Rural people urgently need improved internet service, ag lawmakers agree, but Congress must confront high costs and a variety of technologies as it attempts to ease the problem.
Considered key to precision agriculture, health care, education, commerce and quality of life in rural areas, fast internet remains unavailable to 24 million Americans, by one estimate.
Reducing this number has been high on rural groupsâ minds for years, but the issue gained political importance when the pandemic drove millions of people to work and attend school at home.
âItâs resulted in lost opportunities to expand businesses, to learn new skills or even participate in daily activities,â U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said in an April 20 hearing of the House Agriculture Committee.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving ahead with a Trump-era decision to reallocate wireless bandwidth set aside for vehicle safety despite warnings from trucking companies and technology experts that the move could affect the deployment and costs of truck platooning.
A final rule issued Friday for public inspection is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Monday and sets a July 2 effective date for the FCC s decision. The rule repurposes the lower 45 megahertz of the 5.850-5.925 GHz band, which had been reserved for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, to instead address growing demand for unlicensed public Wi-Fi. The rule was approved by the FCC in December.
By Dave Basner
Apr 30, 2021
When it comes to helping Americans in need, there has been so much talk about stimulus checks that people have totally missed the other types of financial aid that are available. One of them is called the Emergency Broadband Benefit and because of the act, millions of Americans can receive a monthly subsidy to help pay for their Internet.
The program passed in December as part of the relief package that included the second stimulus check. It gives the Federal Communications Commission a $3.2 billion fund to distribute to Americans with low incomes and those who lost income during the pandemic. Eligible recipients will get $50 monthly internet subsidies. This week, the FCC explained how they can sign up for them.
By Dave Basner
Apr 30, 2021
When it comes to helping Americans in need, there has been so much talk about stimulus checks that people have totally missed the other types of financial aid that are available. One of them is called the Emergency Broadband Benefit and because of the act, millions of Americans can receive a monthly subsidy to help pay for their Internet.
The program passed in December as part of the relief package that included the second stimulus check. It gives the Federal Communications Commission a $3.2 billion fund to distribute to Americans with low incomes and those who lost income during the pandemic. Eligible recipients will get $50 monthly internet subsidies. This week, the FCC explained how they can sign up for them.
By Dave Basner
Apr 30, 2021
When it comes to helping Americans in need, there has been so much talk about stimulus checks that people have totally missed the other types of financial aid that are available. One of them is called the Emergency Broadband Benefit and because of the act, millions of Americans can receive a monthly subsidy to help pay for their Internet.
The program passed in December as part of the relief package that included the second stimulus check. It gives the Federal Communications Commission a $3.2 billion fund to distribute to Americans with low incomes and those who lost income during the pandemic. Eligible recipients will get $50 monthly internet subsidies. This week, the FCC explained how they can sign up for them.