This update summarizes the very busy last two months of the year. November and December saw AIPI participating in multiple events with our expertise in broadband and digital equity with EJ a panelist at the 39th Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy and Regulation and H a panelist at the NASIG Virtual 2021 Conference. Dr.
Broadband
Program Overview
The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) is now the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP replaced the EBB on December 31, 2021. An additional $14.2 billion was appropriated to the ACP to continue offering broadband service discounts and device reimbursements for qualifying households. The main changes to the program are:
It was a whirlwind of a month at AIPI. It is exciting when we’re able to fulfill our mission of service to Indian Country as an Indigenous-led and staffed non-teaching research institute. It is exciting to be a part of the solution.
After years of advocacy, the FCC is finally taking action to make needed improvements to the The Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries, also known as E-rate. On October 14, 2021, the FCC published a notice in the Federal Register of a proposed rule to make Tribal libraries eligible to participate in the E-rate program.
This is an important reminder that the deadline for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) is coming up tomorrow, September 1 at 11:59 PM PDT. This is a statutory deadline and cannot be modified. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) held a TBCP webinar on August 24, 2021, in which they highlighted the following points:
Image Credit: Christopher Mitchell, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, for the Internet Society
On Monday, June 7, 2021, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the launch of a new data dashboard which tracks the progress of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB).
This past weekend (June 5th - 7th) I went to the White Earth Nation in Northern Minnesota to witness the Treaty People Gathering on Treaty rights and Tribal sovereignty. This event brought together more than 1,000 people from across the country to learn about Tribal sovereignty, Treaty rights, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) surrounding the Line 3 Pipeline.
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, and Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the launch of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. The program consists of $1 billion in grants from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 and will be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration(NTIA).