Johannes M. Bauer, June 27, 2025 Key points Background The BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice of June 6, 2025 (PN) greatly narrows the vision embedded in the original BEAD program.[1] The previous approach recognized that digital equity and complementary policy measures, such as workforce development programs, boost the social and economic benefits of high-speed Internet access.[2] In contrast, the revised PN aims at minimizing BEAD program outlays for broadband access. Although efficiency and expediency are desirable, the new approach risks jeopardizing even the more modest remaining goals of BEAD. For one, the PN creates tensions between short- and long-term planning that […]
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The Digital Equity Act of 2021 appropriated $2.75 billion to support programs to improve the ability of covered populations, including older Americans, veterans, individuals living in rural areas, individuals with disabilities, low-income households, and members of racial and ethnic minorities, to participate in the digital economy. Research and experience during the past 30 years (e.g., Briglauer et al., 2024; Röller & Waverman, 2001) provide strong evidence that the benefits of broadband connectivity and emerging uses of digital technologies generate the highest benefits if they are used across all segments of the population. This requires ubiquitous digital skills and literacy. Empirical […]
Johannes M. Bauer Changes in government usually motivate stakeholders to generate wish lists and recommendations for the new administration. This transition is no different, with numerous think tanks and advocacy groups in op eds, white papers, panel discussions and conferences offering directions to the Administration, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). I have my own wish list and will have to say more about it in time: Renewal of spectrum authority, a more rational system of universal service support, policies that facilitate meaningful innovation in advanced and emerging technologies, consideration of distributional effects of policies, and safeguarding free speech […]
A new study from Michigan State University warns that gains made to address broadband and internet connectivity in Michigan rural communities are beginning to fade. According to MSU research, one in three, or 32.5%, of rural students still lack adequate, fast broadband home internet, despite progress achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students who have no access, those who can only go online using a smartphone, and those with slower home internet struggle to complete homework and stay connected. They are also more likely to experience deficits in academic performance and well-being. Approximately 18% of Michigan residents live in rural communities, […]
Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, and Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy Reposted from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Daily Beat, February 28, 2023 (access original post here). © Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2023.” The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which includes the Digital Equity Act of 2021 (DEA), establishes a broad framework and significant funding to advance broadband connectivity and digital equity. The law recognizes key factors and populations to address when striving for digital equity. To fully realize the full benefits of digital technology for individuals, communities, and society at large […]
Keith N. Hampton receives the William F. Ogburn Career Achievement Award from the Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology section of the American Sociological Association Keith N. Hampton, Ph.D. has been selected as this year’s recipient of the William F. Ogburn Career Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions in the area of Communication, Information Technologies and Media Sociology (CITAMS). His years of research explore how social media and digital technologies influence society and the way people interact with one another. Hampton is a professor in the Department of Media & Information where he studies and teaches the relationship between digital technologies, inequality, social networks, democratic […]
After years of efforts by public interest groups, the federal government made digital equity an explicit goal of infrastructure policy. Originally introduced in 2019 by Patty Murray (WA), the bill was reintroduced in 2021 and then embedded in the Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021. Its three programs will fund state digital equity planning ($60M), provide support to states for five years to advance digital equity programs and implement digital equity plans ($1.44B), and $1.25B for a competitive grant program in support of digital equity projects. A proactive approach to digital equity was at odds with the neo-liberal and techno-utopian […]
The award was presented at the 12th International Conference on Social Media & Society to Keith Hampton and Inyoung Shin for the Best Paper entitled “Excessive Social Media Use is Less Harmful than Disconnection for the Self Esteem of Rural Adolescents”. #SMSociety is an annual conference with about 150 papers. This paper is based on the Quello rural schools project. You can find the Video here-Excessive Social Media Use is Less Harmful than Disconnection for the Self Esteem of Rural Adolescents. Or read the paper here DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4136539
Project to create Michigan Open Optical Network – Leveraging Innovation to Get High-Speed Technology (MOON-Light) East Lansing, Mich., June 27, 2022 – Merit Network and Michigan State University are joint recipients of a $10.5 million National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Program Grant that will connect Michigan’s many disparate Internet pathways. This program, named the Michigan Open Optical Network – Leveraging Innovation to Get High-Speed Technology (MOON-Light), will help address critical infrastructure gaps by enabling technologically advanced, middle-mile fiber optic infrastructure across the state. It will allow interconnecting local Internet service providers (ISPs) to bring affordable, robust, high-speed broadband Internet to homes and businesses in Michigan’s underserved/unserved population […]
Brandt Fellowship for Faculty Excellence The fellowship program is in its second year and is supported by the Ned Brandt Faculty Excellence Fund, named for late alumnus Ellis “Ned” Brandt (BA ’43 Journalism). Brandt, a prominent Michigan philanthropist with a storied career in journalism and public relations, left a gift to the College of Communication Arts and Sciences through his estate to continue his legacy through a series of endowed professorships in all facets of communication. The one-year fellowship recognizes excellence in research, scholarship or creative work by faculty in MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences. All full-time faculty members in […]