Analysis

After years of the same old thing, the rules of broadband internet may finally get rewritten.

The Federal Communications Commission is requiring changes that it hopes will improve the reliability and resiliency of cellular networks to be better prepared for and respond better to emergencies. The FCC's order cites recent emergencies like Hurricane Ida, the earthquakes in Puerto Rico, severe winter storms in Texas, and worsening hurricane and wildfire seasons. This makes me wonder if we might someday see similar requirements for internet service providers (ISPs) and broadband networks.

Since 2005, Maine has recognized the importance of adequate internet service to everyday life and commerce, in both urban and rural areas of the state. On July 14, the US Department of Treasury approved the state's plan to connect 22,500 homes and businesses through Maine Infrastructure Ready. Maine has two similar, but separate broadband authorities: the ConnectMaine Authority (ConnectME) and Maine Connectivity Authority. The Maine Connectivity Authority will oversee Maine Infrastructure Ready, a competitive broadband infrastructure grant program.

To estimate how much it will cost to close the digital divide in broadband access we need two pieces of information: the cost to serve each location, and how many locations there are.

Maryland wants broadband networks to reach everyone in the state. Its efforts got a boost this week when the US Department of the Treasury approved the state's plan to apply 55 percent of its allocation from the Capital Projects Fund towards broadband deployment. The Federal Communications Commission estimates that just 2.6 percent of Marylanders lack access to broadband networks that can deliver speeds of 25 Mbps downloads and 3 Mbps uploads.

People might wonder why so many people are needed to implement the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. I think that being in charge of a state broadband grant office has to be one of the toughest gigs in the country right now. The main purpose of this blog is to give folks an idea of the huge challenges facing each state broadband office over the next few years. One of the first things each state will have to do is to develop a detailed broadband plan that describes how the BEAD grant program will work. The BEAD grant rules are complex.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently filed a request for a six-month waiver from the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) – more colloquially referred to as the Buy American rules. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) legislation updated the BABA rules to apply to all projects that receive federal funding for infrastructure as of November 18, 2021, the date the IIJA was published in the Federal Register.

People living in rural Kansas have been concerned about their lack of access to reliable broadband for over 20 years. As part of a second wave of Capital Projects Fund awards, Kansas will receive $83.5 million from the US Department of the Treasury to increase access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. According to BroadbandNow, 15 percent of households in Kansas have no access to the internet. Kansas ranks 35th among states in internet coverage, speed and availability.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) set a new definition of broadband at 100/20 Mbps for purposes of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants – if a customer fails that test they are considered either unserved or underserved. Everybody nationwide has been so focused on download speeds that we are largely ignoring the fact that a huge number of nationwide broadband customers are not getting upload speeds of 20 Mbps.

On June 24, 2022, The Hill published our Op-Ed urging policymakers to fully fund the Affordable Connectivity Program. That Op-Ed predicted that funding for the program is likely to run out by mid-2024 and called for action at the state and federal levels to extend that funding. We’ve had some follow up questions on how we came up with our projections. Here we explain our projections.