Policy Positions
NDIA joins call for better Federal broadband data
Ten organizations including NDIA have called on the U.S. Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to take the lead in creating a new and improved system for gathering national data on broadband access and adoption,...
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Satellite Service is Not Broadband
Recent FCC "Broadband Deployment Report" states 95% of Americans have access to 25/3 broadband. This number is influenced by the inclusion of satellite service as broadband. THIS IS A PROBLEM. The FCC's broadband data has other flaws but their data is one of the few...
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The Quest for Digital Equity
The March issue of Government Technology magazine has some terrific reading, including an article on "The Quest for Digital Equity" that features NDIA's Executive Director on digital equity and digital inclusion. The article points to the...
read moreDigital Inclusion Innovators Visit Policymakers
NDIA was originally created to educate policymakers as to the experience and expertise of local digital inclusion programs around the country. In fact, we knew we need to educate policymakers to the very existence of local digital inclusion organizations and digital...
read moreNDIA Comments to FCC – Do Not Implement Proposed Lifeline Changes
On February 19, 2018, NDIA submitted comments in response to the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry, titled "Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers”. The proposed rules seem explicitly designed to reduce the Lifeline program's...
read moreGuidance: Submit Lifeline Comments to the FCC
NDIA was first organized in 2015 to provide a needed voice for digital inclusion practitioners in the proceeding which led to the FCC's Third Report and Order, Further Report and Order, and Order On Reconsideration adopted March 2, 2016 – referred to as the 2016...
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Webinar: Impending Changes to FCC’s Lifeline Program
Until the 2016 modernization order, the Lifeline program was only a telephone subsidy. The impending changes to Lifeline roll back much of the extension of Lifeline into home broadband support while also cutting the reach of the telephone subsidy. The following quote...
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Dismantling of Net Neutrality Will Lead to More Digital Divides
The current Federal Communications Commission is on a deregulation roll. At the agency's December 14 Open Commission Meeting, the commissioners are expected to vote 3-2 to dismantle net neutrality, ending the existing requirement for Internet service providers to...
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FCC’s “steps to transform Lifeline” reduce its potential to bridge Digital Divide
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 Thursday to move forward with dismantling the broadband Lifeline framework approved a year and a half ago under former Chairman Wheeler. Chairman Ajit Pai and his two Republican colleagues approved a Notice of Proposed...
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FCC Suggested Polices to “Bridge the Digital Divide” Do No Such Thing
NDIA has responded, via letter, to a document released by the FCC titled "Bridging the Digital Divide for Low-Income Consumers". This document includes the "Fourth Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Memorandum Opinion and Order", a "Notice of Proposed...
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