Internet/Broadband

Thanks largely to the federal infrastructure law and incoming funding, now is the time to develop the sorts of public-private partnerships to grow broadband access for all residents and businesses, experts contend. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It’s probably a once-in-a-century moment. This is the moment in which we will solve many of our broadband problems, as a nation,” said Joanne Hovis, president of CTC Technology & Energy [andBenton Institute for Broadband & Society Board Member]. Collaborations between the public and private sectors can take many forms.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is committing $361,037,156.16 in its latest wave of Emergency Connectivity Fund program support. This round of commitments will support 802 schools, 49 libraries and 8 consortia, which are approved to receive nearly 654,000 connected devices and over 313,000 broadband connections. This seventh funding wave brings total commitments to nearly $4.2 billion since the program was launched on June 29, 2021.

Privacy advocacy groups Free Press Action and Fight for the Future are urging Senate Democrats to quickly confirm Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the Federal Communications Commission and Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission. President Joe Biden renominated both nominees on January 4 after the Senate failed to confirm them in December 2021. Both the FCC and the FTC currently have 2-2 partisan splits, making it difficult for their Democratic chairs to advance controversial items.

A new chapter in the ongoing saga of net neutrality and who governs the internet will take shape over the next year thanks to another shift in power at the Federal Communications Commission. With new appointees from President Joe Biden firming up a Democratic majority at the agency, reinstating Obama-era net neutrality rules thrown out under the Trump administration will be a top priority for the FCC. In late 2021, Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel the permanent chair of the FCC.

Lawmakers and lobbyists anticipate a major fight over antitrust bills meant to tame Big Tech before the midterms put an unofficial end to the legislative effort. The bills could remake how Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google operate and treat competitors — if they make it over the finish line.

State and local governments have enacted different types of legislation aimed at improving broadband availability. Two unstudied policies of interest are: (1) “dig-once” policies requiring state-funded construction projects to notify local internet providers about the opportunity to bury conduit for easier wire installation in the future, and (2) permitting policies requiring an expeditious response from local jurisdictions regarding the installation of broadband equipment.

Parks Associates announced new industry and consumer research on consumer attitudes, usage, and adoption of connected devices and services from its quarterly surveys of 10,000 US broadband households. The research quantifies the impact of the pandemic, reveals key insights on the type and brand of devices in use, and identifies preferred devices for different use cases in the home.

As state and local governments look ahead to applying for broadband grants that are part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, some governments are not waiting around for that new federal money to get started on their efforts to expand access to high-speed internet service.

It’s still very early in the ‘ballgame’ of broadband and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband players haven’t gotten up to bat much yet, but recent performance for SpaceX’s Starlink service reveals somewhat underwhelming momentum. Starlink has a total of 145K subscribers across the globe, according to company engineer Jessie Anderson. That’s up only 5K subscribers from November 2021, according to CNBC.

It's been long known that trees can slow down some 5G signals. 5G has the potential to supercharge wireless networks, but its rollout has revealed a range of complex challenges.