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California Should Regulate Broadband ISPs Like Utilities, Report Says
Broadband ISPs should be held to a higher public interest standard and regulated like traditional utilities in California, a new joint study by nonprofit state policy news outlet Cal Matters and UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab argues. State governments should also vocally support community broadband networks as a direct challenge to monopoly power, the authors state.
Fort Bragg Fiber Deployment Sees Delays, Higher Costs
Fledging efforts to build a fiber network in Fort Bragg, California have seen some headwinds in the wake of the project’s original build partner being dismissed. The need to find a new vendor to help the city toward its goal has resulted in significantly higher costs and some notable delays, though city leaders say they’re still dedicated to guiding the project to completion.
Thirty Years Later, the Telecom Act’s Legacy Remains Unfinished
When Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it sought to modernize regulatory structures for the digital age. Three decades later, architects of the ‘96 Act say it achieved many of those goals, but numerous legal challenges reshaped how key provisions were implemented.
On State Scoop podcast: New Mexico's Timely Broadband Subsidy Program
ILSR's Christopher Mitchell talks to State Scoop about the far reaching significance of a new affordable Internet law passed in New Mexico and how state's can take the lead in the absence of federal action. Senate Bill 152 – first filed on January 26 of this year by State Sen. Michael Padilla, (D) Majority Whip – will update the state’s Rural Telecommunications Act and empower the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) to offer up to $30/month for qualified households to pay for Internet service.
Updated Resource: Community Networks Continue to Win Big in California's Infrastructure Grant Program
Last May, we shared a dashboard we built to track how community networks were doing in California's Last-Mile Federal Funding Account broadband grant program. With a new round of winners recently announced, we've updated our dashboards to show who, where, and how much community networks are getting.
Where the Digital Divide Is Densest: Why Universal Internet Access Runs Through Apartment Buildings
Our popular webinar serieswith the American Association of Public Broadband returns on March 19. It will dive into the challenge of how local communities are tackling the digital divide in multi-dwelling units.
Broadband 'Nutrition Labels': Easily Missed, Never Seriously Enforced
In late 2024 the Biden FCC implemented a new rule requiring that broadband providers include a “nutrition label for broadband", but a lack of enforcement made their impact lukewarm, and now the new FCC is looking to water down their effectiveness even more.
Opportunity: Apply to Be a Leading Edge Fellow to Advance Social Justice
Another round of two-year ACLS fellowships has opened up that aims to take those with degrees in sociology, literature, political science, geography, history, and similar fields and place them with social justice-oriented nonprofits around the United States.
Bergen County, New Jersey Quickly Expanding Municipal Fiber Footprint
Bergen County, New Jersey officials say they’re making significant progress on their plan to dramatically expand Bergen County Fiber – the county’s new municipal fiber Institutional Network (I-Net) – with recently completed deployments in communities like Little Ferry and Lodi.
Chittenden County CUD Continues Affordable Fiber Expansion In Vermont
Chittenden County Communication Union District recently completed a planned fiber extension into the heavily rural communities of Essex Town, Essex Junction, Jericho, Shelburne, Westford, and Williston. The deployment was completed in partnership with Fidium Fiber, which says the expansion brought fiber optic connectivity to more than 1,900 homes and businesses across the six towns for the first time ever.
Illinois Bill Seeks Broadband Price Caps for Low-Income Customers
lllinois State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, has introduced legislation directing regulators to set broadband price protections for low-income residents, though the bill text leaves key details to be determined later. The measure joins those in other states, including Connecticut, Maryland, and Minnesota, that have introduced measures aimed at capping broadband prices for qualifying households.
With ACP Gone, New Mexico Creates First State-Level Internet Affordability Program
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law today new legislation that aims to provide tens of thousands of low-income households in “The Land of Enchantment” an Internet lifeline similar to the now-expired federal Affordable Connectivity Program. It makes the state the first to step up in the absence of federal action to support households that just can’t afford to pay for monthly service, and will directly support 173,000 households, offering up to a $30/month for qualified households to pay for Internet service.