The state of broadband in the US’s farmlands is a mixture of the good, the bad, and the apprehensive. The good: successes and advancements brought on by broadband and various digital technologies. The bad: many farms still have to rely on pitifully weak technologies such as satellite and DSL. The cloud of apprehension: we spend $6 billion in broadband grants yearly with surprisingly little to show for it, and yet we’re ready to do it again next year. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society released a progress report on farming and broadband, under the sponsorship of the United Soybean Board, titled, “The Future of American Farming: Broadband Solutions for the Farm Office, Field, and Community.” Many will find the report informative because it helps break down the complex topic of broadband in America’s farmlands and other rural areas. For one thing, broadband drives important indoor office and business management activities for farmers while simultaneously managing multiple outdoor tasks, many of which require wireless technologies. Second, in midsize and smaller farms, owners/business managers and family workers who need broadband’s business-management capabilities need the technology’s capability as personal and family management tools. Because fixed wireless is much better than just a few years ago, communities now have more options for using wireless broadband.

[Craig Settles is a broadband industry analyst, author, and consultant to local governments.]

A new startup backed by funding from AOL founder Steve Case and Laurene Powell Jobs wants to break up broadband monopolies across the country. Underline, a community infrastructure company, began building its first open access fiber network in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in October 2021. Under the open access model, Underline builds and operates the fiber network while multiple service providers can use it and offer service to customers. Underline's project in Colorado Springs involves more than $100 million in capital to build 400 miles of fiber and offer service to 55,000 residences and businesses. According to CEO Bob Thompson, Underline has a list of about 2,500 target cities for service. "We aspire to be the country's first nationwide open access network," Thompson said. "The 2,500 communities have been ignored by the incumbents for years on significant infrastructure upgrades. And they generally won't qualify for the government's infrastructure bill." The open access model is not new, but it's been gaining traction recently, especially as the pandemic has forced people to rely more on home internet. Furthermore, it is already popular in Europe and experts say it could catch on as US demand for fiber increases.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted twenty additional 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses to serve Alaskan Native communities. To date, 292 applications received through 2020’s FCC Rural Tribal Priority Window have been granted, paving the way for new advanced wireless services – including wireless broadband – for underserved rural Tribal communities. In Alaska, 99 applications have now been granted. The licenses granted provide for exclusive use of up to 117.5 megahertz of 2.5 GHz band spectrum that Tribes can use to connect their rural communities to wireless broadband and other advanced services. The FCC’s staff continues to review and process all applications received during the window. More information on application processing and status may be found here.

Sen Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the Digital Accountability and Transparency to Advance (DATA) Privacy Act to strengthen data privacy protections for American consumers. The legislation would:

• Empower consumers by allowing them to request, dispute the accuracy, and transfer or delete their data without retribution in the form of price or service discrimination by companies.
• Ensure accountability and oversight by providing new authorities to state Attorneys General and the Federal Trade Commission that allow them to levy civil penalties for violations, and expanding the National Science Foundation’s research into privacy-enhancing technology.
• Protect consumer data by
  • Requiring reasonable, equitable and forthright standards to be applied to all data collection, processing, storage, and disclosure;
  • Requiring businesses to provide users with reasonable access to a method to opt out of personal data collection or sharing, as well as opt-in consent when collecting or disclosing sensitive data or disclosing data outside of the parameters of the businesses’ relationship with the consumer;
  • Requiring companies collecting large amounts of personal data to use high-quality data protection standards and to appoint a Privacy Protection Officer to institute a culture of data and privacy protection at companies and to train staff at relevant companies; and
  • Requiring businesses that collect large amounts of personal data to provide access to a privacy notice that is concise, understandable to consumers and that accurately describes their privacy policies.

The US Senate unanimously passed the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 (H.R.3919), introduced in June by Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Steve Scalise (R-LA), that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from reviewing or issuing new equipment licenses to companies on the FCC’s “Covered Equipment or Services List” that pose a national security threat.  The Secure Equipment Act would prevent equipment manufactured by Chinese state-backed firms such as Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua from being further utilized and marketed in the United States. This legislation adds an extra layer of security that slams the door on entities that pose a national security risk from having a presence in the US telecommunications network. The legislation now heads to President Biden's desk for him to sign into law.

Consolidated Communications is on pace to exceed its 2021 goal for gigabit-capable fiber upgrades after the independent telco reported that it had achieved 97,000 upgrades in the third quarter. The figure, reported as part of the company’s third quarter earnings, comes after Consolidated reported 76,000 fiber upgrades in the second quarter this year and 46,000 in the first quarter as it embarked on a goal to reach almost 2 million fiber upgrades by 2025. “We are executing well and ahead of schedule on our fiber network deployment and are on track to upgrade more than 300,000 locations to gig-capable fiber this year," said Bob Udell, president and CEO at Consolidated. "So far in 2021, we have increased consumer fiber connections 20 percent year to date and grew consumer data average revenue per unit 7 percent. This progress positions Consolidated for ongoing growth and opportunity as we prepare to launch a new brand, introducing a superior fiber product and exceptional customer experience." Within the next month, Consolidated will add even more fuel to its fiber fire with the planned mid-November launch of new branding that will highlight Consolidated’s offering of symmetrical 1 Gbps upload/download speeds and whole-home mesh Wi-Fi without data caps or contract requirements, Udell said.