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  2. April 2023

April 2023

States Must Be the Truth Arbiters of Broadband Coverage, Say Experts

States must be the arbiter of coverage disputes for the allocation of coming federal funds, said broadband experts. The $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program directs states to design their own grant programs. To successfully implement these state grant programs, states must “be the source of truth for challenges,” said Peggy Schaffer of mapping software company VETRO. It is the responsibility of states to determine truth by sifting through many sources of coverage claims, said Schaffer.

Op-ed

Will Maryland be the Tesla or the Solyndra of the BEAD Program?

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Monday, April 17, 2023

BEAD could boost the enterprise value of top US telecoms by $17 billion

There are still lots of unanswered questions about the true benefit the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will bestow upon some of the nation's top broadband providers. But a "rough, preliminary estimate" from New Street Research indicates the BEAD opportunity stands to beef up their combined enterprise values by billions of dollars. New Street Research employed a multi-step model to calculate the number of served and unserved homes that can qualify for BEAD subsidies.

How much will shipping costs impact rural broadband builds?

Operators across the board have already flagged rising deployment costs related to inflation, geopolitical issues, and labor shortages. And it’s no secret that shipping delays of all stripes have plagued construction projects across the nation since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Between international shipping container delays, shortages of truckers, the steady climb of the price of diesel, and rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve, it would seem that telecom is slated to take a serious hit in costs

States, NTIA say municipal broadband laws won’t delay BEAD funding

State and federal government officials said that state laws restricting municipal broadband deployments aren’t expected to delay the distribution of funding from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. BEAD support is expected to be divvied up among all 50 states in the coming months, but, as BroadbandNow noted, rules for BEAD stipulate that states with laws that either restrict or prohibit municipal broadband must disclose whether or not they plan to waive such laws.

Public Knowledge Bolsters Advocacy and Communications Teams To Expand Outreach

Public Knowledge announced two additions and one change to its team. Public Knowledge welcomed Cedric Watkins, Government Affairs Policy Advocate, and Will McBride, Digital Content Manager.

Cost of 100% Fiber in Closing the US Digital Divide will Exceed Funds Available by 5X

Understanding clearly the costs of fiber and other technologies

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