Consolidated Communications was awarded $40 million in funding from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to build fiber to nearly 25,000 unserved homes throughout New Hampshire. Consolidated will invest its own capital to bring fiber to more than 32,000 additional homes. In total, the entire project will provide reliable fiber internet services to more than 57,000 homes across six different counties. Upon completion, residents will have access to Consolidated’s fiber internet service, Fidium, which offers multi-gig speeds and WiFi6 without data caps, contracts, or hassles. The unanimous vote to approve Consolidated’s grant took place during the Feb. 22 meeting of the New Hampshire Executive Council meeting. The grant was offered by the NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs Office of Broadband Initiatives, with funding from the federal ARPA and Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2023 and be largely completed by the end of 2024. Consolidated has partnered with 23 New Hampshire towns since 2018, building and delivering fiber connectivity to 32,750 homes. Since 2021, Consolidated has built fiber to more than 244,000 New Hampshire homes and small businesses.

I am often asked by cities about the option of building a municipal fixed wireless broadband network. My response has been that it’s possible but that the resulting network is probably not going to satisfy the performance goals most cities have in mind. There are several limitations of fixed wireless technology in an urban that must be considered:

• The first is the spectrum to be used. Cities tend to be saturated with unlicensed Wi-Fi signals, and the amount of interference will make it a massive challenge to use unlicensed Wi-Fi for broadband purposes. 
• Licensed spectrum can provide better broadband results. But in cities of any size, most of the licensed spectrum is already spoken for and belongs to cellular companies or somebody else that plans to use it.
• Even if licensed spectrum is available, most fixed wireless radios can only serve a relatively small number of customers. Cities are probably not going to be willing to make an investment that can only serve a limited number of people.
• Another issue to consider is line-of-sight. In practical terms, this means that neighbor A’s home might block the signal to reach neighbor B. In the typical city, there are going to be a lot of homes that cannot be connected to a fixed wireless network unless there are a lot of towers – and most cities are averse to building more towers.
• Even when there is a decent line-of-sight, an urban wireless signal can be disturbed by the many routine activities in the city, such as seasonal foliage, bad weather, and even traffic.
• A point-to-multipoint fixed wireless system is also not a great solution for multi-tenant buildings. These networks are designed to provide bandwidth connections to individual users, and there is not enough bandwidth to deliver broadband from one connection to serve multiple tenants.

House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials Chair Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wrote to the heads of the Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Department of Commerce laying out expectations for intergovernmental cooperation regarding oversight. The members outline seven principles for each agency or department to comply with Congressional requests and provide answers the American people deserve.

1. For all requests or questions, please reproduce the requests or questions presented in a written letter with the department or agency response.
2. In the spirit of comity and inter-branch accommodation, your department or agency should endeavor to cooperate as much as possible with committee oversight requests. If your department or agency has determined it will not voluntarily cooperate with the requests, please provide electronic written notice within two business days specifying which requests you are declining to cooperate with and the stated reasons for voluntary noncooperation.
3. Your department or agency should make a determination on whether certain requests cannot be fulfilled as presented. Provide electronic written notice within one business week of receipt of the request about such determinations, stating the reasons why. If there is an alternative approach that could address the Committee’s request, then such an alternative approach should be suggested in the interests of comity and inter-branch accommodation.
4. If the department or agency needs clarification about a Committee request, your staff should make good faith efforts to contact Committee staff for assistance as soon as possible.
5. We expect your department or agency to provide a written response to our oversight requests within two weeks of receipt of the letter. If the department or agency needs additional time to respond to Committee requests, your staff should make good faith efforts to contact Committee staff for assistance as soon as possible.
6. If your department or agency has determined that certain requested documents cannot be produced pursuant to a privilege or other legal basis, your department or agency should submit an index of the withheld documents and the privilege asserted within two business weeks of receipt of the request letter.
7. If your department has determined that a requested witness cannot be made available pursuant to a privilege or other legal basis, your department or agency should submit in writing an explanation of the privilege or other legal basis asserted within two business weeks of receipt of the request letter.