Wednesday, February 2, 2022
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A comparative study of digital equity plans of four large US cities
NDIA Requests FCC Update and Release of Broadband Adoption Data
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Testifies on Federal Broadband Infrastructure Funding
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Digital Inclusion
Planning to maintain the status quo? A comparative study of digital equity plans of four large US cities
This study examines how municipal governments have constructed the concept of digital equity through textual evidence, the digital equity plans of Kansas City (MO), Portland (OR), San Francisco (CA), and Seattle (WA). Adopting an approach from critical discourse studies, comparative analysis of the texts demonstrates how digital equity plans conceive of digital equity, characterize current problematic circumstances, and prescribe actions to make change. Despite the opportunities that discursive construction of digital equity offers for newsy interpreting the relationship between inequality and technology, the four plans examined herein demonstrate few departures from earlier approaches to addressing digital inequality. The plans have strikingly little to say about why digital inequality has emerged; however, they prescribe actions that indicate a more complex understanding of the problem than they articulate.
To ensure Congress's largest-ever broadband and digital equity investments are here to stay, we must have robust and accurate broadband adoption data. Unfortunately, such broadband adoption data is not currently publicly available. While the Federal Communications Commission's maps were updated in 2021 with 2020 data, the broadband adoption data was not released. The importance of having robust, accurate, and timely data can not be overstated. As such, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has submitted a letter urging the FCC to publish and increase the usability of its existing adoption data. NDIA requests that the FCC:
- Release more detailed datasets.
- Improve the usability of the Internet Access Services map on the FCC’s website.
- Publish reports that contain the most up-to-date data and return to a regular bi-annual release schedule of such data.
Broadband Infrastructure
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Federal Broadband Infrastructure Funding: Maps Before Money
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo spelled out the Biden Administration's ambitious goals for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's $65 billion investment in broadband at a February 1 Senate Appropriations Commerce Subcommittee hearing. This investment, according to Raimondo, will depend on the Federal Communications Commission's progress in coming up with better broadband availability maps. Subcommittee Chair Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) shared a common concern of both Democrats and Republicans over handing out those billions: The FCC's underwhelming maps showing where broadband currently is and isn't. She said that previous maps have not been accurate and not shown where the dead spots are, and asked Raimondo to talk about where the FCC was in updating those maps. Raimondo agreed that the maps are vital, and, for those concerned about "overbuilding," like Sen Jerry Moran (R-KS), she said the explicit mission "is to prioritize unserved." Raimondo said the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) can't deploy any of the money included in the Infrastructure Act without accurate maps. While she reiterated that it was the purview of the FCC, Raimondo said she is in "constant communication" with the FCC, including personal meetings with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The Commerce secretary said that the FCC has indicated that by summer they expect to have the improved maps, which will now include data drilling down to the household instead of going by census tract.
I’ve been thinking about the implications of having a new definition of broadband at 100/20 Mbps. That’s the threshold that has been set in several giant federal grants that allow grant funding to areas that have broadband slower than 100/20 Mbps. This is also the number that has been bandied about the industry as the likely new definition of broadband when the Federal Communications Commission seats a fifth Commissioner. The best thing about a higher definition of broadband is that it finally puts the DSL controversy to bed. A definition of broadband of 100/20 Mbps clearly says that DSL is no longer considered to be broadband. Unfortunately, by killing the DSL controversy we start a whole new set of speed battles with cable companies and wireless internet service providers (WISPs) that will be similar to the controversy we’ve had for years with DSL. Telecommunications companies have claimed 25/3 Mbps broadband coverage over huge parts of rural America in an attempt to deflect broadband grants. In reality, there is almost no such thing as a rural customer who can get 25/3 Mbps DSL unless they sit next to a DSLAM. I hate to admit it, but overstating DSL speeds has been a spectacularly successful strategy for the big telecom companies. We’re going to see the same thing all over again, but the new players will be cable companies and WISPs. The controversy this time will be more interesting because both technologies theoretically can deliver speeds greater than 100/20 Mbps. The fights over speeds are far from over.
[Doug Dawson is President of CCG Consulting.]
One of the most interesting aspects of the upcoming Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants is that the money is going to flow through the states. In many of the states I’ve been following, it looks like the money will be distributed by passing the money through existing state broadband grant programs. Yet since the federal legislation that created the BEAD grants rules is so specific, there will be numerous ways that the BEAD grant will differ from a state grant program. The obvious solution is for states to adopt the federal rules. There is certainly a huge amount of incentive for states to make this work, since every state will get at least $100 million while most will get much more. The $42.5 billion in funding averages out to $850 million per state. Unfortunately, it’s not automatic that states can or will accept the federal grant rules since the grant rules in many states were proscribed by the state legislatures. In such cases, the legislatures will have to have to take steps to modify the state grant rules. I strongly urge internet service providers and local governments in every state to take the time to find out what your state is doing. Many states are currently inviting comments and involvement in the creation of the state broadband plan for these grants. This is the time to make sure your state is doing this the right way.
[Doug Dawson is President of CCG Consulting.]
However challenging it is to solve the digital divide across the US, it's even harder for Tribal communities. According to a 2021 report from the Federal Communications Commission, 79.1 percent of the population on Tribal lands can access broadband at the minimum speed of 25/3 Mbps. That compares to 82.7 percent of the rural US and 98.8 percent of urban areas. Looking specifically at Tribal lands in the lower 48 states (or, the US minus Alaska and Hawaii), only 67.3 percent have access to 25/3 Mbps broadband. Further, that data shows only 46.5 percent of Tribal populations have adopted broadband service. It's worth noting that those estimates likely undercount the problem by a large margin, given the FCC is still basing its broadband data on flawed and outdated mapping practices. While the FCC was tasked by Congress in 2020 with establishing new broadband maps and data collection processes, it has been slow to get that work rolling. That leaves communities stuck using bad data as they apply for millions of dollars in federal grants. For native communities, that's an extra hurdle on an already burdensome process that often results in tribes getting less than they need.
As far back as 2012, broadband infrastructure was part of the master planning process for Gilbert (AZ), a Phoenix suburb with a population of about 270,000. The fiber has provided reliable, fast connectivity for the town’s operations, including emergency services such as fire and police. Now, Gilbert officials are working to provide broadband access to residents and businesses to expand options and make the town a more attractive place to live and work. “Throughout the years, we’ve gotten calls from businesses, and they want to see more options and more redundancy,” says Nikki McCarty, assistant to the town manager. “We’re trying to serve our residents as well, and we are working to bring more options and better service to Gilbert.” Municipalities around the country "started to see that their communities were being left behind,” says Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “Everybody knows that broadband has moved from being an entertainment item to something that is mission-critical. I haven’t met a mayor yet who says, ‘I want to be in the broadband business,’ but every single one of them says, ‘I need jobs.’” It falls then to the cities to close the last mile, that remaining distance between telecommunications networks and the homes of their citizens.
The United States is pressing the EU to revise rules targeting digital giants to make them focus less on American companies and ensure they will also cover tech firms from outside the US. The move, which aims to change the so-called Digital Markets Act (DMA), highlights Washington's concern about plans to rein in the biggest tech companies as the US government is targeting Brussels officials in the midst of ongoing talks in the Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council, a high-level transatlantic discussion group. At the end of January 2022 Washington circulated the eight-point policy document to "select" MEPs and member countries, in the middle of key negotiations between EU institutions on the bloc’s draft gatekeeper rules. The rules — currently being hotly debated by representatives from the European Parliament and the EU Council — lay out a series of prohibitions and obligations for some of the world’s largest digital platforms, including Google, Amazon, Meta (Facebook) and Apple. The draft measures cover a range of practices from unfair data use across platform services to self-referencing restrictions. Negotiators are seeking to adopt the DMA on March 24. The US paper calls on the EU to avoid a narrow scope of platforms that will come under the new rules, avoiding the potential to disproportionately target American companies — a concern previously highlighted by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Secretary Raimondo has also been facing pressure from left-leaning groups for her perceived coziness with US tech giants.
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) and Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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