The Federal Communications Commission issued a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on establishing clear standards for how utilities and attachers must share in the cost of pole replacements. Specifically, the FCC seeks comment on the following:

• How to determine whether and to what extent utilities directly benefit from various types of pole replacements in situations where a pole replacement is not “necessitated solely” by a new attachment request.
• What standards the FCC should establish for requiring utilities to pay a proportional share of pole replacement costs.
• When weighing the costs and benefits of early pole retirements, what is the best approach to align economic incentives between communications attachers and utilities.
• Whether requiring utilities to pay a portion of the costs of a pole replacement would positively or negatively affect negotiations of pole attachment agreements and broadband deployment.
• What measures the FCC could adopt to avoid disputes, or expedite the resolution of pole replacement disputes; and
• What scope of refunds the FCC should order when it determines that a pole attachment rate, term, or condition is unjust and unreasonable.

March 16 was the 12th anniversary of the release Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan (NBP). In March of 2010, the FCC responded to Congress’s direction to develop a plan for broadband with the intent to ensure every American has “access to broadband capability.” This proposal was assembled with input across 36 public workshops, 31 public notices, 9 public hearings, and approximately 23,000 comments from more than 700 parties. The NBP was ambitious, and first among its six stated objectives was the metric that, “at least 100 million US homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second.” The FCC’s objectives for broadband deployment remain unfilled to this day. In fact, it is arguable that the FCC has been unable to achieve any of the stated objectives during the 4383 days since the plan was launched. There are a range of theories about why the National Broadband Plan has been such a colossal policy disaster. I offer an alternative theory: the FCC’s loss of the initial net neutrality case, Comcast Corp. v. FCC, derailed the implementation of the National Broadband Plan just 21 days after it was released.

[Christopher Terry is an assistant professor of media law in the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota and a research fellow for the Center for Quantum Networks.]

Cox Communications will double the speeds of two services – ConnectAssist and Connect2Compete—from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps on March 31. The cable company also said that it is participating in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). More than 500,000 are enrolled in the two Cox programs and will receive the higher speeds at no additional costs, Cox said. The ACP provides $30 towards broadband service for low-income households. The amount is $75 on Tribal lands. Cox said that applying the $30 subsidy will enable more subscribers to get the 100 Mbps service for free. ACP also provides as much as $100 toward the purchase of devices provided that the households spend between $10 and $30 of their own money. “We’re committed to the Affordable Connectivity Program as it aligns with our values and digital equity strategy to offer greater access to more people,” Cox Communications president Mark Greatrex said. “It’s a powerful example of how public and private partnerships can ensure [that] households of all economic statuses can unlock the possibilities that high-speed broadband has to offer.”

Rhode Island is partnering with Cox Communications to bring some of the fastest internet speeds to the state. Cox plans to invest more than $120 million over the next three years to ensure everyone in the state has access to affordable and efficient internet access. More than $20 million will go towards 100% fiber-optic buildouts on Aquidneck Island to support the communities of Newport, Portsmouth, Middletown and Jamestown. The investment in Rhode Island is part of a plan Cox unveiled to spend several billion dollars over the coming years to deploy 10-gig capable fiber and upgrade its hybrid fiber-coaxia infrastructure to DOCSIS 4.0.

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on spectrum policy entitled "5G and Beyond: Exploring the Next Wireless Frontier." The hearing covered a range of spectrum topics, including the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to conduct spectrum auctions. The FCC’s auction authority, which has been extended several times since originally granted in 1993, is set to expire on September 30, 2022. If Congress fails to act, the FCC won’t have the authority to conduct spectrum auctions. The next auction due to start is for 2.5 GHz, set for July 2022. "I urge my colleagues to work in a bipartisan way to extend this authority once again," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) at the hearing. "We must do this well before the FCC begins its planned auction of the 2.5 Gigahertz (GHz) Band in July, otherwise the auction will be disrupted." Throughout the hearing, various spectrum bands came up, but the lower 3 GHz and the 7 GHz were frequently mentioned as potential bands in the pipeline for spectrum. Participants generally gave high praise to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and FCC for their recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on spectrum policies. "“We must have trust in the expertise at the NTIA and the FCC and confidence in the established process as we continue to push for a stable spectrum pipeline," said Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). Of course, hearing participants also said they want to avoid another fiasco like the one experienced with the C-band, where the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airlines raised red flags at the 11th hour, about the viability of 5G operating near radio altimeters.

Given rapid advancements in the American space sector, we appreciate the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raising questions about how to update its satellite rules to ensure they keep pace with innovation. With recent efforts by Congress and the FCC’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), we have an opportunity to continue American leadership in a competitive global satellite marketplace. We encourage you to work with Congress to update the FCC’s rules and authorities to support new entrants and to increase competition and consumer choice while protecting the operations and significant investments of existing operators.

There have been significant developments in satellite technology that have the potential to provide broadband to consumers with higher speeds and lower latencies. As newer, larger non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) systems are deployed, technical coordination between system operators will be a requisite component of sustaining successful coexistence. The Commission’s existing rules require NGSO FSS operators to coordinate in good faith, but we believe that additional coordination guidance would be productive. Good faith coordination should include meaningful, continuous, and flexible requirements to ensure the appropriate flow of technical information needed to achieve cooperation, and apply them among all NGSO FSS grantees, including those authorized through different processing rounds. In addition to new coordination requirements, structural reforms to spectrum access rights and efforts to increase spectral efficiency, coupled with process reforms could support a more dynamic satellite environment. While protections for earlier-round systems are critical to provide certainty for significant financial investments, it is important that they do not hinder innovation or untenably favor particular system operators. Certain protections may also disincentivize ongoing coordination between operators, which is increasingly necessary as demand for spectrum increases. So too will unclear or unbalanced rules governing the level of interference protection afforded to earlier-round licensees, which should balance the goals of new entry with the investment-backed expectations of existing NGSO FSS operators. Sunsetting protections for earlier-round systems from later-round systems after a reasonable period of time would encourage innovation, meaningful coordination, more efficient use of spectrum, and help prevent the creation of entrenched incumbents. The Commission should also sunset more protections, especially those for outdated technologies, in order to encourage continuous innovation and spectrum efficiency.

After a year of trialing gigabit-class fixed wireless access technology from Tarana Wireless, Resound Networks has decided to deploy that service to around 12,000 locations it was originally planning to cover with fiber as part of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)-fueled expansion. Resound Networks was one of the top 10 winners in the RDOF auction, walking away with $310.7 million in government funding to cover around 219,000 unserved locations with broadband. While it was originally planning to service around 77,000 of those with fiber, CEO Tyson Curtis said the company now expects to use Tarana’s G1 fixed wireless solution instead for about 15% of those. That’ll allow it to move faster in providing connectivity to users who currently have few or no options and can’t participate in the digital economy today, he said. Though its RDOF funding has yet to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission, Curtis said it began construction on related projects in February 2021.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, President Biden's most powerful appointee on technology, has largely been an ally to the sector, defending US tech firms abroad and pushing for funding domestically. With Big Tech critics in charge of the government's antitrust enforcement efforts, Sec Raimondo has become the industry's key advocate within the Biden administration. She was deeply involved in negotiations on the bipartisan infrastructure law, with her agency winning control over nearly $50 billion in funding for high-speed internet access and deployment. Sec Raimondo listens to businesses and has been effective in negotiations toward a new privacy agreement with Europe and conversations around artificial intelligence, said Craig Albright, vice president of legislative strategy for software industry group BSA.