Op-Ed

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither is broadband. One in five New Mexicans don’t have reliable high-speed internet at a time when such technology is a necessity, not a luxury. It’s imperative that constituents, households, businesses and other entities have broadband that delivers telehealth, distance learning, government services, job creation, economic growth and other vital services. Throughout New Mexico—particularly in rural areas and the 23 tribal communities—lack of accessible and reliable internet continues to hinder people from getting online.

That universal broadband access is a goal worth pursuing has become conventional wisdom. The risk of being elevated to conventional wisdom is that the root arguments bury themselves so deeply that alternate notions sprout and threaten them. While broadband access touches social, cultural, political, health-related and even spiritual elements of modern life, let’s focus on two: education and economics. That’s where the digital divide can do the most damage. Anyone who has hopped on to YouTube for an appliance repair or software how-to knows the value of instructional show-and-tell.

There’s been much handwringing this year over the prospect of defaults in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program, but very little empirical analysis of the actual extent of default that has occurred to date or data-driven projections of what’s likely to occur in the future. It’s time to dig deeper to figure out what’s going on at the local level. The FCC authorized 379 companies to receive $6 billion in RDOF support over a ten-year term, covering just under 3.5 million locations in 48 states and one territory.

One in three Americans doesn’t have internet at speeds fast enough to use Zoom. Despite being an essential utility, building out the nation’s internet infrastructure has been largely left to market forces with highly uneven results: 40 million Americans are still waiting to be connected. Large traditional internet service providers have not and will not invest in communities where the economics don’t fit their business models.

There’s a huge amount of energy in the fiber broadband ecosystem right now driven largely by the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) program. But as someone who’s covered telecommunications for three decades, I suspect that we’re nearing the peak of the hype cycle for broadband.

Many people have criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its execution of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program, which awarded $6 billion in funding to bring broadband to 3.5 million locations across the country.

It’s a familiar scene in communities across the nation: teenagers lingering outside fast-food restaurants and inside malls with laptops on their knees, surfing for free public Wi-Fi to be able to do their homework. Some 17 million students across the nation don’t have internet service at home, hampering their ability to study and complete assignments and prepare themselves for college and the workforce.

What if a single fiber network could serve every client segment in a community, bring competition and choice for internet and services all the way to the desktop, and form the foundation for securely modernizing other critical infrastructure. Cities across the U.S. need all of the following: ultra-fast and affordable internet for residents and small businesses; modern connectivity solutions for enterprises, hospitals, and schools; “smart” transit and mobility solutions; responsible energy creation and power grid optimization; and sustainable water systems.

One of the most important lessons I learned in medical school was that in an emergency, you don’t have the luxury to wait for perfect information. You assess the available facts, you use your best judgment, and you act quickly.

In 2021, California did something truly remarkable and forward looking by approving historic legislation that allocated a record $6 billion to bring equitable and affordable high-speed broadband service to all its citizens. The multiyear investment aimed to close the digital divide by building the largest “middle-mile” and “last-mile” high-speed broadband internet project in the nation. However, with the state facing a record $44.9 billion budget deficit this year, Gov Gavin Newsom (D-CA) plans to cut $2 billion for the program he previously championed. California lawmakers must not backtra