Congress passed landmark legislation Thursday March 10, 2022 that mandates critical infrastructure providers and federal agencies promptly report cyberattacks and ransomware payments to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
In this Order, the Federal Communications Commission adopts final rules
for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which builds upon the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, to offer eligible low-income households discounts off the cost of broadband service and connected devices.
NTIA, December 2021
Today marks a historic moment for all Americans with the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, that includes an enormous $65B investment for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas and adoption by in-need consumers.
One aim of the new Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is to ensure that every American has access to reliable high-speed internet service. Here we begin a multi-part series looking at the major broadband-related provisions of the legislation. First up: over $42 billion for broadband deployment grants to the states. We look at why new broadband maps are so critical to these efforts, what the grants can be used for, the process for states to receive the support, and a timeline moving forward.
The President and the bipartisan group announced agreement on the details of a once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure, which will be taken up in the Senate for consideration. In total, the deal includes $550 billion in new federal investment in America’s infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will grow the economy, enhance our competitiveness, create good jobs, and make our economy more sustainable, resilient, and just.
The federal programs and tools available today to help generate social and economic development in rural communities serve as a reminder of active and broad federal involvement in the 20th century, and the possibilities for federal leadership to help rural communities meet the current moment. Yet they are outdated, fragmented, and incoherent.
To require the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules relating to the collection of data with respect to the availability of broadband services, and for other purposes.
Two states were successful in repealing their municipal broadband bans, bringing our tally down to 22 states from 25 states identified in our 2019 report. Those law changes are significant, and may portend similar measures being considered across states in the coming years.