement for Affordable, Community-Led Broadband

dclay@benton.org — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 22:01:32 +0000

New York City (NYC) Mesh is not an internet service provider, but a grassroots, volunteer-run community network that aims to create an affordable, open and reliable network that's accessible to all New Yorkers for both daily and emergency internet use. To a layperson, the wireless mesh network—which relies on building-to-building line-of-sight connections—resembles the NYC subway: a circuitry of stations and routes where building nodes are the stations connecting to street level, and neighborhood hubs act as the transfer stations where you can reroute to several different subway lines. Providing donation-based internet access is part of NYC Mesh's objective to serve the underserved with the premise that communication should be free. Anyone is free to join, as long as they keep the network open and extend it to others. "We will never disconnect you for payment reasons," says NYC Mesh Founder and Lead Volunteer Brian Hall. Community-led broadband organizations like NYC Mesh won't overcome the divide on their own, but they offer a glimpse into what things might look like if there was free broadband for all.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

Grassroots organizations like NYC Mesh want to close the digital divide, one rooftop at a time.

Source: