Consolidation in the Cord-Cutting Era
From the Capitol to K Street, a Wisconsin native finds a home at Consumer Reports advocating for broadband access and affordability. … Read More
Save ACP And Then Some
With the $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) on track to run out of funds by spring/early summer 2024, finally there is a request from the White House to extend funding for the program that over 21 million households now rely on to help pay for high-speed Internet service.… Read More
U.S. News & World Report Finds Nearly 2 in 5 Internet Subscribers Compromise Personal Expenses to Afford Internet
With the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) poised to run out of funding in early Q2 next year, and no funding source lined up to keep the program alive, a recent U.S. News & World Report survey underscores the significance of the program in the face of rising prices from the nation’s major Internet Service Providers (ISPs).… Read More
Municipal Broadband Restrictions Interfere with State BEAD Plans
One major barrier to providing universal access to fast, reliable and affordable Internet service–long recognized by ILSR, telecom experts, and a growing number of ordinary citizens–are the monopoly-friendly preemption laws that either outright ban or erect insurmountable barriers to municipal broadband.… Read More
Congress Could Soon Decide Fate And Future Of Affordable Connectivity Program
The farm bill may soon play a key role in maintaining the $14 billion Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) currently overseen by the FCC. However, the farm bill doesn’t represent the only shot of extending and funding the ACP.… Read More
A Tool to Track Federal Funding for Affordable Broadband
In May, we published a story about the fate of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), based on a prediction model we built that was intended to visualize how long we might expect the $14.2 billion fund to last before needing new Congressional appro…… Read More
New Video: Coalition of Community Broadband Advocates Prevail in Louisiana
In July of 2022, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and several state lawmakers visited Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana to announce the community had secured a $4 million grant to build a fiber-to-the-home network in one of the most poorly connected parts of the state.… Read More
Statement: Gigi Sohn “is a wonderful match” for the American Association of Public Broadband
“The dishonest attacks in opposition to her FCC nomination compromise the effectiveness of the FCC at this critical juncture in U.S. telecommunications, but advocates for better Internet access have gained a tremendous ally.”… Read More
Report: Increased Wellness and Economic Return of Universal Broadband Infrastructure
Telehealth has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, but it remains unavailable to the millions of Americans who lack Internet access. To make telehealth available to the populations that need it most (i.e. rural Black populations), we need to expand broadband infrastructure. This report from Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative and ILSR demonstrates that the cost of building and maintaining universal Internet infrastructure would be quickly recouped by the massive economic returns of wider telehealth access.… Read More