Nov 19, 2021 | Authors, Blog Entry, By Ryan Johnston, Congress, FCC, Federal Policy, HowTo, News, NTIA, Outreach
In light of the billions of dollars that are being invested into digital infrastructure programs, it is critical for federal officials to conduct outreach to and solicit input from potentially affected communities. One of the largest barriers to municipal engagement...
Nov 19, 2021 | Authors, Blog Entry, Broadband Funding, Broadband Mapping, Broadband Speed, By Corian Zacher, Colorado, Illinois, News, Oregon
Surveys are not a novel tool for facilitating communication between residents and local officials, but broadband studies have increasingly become a forum of public opinion for residents and their local elected officials. Oftentimes, municipalities work with broadband...
Nov 19, 2021 | Authors, Blog Entry, Broadband Mapping, By Ryan Johnston, Federal Policy, News, State Policy
In order to promote meaningful broadband deployment and adoption programs, policymakers and experts must first know where service is strong, weak, or nonexistent. Currently broadband maps are created using provider reported Form 477 data. However, the Broadband DATA...
Nov 18, 2021 | Blog Entry, Broadband Funding, Broadband Mapping, By Corian Zacher, Federal Policy, News, North Carolina, Oregon, Public-Private Partnerships, State Policy, Washington
On November 15th, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Infrastructure Bill”), a historic $65 billion investment in broadband programs. At a time when a home broadband subscription equates to reliable healthcare, quality education,...
Nov 18, 2021 | Blog Entry, By NCC Staff, Emergency Broadband Benefit, FCC, Federal Policy, News
Next Century Cities is committed to providing a platform for members to connect with federal leaders about their on-the-ground experiences in towns, cities, counties, and villages nationwide. Municipal administrators and advocates are experts on how federal policies...
Nov 15, 2021 | Blog Entry, By Francella Ochillo, Digital Inclusion, News
Next Century Cities works to ensure that residents in every community – regardless of geography or zip code have reliable and affordable access to high-speed connectivity. On November 4th, Next Century Cities Executive Director, Francella Ochilo, spoke at...
Nov 15, 2021 | Blog Entry, Broadband Mapping, By Corian Zacher, By Francella Ochillo, News, Planning, Uncategorized
In June 2021, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued Executive Directive 2021-2, which established the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (“MIHI”). The office is responsible for coordinating all state, federal, philanthropic, and private investments made into broadband...
Nov 11, 2021 | Blog Entry, By NCC Staff, Community, Digital Inclusion, Federal Policy
On October 29, 2021, Next Century Cities joined comments led by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) regarding the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) proposal to rescind its Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule issued in June 2020. In...
Nov 4, 2021 | Adoption, Affordability, ARPA funding, Blog Entry, broadband grant program, By Corian Zacher, California, California Public Utilities Commission, Digital Equity, Digital Inclusion, Economic Development, News, State Policy
The California State Capitol As states nationwide are determining whether to allocate American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery funds for broadband, California is in the process of designing grant programs to distribute funding. Governor Gavin Newsom signed...
Nov 2, 2021 | Blog Entry, By Lukas Pietrzak, By Ryan Johnston, FTC
On October 28, 2021, Next Century Cities submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to take action on protecting consumers’ privacy rights and providing more oversight related to online data collection and management. The letter underscored...
Nov 2, 2021 | Blog Entry, Broadband Competition, By Corian Zacher, By Ryan Johnston, Federal Filing, MDU, MTE, urban, Wireline
Credit: Dojo Networks In September 2021, the Wireline Competition Bureau (“WCB”) of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) released a Public Notice seeking to refresh the record on how exclusive agreements between Multiple Tenant Environment (“MTE”), also...
Nov 2, 2021 | Blog Entry, By Francella Ochillo, Privacy
Working to develop privacy protections, and understanding how the lack of regulatory oversight impacts students, is central to the Center for Democracy and Technology’s (CDT) work. As Next Century Cities works to expand broadband access, partnering with allies like...
