Tuesday, February 13, 2024
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Commissioner Starks Joins Congressional Black Caucus Chair Horsford To Advocate for ACP
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Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford (D-NV-04) visited the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority to hear from residents and state and local officials about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)’s positive impact on closing the digital divide and the need for Congress to continue the program. Commissioner Starks said, "“About a year ago today, Chair Horsford and I spoke with families and state and local leaders at the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority to highlight the importance of broadband adoption and expand awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program. With ACP’s future now in doubt, we went back to understand the impact. Together, we listened as members of the public shared what ACP meant to them and how access to the internet thanks to ACP has improved their day-to-day lives. We also heard about the challenges that Nevadan families will face in maintaining connectivity if ACP sunsets. I’d like to thank Chair Horsford for standing on the front line of the effort to continue funding ACP and ensure that the significant gains we have made in closing the digital divide are not lost. The harms that millions of Americans will face in the absence of ACP are real. For them, and for a brighter future for our country, we must act."
Considering this is the 20th anniversary of State of the Net, I think it’s worth noting one constant: we have had a digital divide that separates the connected haves from the connected have-nots in our country. Another constant going back decades is a shared recognition that, unless and until we bridge that divide, we will not fulfill the promise of the Internet age for our economy and our society. In 2024, that digital divide persists. But let me tell you what’s changed. Like never before, closing America’s digital divide is within our reach. And that’s not by accident. It’s because the [Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act] included historic investments to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to affordable, reliable connectivity. That included the creation of the Affordable Connectivity Program—the largest broadband affordability effort in our nation’s history. The ACP is the most successful tool we’ve ever had to closing the digital divide, because it finally addresses the long-overlooked yet critical affordability piece of the puzzle. The enrollment numbers for the program have been staggering and prove definitively that too many Americans have been missing out on the opportunities of the Internet Age because they couldn’t afford a home broadband connection. We now have over 23 million households enrolled in ACP nationwide. Think about that. That means the ACP is impacting one in six U.S. households. Of that 23 million, over 5 million had never been connected before. Many more had what can only be described as precarious connectivity—connectivity that could be easily lost if the family had to make hard choices on tight budgets in any given month. But if the ACP does not receive funding, the program will run out of money in April. Just like that, millions will lose access to the connectivity on which they rely for education, health care, their job, and more.
During the opening of the 2024 RTIME, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo encouraged small, community-based broadband providers to pursue Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program grants, telling NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield in a recorded fireside chat that the agency will continue to work to help address administrative burdens, supply chain constraints and workforce challenges. Secretary Raimondo discussed the Biden administration’s goals for the program—representing the single biggest public investment made to try to connect every American to top-notch broadband service—and shared with over 2,200 RTIME attendees that the agency stands ready to support small providers as they vie for BEAD grants beside much larger operators. “My message to the thousands of people listening to us today: Apply, apply. We want you to apply. We need you to apply. We will work with you and hold your hand so that you can apply. The message is: Prepare to compete and win. You can win.”
Congress is “in disarray right now,” said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, in an address at NTCA’s annual RTIME conference in Tampa. Bloomfield urged NTCA’s members attending the conference to remind their elected officials that “It’s not about who’s winning and who’s losing; it’s about getting things done.” Bloomfield pointed to several open issues facing Congress that will impact rural providers and their communities. Among these were Universal Service Fund contribution reform, streamlining permitting challenges, the Farm Bill, the ReConnect program, the tax consequences of broadband programs, and the Affordable Connectivity Program, which will end soon if new funding is not available for it. Bloomfield shared a video of an interview that she did with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
This research explores the relationship between broadband availability and quality and entrepreneurship in rural regions in three states. It investigates the unique properties of rural locations as they may bear on connectivity's associations with various types of entrepreneurial endeavors. It shows that digital ventures and sole proprietorships are both highly related to local broadband speeds, but that conditions of rurality mitigate those impacts, enhancing the proprietorship results attributable to broadband speed but depressing or reversing the presence of digital ventures in the most rural regions. The research throws into question how the assumptions of scaled efforts intrinsic to digital ventures may disadvantage or misrepresent the highly specific and low volume of enterprises in rural regions.
The county government in Livingston, Michigan, was very clear—it was not going to become an ISP. Long committed to principles of lean government, elected officials were certain that although 56 percent of households in this region do not have access to fixed broadband, the ideal solution should not be government-owned infrastructure. County Chief Information Officer Kris Tobbe set out to develop an approach that could balance minimal government intervention with effective access to critical infrastructure for residents. The solution: the county directed $12.5 million in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to a middle-mile solution that brings fiber to within three miles of all residents. The county is now waiting to see whether last-mile providers will deliver the final piece of the puzzle: They're building it; will ISPs build off it?
[Dr. Pierrette Renee Dagg, Ph.D is a Benton Institute Digital Opportunity Fund Fellow, the Director of Technology Impact Research at Merit Network.]
FOCUS Broadband completed its Faster Bladen broadband project, making high-speed internet service available for over 700 residents and businesses living near Tar Heel and along portions of North Carolina Highway 701 between Clarkton and Elizabethtown. This project was made possible using $2.9 million in funds awarded to FOCUS Broadband in 2022 from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program. FOCUS Broadband contributed $307,989 towards the project, with Bladen County also contributing $216,225 in matching funds. FOCUS Broadband completed the project one year ahead of schedule. FOCUS Broadband has been serving rural North Carolinians for more than 65 years and has a strong history of effectively utilizing grant funds to bring high-speed internet to rural areas.
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded $42 million in the final award from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s first Notice of Funding Opportunity. Additional awards will come after NTIA issues the next Notice of Funding Opportunity. This award will fund the Acceleration of Compatibility and Commercialization for Open RAN Deployments (ACCoRD)—a project by a consortium of US carriers, foreign carriers, universities and equipment suppliers to establish a testing, evaluation and research and development center in the Dallas Technology Corridor and a satellite facility in the Washington, DC area. The center will focus testing on network performance, interoperability, security, and facilitate research into new testing methods. Testing and evaluation facilities will make industry-standard testing more accessible to new market players—both in the US and in partner nations—and encourage greater collaboration across different industries.
The role of spectrum has evolved with each wireless generation, and the growing demand for it is expected to continue in the coming years. Meeting this rising demand requires making a substantial amount of mid-band available in a way that balances various interests with broader economic and societal benefit. Spectrum harmonization is one such strategic approach, which involves aligning spectrum regulation and commercial allocations with other countries. Allocating harmonized spectrum will not only ensure that the US avoids isolating itself from the international community, but it will enable it to maintain the wireless leadership it has demonstrated in 4G and early on in 5G. Harmonization and wireless leadership offer incremental benefits including unlocking economies of scale across the wireless value chain as well as fueling new sources of growth and innovation through wireless leadership, which are projected to generate approximately $23-$44 billion and $140B-$180 billion, respectively, in economic value over the next 10 years.
A new sports streaming bundle from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery is unlikely to cause Congress or the Federal Communications Commission to act independently, but the responses of those "hurt" by the agreement "may ultimately lead to a government reaction," New Street Research analyst Blair Levin said. He's skeptical that the new joint venture will be blocked on antitrust grounds. But the joint venture could still spur a government reaction "particularly to ensure that local sports remain available for free." The new service will be offered through a standalone app along with options to bundle it with Disney's Disney+ and Hulu streaming service and/or Max streaming service. The new service, which will effectively be a sports-focused virtual multichannel video programming distributor, will feature more than a dozen linear networks.
Sago Internet, based in Medina County (TX) has acquired Somerset, TX-based ClearBadger LLC for an undisclosed price. Sago Internet was founded in 2021 by Medina County residents. It was formed as a fixed wireless provider, but apparently is branching out into fiber, as the company noted that it plans to expand its wireless and fiber internet services. ClearBadger Wireless was founded in 2018 as a fixed wireless internet provider, growing to serve more than 80 square miles in Bexar and Atascosa County. The combination brings together two locally owned providers that have designed their companies to deliver “high-quality internet solutions” to residents and businesses in South Texas. As part of the acquisition, ClearBadger LLC’s customers will transition to Sago Internet’s network, gaining access to “a broader range of services and enhanced support.”
Just over a year has passed since AT&T and asset management firm BlackRock formed Gigapower, a joint venture (JV) that’s providing a wholesale open access fiber network to AT&T’s out-of-footprint territory. Gigapower announced plans to build in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CEO Bill Hogg said the JV is currently constructing networks in five states; Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania. AT&T, which is serving as Gigapower’s anchor tenant, is offering service on the network in Arizona, Florida and Nevada. Hogg told Fierce Gigapower is still planning to reach 1.5 million initial passings over a three-year period but declined to share the JV’s current passings. Aside from Albuquerque, Gigapower has publicly announced markets in Arizona (Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa), Pennsylvania (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre) and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Heavy use of social media among adolescents and pre-teens can lead to several poor health outcomes, ranging from unhealthy sleeping patterns and low self-esteem to greater exposure to cyberbullying. Although these are concerns for all parents, the Latino community is particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges as a result of social media use. This led the Omidyar Network to commission the Parents of Latino Youth Social Media and Mental Health Survey of Latino parents to provide a fresh look at social media use among Latino adolescents and pre-teens. The survey found that social media use among Latinos between the ages of 10 and 18 is high. The survey asked the 71 percent of the sample who report that their children use social media how frequently they do so. Among parents who reported that their child uses social media, 71 percent have children who use social media “several hours a day” or “almost constantly.” Based on survey data, Latino parents overwhelmingly support several policy approaches aimed at requiring social media companies to protect pre-teens and adolescents from the dangers of social media use.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and Zoe Walker (zwalker AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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