The Federal Communications Commission voted to further reform its pole attachment rules and policies to promote faster and more cost effective broadband deployment. These new rules will allow for faster resolution of pole attachment disputes and provide pole attachers with more detailed information about the poles they plan to use as part of their broadband buildouts. Utility poles are key to the FCC’s efforts to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure as those poles support the wires and equipment that carry broadband to American homes and businesses. The new rules will speed the pole attachment dispute resolution process by establishing a new intra-agency rapid response team and providing the team with specific criteria to apply when considering complaints. The FCC’s rules also will increase transparency for new broadband buildouts by allowing attachers to obtain pole inspection reports from utilities. In addition, the Declaratory Ruling provides important clarifications regarding:

1. What constitutes “red tagging” and when pole replacements are not “necessitated solely” by a new attachment.
2. The obligation to share easement information.
3. The applicable timelines for the processing of attachment requests for 3,000 or more poles.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed that 100 percent of wireless handsets—namely mobile phones and smartphones—offered for sale in the United States be fully compatible with hearing aids. The FCC is committed to ensuring that all Americans, including those with hearing loss, are able to access communications services on an equal basis. More than 37.5 million Americans live with hearing loss. To address their needs and ensure that consumers with hearing loss can take advantage of the wide array of wireless handsets available on the market, the FCC is proposing a plan to fully implement its long-standing goal of achieving 100% wireless handset model hearing aid compatibility (HAC). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking tentatively concludes that a 100% HAC requirement for wireless handset models offered or imported for use in the United States is achievable. The FCC will seek comment on adopting a broader definition of HAC that would include the use of Bluetooth connectivity between wireless handsets and hearing aids. The FCC proposes that all wireless handsets have two forms of coupling with hearing aids: 100% must have acoustic coupling and either inductive or Bluetooth coupling.

The US Broadband Summit brought together top leaders from across the country to talk about state efforts related to the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) program. Three major topics emerged from the summit — both at public sessions as well as the buzz in the hallways.

1. States must submit a slew of details to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) by December 27: NTIA requires a proposal from each state and territory, and those proposals are divided into two volumes. Both volume 1 and volume 2 must be submitted to NTIA by December 27, and their status is being tracked on a progress dashboard. 
2. There's some concern not enough ISPs will apply for BEAD: In order to lure a broad slate of sub-grantee candidates, panelists at the summit noted states should seek to minimize the number of additional hurdles for operators that they build into their BEAD broadband plans and grant programs. Even so, some BEAD requirements are out of states’ hands, having been set by the federal government.
3. The workforce shortage haunts BEAD: As ISPs ramp up their fiber deployments and prepare to apply for BEAD funding, state governments and service providers alike are working to fill the staffing gap. But even if potential technicians get the training they need, some states may not have enough jobs for them.

Barb Fuller is a former dental hygienist and political activist. Gary Munce is a musician and retired library manager of information systems. Driven by a spirit of paying it forward, together they have worked to address the digital divide in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Thanks in part to their efforts, by early 2025, every home in Washtenaw County is set to be connected with high-speed, fiber-based broadband. Washtenaw County, in the southeast region of Michigan, is home to over 320,000 residents. Although the county is prosperous, youthful with a median age below 35, and is home to the University of Michigan, it faced a digital divide with more than 10,000 households lacking a broadband internet connection in 2018.

[Dr. Pierrette Renee Dagg, Ph.D is a Benton Institute Digital Opportunity Fund Fellow, the Director of Technology Impact Research at Merit Network. The aim of her work is to bridge the gap between academic scholarship and practical application to advance issues of technology understanding and information equity.]

Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced the Eliminating Bias in Algorithmic Systems (BIAS) Act to ensure that every federal agency that uses, funds, or oversees artificial intelligence (AI) has an office of civil rights focused on combatting AI bias and discrimination, among other harms. The legislation would also require every civil rights office to report their efforts to Congress and provide recommendations for congressional action. Many federal agencies lack civil rights offices whose principal mission is to protect vulnerable communities across the United States. Currently, there are only 30 civil rights offices within the federal government, yet many are not required to secure staff with the expertise needed to advise the agency on algorithmic bias and discrimination. 

For well over a decade, it was fairly easy to understand the trajectory of the broadband industry. But the industry is now in total turmoil. Within a short time, cable companies have stopped growing. Currently, all of the industry growth among big internet service providers (ISPs) is coming from cellular fixed wireless access (FWA). Last-mile fiber networks are being built across the country. Wireless internet service providers (WISPs) finally have the radios and enough spectrum to be serious competitors. When I talk about trajectory, I’m not talking about predicting 2024. The challenge is to guess where the industry is headed over the next five years. Who will be the winners and losers over that time? My predictions:

• Fiber will continue to eat away at cable companies, and in five years, the cable companies might not have a choice and will have to bite the bullet and convert to fiber to compete. It’s hard to envision a future where cable companies don’t lose customers annually for the next five years.
• DSL will finally die, and its market share will be absorbed by FWA and fiber.
• FWA companies will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the next couple of years. Low prices will always find a market. But if the carriers can’t find a way to guarantee bandwidth at peak times, a lot of homes will lose faith in the product. FWA will see a lot of competition in rural markets. I think the industry will eventually reach a market equilibrium – at some level higher than today’s DSL penetration.
• WISP’s success will be market by market and will depend upon the other competition and local conditions – the technology will always struggle in places with rough terrain like Appalachia.
• Satellite broadband will still be the technology of choice for the most remote places. Satellite’s real long-term markets are in the parts of the world that don’t have other good rural ISPs. But Amazon might find a bundling option that will still make the company a serious player in the US.