All in Broadband
The FCC has eliminated an E-Rate Program rule requiring schools and libraries to amortize over three years upfront, non-recurring charges of $500,000 or more for category one services. The decision is expected to help increase the deployment of fiber and other broadband infrastructure to the nation’s schools and libraries.
The FCC has released a draft Report and Order establishing a framework for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund which will be voted on at the FCC’s January 30, 2020, open meeting. For Phase I of the RDOF, auction participants will place bids in four broadband performance tiers, and each tier will differentiate between bids that would offer either low or high latency service. Bids in each performance tiered will be weighted to reflect a preference for higher speeds, higher usage allowances, and low latency.
An update on news about USDA’s ReConnect Pilot Program.
The FCC recently released a draft Report and Order establishing a framework for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Phase I of the RDOF will target $16 billion in support to census blocks that do not have any 25/3 Mbps broadband service. The FCC initially estimates six million locations could be eligible for support in Phase I of the RDOF.
The FCC has released a draft Report and Order establishing a framework for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) which will be voted on at the FCC’s January 30, 2020, open meeting. Much of the $20.4 billion RDOF framework in the Report and Order is similar to what was originally proposed in the August 2019 NPRM, but with more focus on driving funding toward the deployment of future proof networks.
Update on news from December 2019
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s $600 million ReConnect Pilot Program provides loans, grants, and loan/grant combinations to construct broadband infrastructure in areas of rural America that lack access to broadband service. To date, USDA has provided awards for 25 projects totaling $229,630,148 in funding for high-speed broadband infrastructure in 17 U.S. states. The funded service areas include a total of 44,833 households.
To date, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made seven awards under its ReConnect Pilot Program, totaling $93,140,232 in broadband funding in nine states.
An update on news from November 2019.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has announced the appointment of members to serve on the Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. The Task Force will hold its first meeting on Monday, December 9, 2019, at 9:30am. Nominations for membership on one of the Task Force’s four working groups should be submitted to the FCC no later than December 3, 2019.
