While AT&T is on track to meet all nationwide First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) milestones, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week flagged schedule, communication, and end-user satisfaction management issues that it said could stop the program from reaching its full potential.

While touting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) efforts to smooth the path for 5G wireless infrastructure and service deployment, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today that “accelerating infrastructure deployment [has] created a new challenge and opportunity.”

A bipartisan group of House members introduced legislation on Jan. 16 that would use broadband service data mapping to identify areas of the country where high rates of poor maternal health overlap with a lack of broadband service access.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed Dec. 4 to create a $9 billion fund to support the deployment of 5G wireless services in rural portions of the U.S. The proposal would require approval from a majority of the full five-member commission, with a vote likely sometime in 2020.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) launched a new broadband initiative dubbed the Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI), that will focus on “solving broadband deployment challenges in vulnerable communities.”

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) made its first investment under its ReConnect pilot program to support broadband availability, offering $2.85 million to a local service provider in Tennessee, the department announced October 18.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), along with the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), on Oct. 24 launched their Accelerate R2 Network Challenge.

More than 20 telecommunications and utility industry groups, as well as state and local government organizations, banded together to urge congressional leaders to continue funding broadband deployment in rural America in FY2020.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) Board today approved an $82 million budget for FY2020.

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) released its new Roadmap for the future of FirstNet today, a nationwide broadband network dedicated to public safety.