The full potential of #UniversalServiceFund (#USF) to close the #DigitalDivide can’t be realized without major reforms, starting with the contribution base! So says OTI's new report by @jessicadine.bsky.social & @tabularaza.net @techanddemocracy.newamerica.org www.newamerica.org/oti/reports/...

NEW Open Tech Institute report: The connectivity landscape has changed, and the Universal Service Fund should evolve alongside it. Read our recommended reforms here:

Great new piece highlighting the Light Reading op-ed I wrote with Nat Purser: Right now Congress and NTIA are pushing spectrum policies that fundamentally contradict each other. For our broadband policy to succeed, something has to give.

I just took a quiz on how much of my personal data DOGE can access. The results aren’t pretty. Take it now to discover how much of your sensitive info is now exposed. #HandsOffMyData www.newamerica.org/oti/briefs/q...

According to a Newsweek op-ed penned by Open Technology Institute's @jessicadine.bsky.social, the new #BEAD guidelines NTIA has issued under @commercegov.bsky.social’s Howard Lutnick, “won’t bring us any closer to closing the #digitaldivide —in fact, they’ll undo years of progress toward that goal.”

Republicans have long called to make broadband deployment central to broadband deployment programs—that's why we just lost so many ancillary requirements and consumer protections in BEAD. Now we're tying our broadband $ to AI? What happened to avoiding the "everything bagel" in broadband policy?

[TOMORROW] Open Technology Institute's @jessicadine.bsky.social will be on a panel for the Speeding #BEAD Summit hosted by @broadbandbreakfast.bsky.social. The panel will address how Howard Lutnick's new guidance will impact BEAD! ➡️ broadbandbreakfast.com/speeding-bea...

NTIA claims it wants to streamline the BEAD program to more effectively close the #digitaldivide. But the new guidance released today creates a confusing, last-minute mess of changes that don’t align with that mission, says @jessicadine.bsky.social. www.newamerica.org/oti/press-re...

Ending Digital Equity Act programs isn’t putting America first; it’s pulling out of a critical global race and wasting taxpayer dollars in the process, argues Jessica Dine, a policy analyst at New America’s Open Technology Institute and Wireless Future.

Why are we spending $42b+ building networks if there's nobody to use them? Adoption is the major hurdle to closing the digital divide. Most Americans are eligible for DEA funding, not a select few. And everybody's affected by networks that are less valuable bc not everyone's online.

True tech neutrality means engaging on the merits of the #tech, not making judgments based on deployment costs alone. The latter is a path to short-changing the future of #connectivity for everyone—and for rural America most of all, writes @jessicadine.bsky.social. www.newamerica.org/oti/blog/so-...

Texas pushing to remove BEAD's low-cost option requirement: a great way to ensure the people who actually need the networks being built can't afford to connect. No, the low-cost option requirement is not rate regulation.

Lack of broadband adoption is a major obstacle to the U.S. becoming a fully digitally connected nation—one that's more advanced, resilient and efficient. NTIA's DEA Competitive Grant Program is set to close this gap. Learn about the winning proposals here:

Happy 30th to NTIA's Internet Use Survey! Non-adoption is one of the most understudied causes of the digital divide, and NTIA's survey is one of the best tools for understanding it