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Round-Up for the Week of September 23-27, 2024

In June 2024, ConnectRI, a program of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) released the final and approved version of the state's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume II. Volume II, in tandem with the state's approved Initial Proposal Volume I, caps off the BEAD planning process by ConnectRI and RICC in advance of the state's BEAD funding award of over $108 million. As a part of this plan, RICC outlines its low-cost and middle-class affordability plans to ensure all residents in the Ocean State are connected.

Affordability in Rhode Island

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Communities Survey (ACS), seventy-eight percent of Rhode Islanders subscribe to broadband internet such as cable, fiber optic, or DSL, yet many groups have significantly lower broadband subscription rates, including individuals with language barriers (57%), individuals with disabilities (63%), and low-income households (64%).

Affordability was the most frequently cited challenge to broadband access according to ConnectRI's digital equity survey and focus group participants as a part of the state's Digital Equity Plan stakeholder engagement process. Among Rhode Island Internet Connectivity Survey respondents, only 15 percent said that their broadband internet service was affordable.

Participants in the statewide workshop discussions cited the burden of internet costs for individuals with fixed incomes and/or benefit reliance. Additional feedback included the limited internet service provider (ISP) options leading to lower quality services at higher prices and the lack of service cost transparency, including an inability to ascertain a final price prior to subscription and/or unanticipated price changes without prior notice.

Participants also expressed concern for the time-limited Federal Communications Commission Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding––an active program at the time of ConnectRI's survey––the demise of which has resulted in an increase in the amount of Rhode Islanders who struggle to afford internet service. Most notably, participants stated that the opportunity costs and long-term adverse economic impact from limited digital access for individuals, families, local communities, and the state would far exceed the costs to implement digital equity initiatives.

Rhode Island's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option

Provided that the ACP (or a successor program) is funded, Rhode Island will require BEAD subgrantees to provide the following low-cost broadband service option:

• Costs $30 per month or less, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and charges if the subscriber does not reside on Tribal Lands, or $75 per month or less, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and charges if the subscriber resides on Tribal Lands, with no additional non-recurring costs or fees to the consumer such as installation costs or consumer premise equipment;
• Allows the end user to apply the ACP subsidy to the service price;
• Provides the greater of (a) typical download speeds of at least 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) and typical upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps;
• Provides typical latency measurements of no more than 100 milliseconds;
• Is not subject to data caps, surcharges, or usage-based throttling, and is subject only to the same acceptable use policies to which subscribers to all other broadband internet access service plans offered to home subscribers by the participating subgrantee must adhere; and
• In the event the internet service provider later offers a low-cost plan with higher speeds downstream and/or upstream, permits eligible subscribers who are subscribed to a low-cost broadband service option to upgrade to the new low-cost offering at any time and at no additional cost.

While it is not mandatory that BEAD subgrantees inform customers of their mandatory participation in the ACP, proposers are strongly recommended to establish that potential customers are conscious of their participation in the ACP.

RICC will require the low-cost broadband service option to be offered by subgrantees to those who are eligible to participate in the ACP. Subgrantees are prohibited from imposing extra eligibility conditions beyond what the Affordable Connectivity Program mandates.

RICC will require the low-cost broadband service option to be available to eligible recipients for the useful life of the network.

Since the ACP ended and no successor program has been created, RICC will require subgrantees to provide the same low-cost broadband service option, with the exception of annual inflation increases based on the annual Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index for services excluding energy and housing, as published by U.S. Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis.

RICC will also require the low-cost broadband service option to be offered by BEAD subgrantees to households located in areas in which the percentage of individuals with a household income that is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line (applicable to a family of the size involved) is higher than the state percentage of such individuals.

Middle-Class Affordability Plans

Affordability is a primary goal of the ConnectRI program. As a result, RICC will ensure all middle-class families in the BEAD-funded network’s service area have access to high-speed broadband at reasonable prices.

To achieve this goal, RICC has designed the Deployment Projects Subgrantee Selection Process & Scoring Approach to emphasize affordability, which is the selection criterion with the largest impact on a proposer’s potential score, making up 33 percent of the total. RICC will score proposers, in part, based on the prices they commit to offering for high-speed broadband (1 Gbps download/upload speeds for all-fiber networks and 100/20 Mbps download/upload speeds for projects employing other technologies). Proposers with more affordable prices will receive scores higher than proposers with less affordable prices for these speeds, which, given the weight of this criterion, will likely result in proposers with the most affordable plans winning bids across the state, which will largely benefit middle-class families.

In addition to the BEAD program, RICC intends to address middle-class affordability through its use of funding from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Upon approval of the United States Department of the Treasury, RICC will score proposals for CPF deployment projects to emphasize affordability (i.e., affordability will be the largest and most significant scoring criterion). RICC will score CPF proposers, in part, based on the prices they commit to offering for high-speed broadband (100/100 Mbps download/upload). CPF proposers with more affordable prices will receive scores higher than proposers with less affordable prices for these speeds, which, given the weight of this criterion, will likely result in proposers with the most affordable plans winning bids across the state, which will largely benefit middle-class families.

Broadband Affordability Scoring

For both all-fiber and projects that use other technologies, proposers will be able to earn points by showing a commitment to provide the most affordable total price to the customer for 1/1 Gbps service (or, pending NTIA approval, substantially similar service such as 940/880 Mbps) or 100/20 Mbps service, respectively.

Submittal Requirements: RICC will require proposers to adhere to the following requirements:

• Certify binding commitment to a non-promotional price, as specified by the proposer, for a period to be determined based on NTIA’s forthcoming guidance;
• Proposers are permitted to include annual inflation adjustments based on the annual Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index for services excluding energy and housing, as published by U.S. Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis;
• Proposers must commit to offering the same rates to households that receive broadband subsidy or participate in an affordable broadband program and households that do not receive a broadband subsidy or participate in an affordable broadband program;
• The service costs must be inclusive of all taxes, fees, and charges, with no additional non-recurring costs or fees to the consumer (i.e., no installation or equipment costs);
• The service must provide typical latency measurements of no more than 100 milliseconds; and
• The service may not be subject to data caps, surcharges, or usage-based throttling, and is subject only to the same acceptable use policies to which subscribers to all other broadband internet access service plans offered to home subscribers by the participating subgrantee must adhere.

Evaluation and Scoring: RICC will review for reasonableness all the revenue and cost components of the business plan and cash flow projections that substantiate and justify the monthly subscription price submitted in this scoring criterion. If RICC is not satisfied with the proposer’s submittals, it may assign a score of zero points to this evaluation criterion or request one-time clarifications from proposers in case of lack of sufficient detail. If the clarifications provided are not sufficient, RICC may assign a score of zero points for affordability. If RICC believes the submittals, RICC will assign points based on the following approach:

Proposer(s) with lowest monthly subscription cost for:

• 1/1 Gbps service (download/upload), in the case of fiber projects, or
• 100/20 Mbps service (download/upload), in the case of non-fiber projects

Awarded Points: 35

Proposer(s) with monthly subscription costs greater than or equal to twice the lowest proposal for:

• 1/1 Gbps service (download/upload), in the case of fiber projects, or
• 100/20 Mbps service (download/upload), in the case of projects using other technologies

Awarded Points: 0

All other Proposers are awarded points proportionally to the proposal with the lowest monthly subscription costs (for example, a proposal with monthly costs X percent higher than the lowest cost proposal will earn points based on the following formula:

• Awarded Points = (1-X%) x 35

Rhode Island Ensures Program Cohesion and a Collective Vision

Rhode Island’s overarching vision and goal for statewide broadband and digital equity is to leverage a best-in-class, resilient, sustainable, and scalable broadband infrastructure to propel the state’s 21st century economic, education, healthcare, civic, and social engagement, and quality of life, by ensuring all Rhode Islanders have access to affordable, accessible high-speed internet in their homes, at their places of employment, and at public facilities by 2027. This vision spans the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, Digital Equity Act, and Capital Projects Fund initiatives undertaken by the state. RICC recognizes that the issues that the BEAD and Digital Equity Act programs seek to resolve are interconnected, and therefore the success of either program is dependent on the success of the other—broadband infrastructure must be accompanied by digital equity activities, and digital equity must include affordable broadband deployment.

Cox Takes Rhode Island to Court

Cox Communications recently filed a lawsuit against RICC over its BEAD plan, alleging RICC used "flawed internet speed data" to determine unserved areas in the state. Cox alleges that the plan will "build taxpayer-subsidized and duplicative high-speed broadband internet in affluent areas of Rhode Island." The legal battle—which has been brewing for some time—does hit upon affordability. Cox said that "[RICC] does not plan to use any of the $108.7 million in funds for the BEAD program on providing affordable internet access subsidies to low-income Rhode Islanders where high-speed broadband internet already exists."

In response to the suit, RICC issued a statement saying, in part:

For more information about the dispute, see Cox files $108 million lawsuit against Rhode Island BEAD Plan.

Additional Coverage on Rhode Island's Broadband Priorities

• A Wholistic Digital Equity Plan for Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Works to Bring Broadband to All Residents

See the latest Rhode Island broadband news

More in this Series

• Louisiana's Plan for Affordable Broadband
• Pennsylvania's Plan for Affordable Broadband
• Washington State's Plan for Affordable Broadband
• The Kansas Affordability Plan
• Affordable Broadband for Nevada
• Will BEAD Networks Deliver Affordable Broadband for All in West Virginia?
• Delaware Wants to be the First State to Achieve Universal Broadband—Affordability is a Key Component
• Eliminating the Digital Divide in the District of Columbia Requires a Focus on Affordability
• A Plan to Bridge the Digital Divide in Colorado
• Ensuring All Hoosiers Have Reliable and Affordable Broadband
• Increasing Broadband Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability for the Benefit of All Utahns
• The Connection Between Affordability and Internet Adoption in Oregon
• Connecticut Working to Ensure Universal Broadband Availability, Affordability, and Accessibility
• How Maryland is Working to Make Broadband More Affordable
• Arizona Aims to Make the "6th C" More Affordable
• Illinois Committed to Changing the Broadband Affordability Picture
• Broadband Affordability is First and Foremost in Maine
• Universal Access to Affordable, Reliable Broadband in Kentucky
• Hawai'i is Working to Connect All to Affordable Broadband
• Equitable Access to Affordable Broadband in Wisconsin
• Connecting Massachusetts with Affordable Broadband
• Montana's Data-Driven Affordability Plans
• What We're Learning While Reading State Affordability Plans
• Connecting All Missourians to Affordable Broadband

Quick Bits

• Get Ready - State Digital Equity Capacity and Planning Grant Program: Native Entities
• States Reckon With Lapse of the Broadband Affordable Connectivity Program
• New Census Data Highlights Impact of Affordable Connectivity Program

Weekend Reads

• State Data Privacy Laws & Civil Rights Protections
• FCC Commissioner Starks Remarks at 6GSymposium
• United Nations Releases Report: Governing AI for Humanity

ICYMI from Benton

• What the FTC Learned About Social Media
• Building Safety Into Digital Inclusion Efforts
• Unleash Fixed Wireless Service in 12 GHz to Help Close the Digital Divide
• What We're Learning While Reading State Affordability Plans

Upcoming Events

Oct 2-––AnchorNets 2024 (SHLB)

Oct 3––AI and Power (Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs)

Oct 9––This is only a Test: Understanding Experimental Licensing (FCC)

Oct 11––Digital Equity: The Future of Bridging the Digital Divide (AARP)

Oct 14-15––Michigan Broadband Summit (Merit)

Oct 15––2024 Maryland Statewide Digital Equity Summit

Oct 15––Task Force For Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (FCC)

Oct 17––October 2024 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (FCC)

Oct 18––Disability Advisory Committee Meeting (FCC)

Oct 24––Broadband Data Collection Mobile Challenge Webinar (FCC)

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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