Smartly Reforming USF While Building Broadband to All
Over the next few years, federal and state governments will pour once-in-a-generation funding totaling over $140 billion into making robust broadband services available to every American. Chief among these efforts will be NTIA’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, representing the country’s largest investment ever in broadband deployment – $42.5 billion. This massive amount of government support will, in turn, unleash additional billions in new private investment to help finish the job of constructing robust networks in places of greatest need. This is a historic
Broadband Stats: Building on Industry Success to Get All Americans Connected
With the federal government distributing an unprecedented amount of funding for internet infrastructure and adoption, the United States has a historic opportunity to accomplish universal broadband connectivity. Cable internet service providers have been committed to this goal for years, whether by developing innovative solutions that connect remote communities to next generation networks or offering low-cost services. Now is the time to build on the success of America’s broadband industry to get all Americans connected, regardless of where they live.
Michael Powell Speaks at The Media Institute
Earlier this week, NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell participated in a virtual Q&A at The Media Institute on the state of the cable industry, the future of gigabit networks, net neutrality, rural broadband, and more. Check out some of the highlights below: When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, an unprecedented number of people quickly transitioned their work, school and personal lives to be entirely online. Thanks to the decades of investment and thoughtful network planning, America’s broadband networks were a success story. With the influx of federal infrastructure dollars, the U.S. has an
Why Utility Pole Owners Are Fighting for the Status Quo
By now, everyone recognizes that fair access to utility poles is essential to fulfilling our goal of reaching all Americans with robust broadband. Indeed, without a means of securing reasonable and timely access to utility poles, most network construction — particularly in sparsely populated areas with few people and many poles — faces long odds. Thankfully, policymakers tasked with expanding broadband access are turning more attention to these concerns so that those stepping up to build broadband – including many cable ISPs – in unserved areas are not frustrated in their efforts by
Speed Access to Poles to Get 100% of the Country Connected Faster
In last year's bipartisan infrastructure legislation, Congress committed unprecedented levels of funding to position the country to achieve the historic goal of connecting 100% of Americans with access to robust broadband. But accomplishing this "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity will require more than money; it is critical that policymakers at the federal and state levels take bold action to remove barriers that can slow – or even stop – broadband deployment in rural America. One of the most significant obstacles is ensuring that all providers have swift and fair access to utility poles. Why is
The Road to Connecting All Americans Starts With Prioritizing the Unserved
With last year's federal infrastructure package highlighting the critical necessity to build out broadband networks to unserved communities, the focus now turns to ensuring that the funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill (BIL) are disbursed to those areas that are truly in need of fast, reliable and affordable broadband service. As the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) oversees the implementation of the BIL, NCTA has submitted comments about how NTIA can best adopt rules that prioritize funding for projects that will connect unserved and underserved areas
How Cable ISPs Are Expanding Broadband Access in Rural Virginia, Part 2
Cox's Public-Private Partnerships Help to Close the Digital Divide in Underserved Virginia As millions of Americans have experienced during the COVID pandemic, broadband has become an indispensable service for participating in everyday activities. The recently enacted infrastructure bill validated this assertion with the inclusion of $65 billion to expand broadband access. But cable internet service providers have for decades invested their own capital into building out networks to connect more homes with broadband service. Yet there are still communities where a broadband network hasn't
How Cable ISPs Are Expanding Broadband Access in Rural Virginia, Part 1
Comcast Secures Rural Buildouts Through Different Approaches Last year's $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure package accentuated the national priority of building broadband networks to reach unserved communities. Cable internet service providers (ISPs) understand better than anyone how challenging it can be to connect people who live in these hard-to-reach areas. In fact, cable ISPs invest billions of their own dollars to make that happen every year. But federal programs and state grants dedicated to funding broadband deployment are especially critical to accomplishing the goal of reaching
GCI Brings Modern Connectivity to Unalaska and Aleutian Islands
Since 2017, GCI—Alaska's largest internet service provider—has been planning and preparing to execute an 860-mile subsea fiber system to six remote communities in Alaska, including Unalaska and the Aleutian Islands. This past fall, the ISP took a big step forward when it broke ground with trenching conduit in Unalaska after finalizing the project design and planning phase and obtaining the necessary environmental permitting. With the GCI Alaska United (AU) Aleutians Fiber Project, GCI aims to help close the digital divide for rural Alaskans. "Our mission is to bring modern connectivity to the
New FCC Data Highlights America’s Broadband Progress
New data from the FCC shows that broadband networks in America continue to reach more households in every corner of the country, continue to offer faster speeds to more consumers and continue to provide more choice of providers across multiple speed tiers. Released in late October, the FCC’s December 2020 “Form 477” data demonstrates broadband progress in both urban and rural areas, even at speeds of a gigabit per second or more, as the cable industry has deployed its DOCSIS 3.1 network technology and as fiber has been deployed more widely, both of which dramatically increase the speed and