Connecting Massachusetts with Affordable Broadband

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Round-Up for the Week of September 2-6, 2024

After the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law in 2021, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) was tasked with the creation of an Internet for All plan that will work to close the digital divide for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, expanding high-speed internet access and digital equity programming across the state. MBI plans to accomplish these tandem goals include its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposals Volume 1 and 2, as well as the State Digital Equity Plan. Here, we look at the affordability barriers faced by residents of the Commonwealth, as well as the low-cost and middle-income plans outlined by MBI in Initial Proposal Volume 2.

High internet subscription costs are the largest identified barrier that prevents Massachusetts residents from having broadband at home. Statewide, the median price for monthly internet service among respondents surveyed for the development of the Massachusetts State Digital Equity Plan is $75. Only 68 percent of Massachusetts households earning less than $20,000 a year have a broadband subscription, while 97 percent of households earning greater than $75,000 a year subscribe to broadband service. Additionally, 52 percent of survey respondents shared that it was either somewhat hard or very hard to pay their internet bill.

Despite cost being the largest barrier statewide for households without home internet subscriptions, only 50 percent of statewide respondents were aware of the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Residents who were aware of the ACP still faced challenges navigating the program successfully before the ACP ended earlier this year.

Massachusetts' Low-Cost BEAD Plan

All BEAD-eligible subgrantees in Massachusetts will be required to offer a low-cost broadband service option. MBI adopted a similar low-cost broadband service option definition as outlined in the BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to fulfill this requirement, including the following:

• Post-ACP, a total cost of $30 per month or less must be offered to eligible end users, including in Tribal areas. The total cost must be inclusive of all taxes, fees, and charges with no additional non-recurring costs or fees to the consumer;
• Allows the end user to apply the subsidy from an ACP successor program;
• Provides typical download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and typical upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps, or the fastest speeds the infrastructure is capable of if less than 100 Mbps/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 provider later offers a low-cost plan with higher speeds downstream and/or upstream, permits eligible subscribers that are subscribed to a low-cost broadband service option to upgrade to the new low-cost offering at no cost.

To qualify for this low-cost service option, households must be enrolled in an ACP successor program (if established) or the FCC's Lifeline program. Households will also qualify if a member of a household meets any of the following criteria:

• Household income for the most recently completed calendar year was at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
• Any member of the household receives benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans and Survivors Pension benefit, or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children;
• Any member of the household participates in Tribal specific assistance programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, Tribal Head Start, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Any member of the household has applied for and been approved to receive benefits under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program, or at least one member of the household is enrolled in a school or school district that participates in the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
• Any member of the household received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; [or]
• The household meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income internet program.

MBI will incorporate bonus points in the BEAD application evaluation for any subgrantee offering a low-cost service plan costing less than $30/month. Points for the low-cost broadband subscription plan will begin at zero for offering a low-cost plan at $30/month and increase over a gradient of price ranges that eventually reach $0/month. Additionally, MBI will continue exploring ways to leverage its prior investment in middle-mile network infrastructure to reduce recurring costs by broadband providers and ultimately the price of broadband to consumers.

Massachusetts' Middle-Class Affordability for BEAD Networks

The BEAD NOFO urges states to look beyond infrastructure investment and the required low-cost service option and identify a plan to ensure that all consumers can access affordable high-speed internet by adopting diverse strategies. MBI understands the importance of adopting a strong affordability strategy that can impact as many Massachusetts residents as possible.

To affect as many residents as possible, MBI will take a multi-pronged approach to Massachusetts's current needs and opportunities including ongoing monitoring and application evaluation.

Monitoring of BEAD Recipients and Pricing Transparency

As noted in the Massachusetts BEAD Five-Year Action Plan, MBI will require each BEAD recipient to report to MBI on the progress of its BEAD deployment. MBI's monitoring plan will include tracking progress, ensuring that the recipient is meeting its goals, and continually improving the process based on collected data, stakeholder feedback, and evolving industry trends. In the reporting requirements for BEAD subgrantees, MBI will include broadband pricing (full price without discounts, including fees and other charges).

In addition to asking BEAD recipients to report their broadband pricing packages, MBI will explore the viability of potential data collection options to procure pricing data for broadband providers beyond BEAD subgrantees, as a way of bringing transparency to broadband pricing across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The recommended data would be consistent with the data likely collected through the FCC's new broadband consumer labels, called "nutrition labels". Though not yet available at the time of this writing, the new labels promise to be a valuable resource in helping consumers make informed decisions and protect themselves against hidden charges.

Incentivizing Affordability Through Scoring

In the proposed BEAD application evaluation scoring rubric for deployment projects, MBI will award points based on affordability and open access criteria. The affordability scoring is aimed at incentivizing applicants to offer their most affordable services on BEAD-funded networks for those households that do not qualify for the low-cost service option. This means that proposals emphasizing lower prices are rewarded with higher scores.

Digital Equity Implementation

Understanding that broadband pricing doesn't happen in a vacuum, MBI has established parallel workstreams that are underway that will have a positive impact.

MBI will utilize the Massachusetts Digital Equity Plan, and its successful Digital Equity Partnerships Program is designating qualified organizations as partners to implement digital equity projects that meet the goals outlined in the Commonwealth's American Rescue Plan Act's COVID recovery legislation that created a $50 million fund to bridge the digital divide. Partners will work with local and regional organizations to implement digital equity projects in the following affordability-related program areas:

1. Connectivity for Economic Hardship
2. Public Space Internet Modernization
3. Device Refurbishment and Distribution
4. Apartment Wi-Fi

Quick Bits

• Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Broadband Access to Unserved Communities
• USA Fixed Broadband Reliability Experience — National View — August 2024
• FCC Announces Application Filing Window for Cybersecurity Pilot
• Lumen Relinquishes RDOF Awards in Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Weekend Reads

• Tablets Connect Prisoners—at a Steep Price
• Biden-⁠Harris Administration Releases Roadmap to Enhance Internet Routing Security
• ‘People need to see it’: How politics hung up a $42B Biden internet buildout
• FCC Acts to Assist NTIA and Tribes in Maximizing use of TBCP Funding

ICYMI from Benton

• What happens when you lock 30 experts in a room until they agree on broadband permitting?
• The Case for Ubiquitous Broadband for K-12 Students
• GAO to Ted Cruz: USAC Is Just Alright With Me
• Equitable Access to Affordable Broadband in Wisconsin

Upcoming Events

Sep 10––From Introduction to Implementation: A BEAD Program Progress Report (House Commerce Committee)

Sep 10––A Community Conversation on Creating Digital Opportunities in Montana (NTIA)

Sep 10––What You Need to Know About Digital Inclusion Now (Marconi Society)

Sep 10––Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program FAQ Webinar (NTIA)

Sep 12––OpenVault Broadband Insights (OpenVault)

Sep 17––NextGen Accessibility Summit (TDIforAccess)

Sep 18––Task Force For Reviewing The Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (FCC)

Sep 18––Empowerment Through Access: Elevating AANHPI Communities in the Digital Age (Asian Americans Advancing Justice)

Sep 19-21––TPRC52 (Telecommunications Policy Research Conference)

Sep 26––September 2024 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (FCC)

Oct 2-––AnchorNets 2024 (SHLB)

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

Oct 15––2024 Maryland Statewide Digital Equity Summit

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

Additional Coverage on Massachusetts Broadband Priorities

• Massachusetts' Unified Vision of Digital Equity
• Massachusetts to Launch Broadband Infrastructure Gap Networks Grant Program with Capital Projects Fund Award

See the latest Massachusetts 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

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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