Over the past few years, the US government has allocated billions of dollars for broadband, most recently setting aside $65 billion in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in late 2021. While that’s a lot of cash, it might not stretch as far as one would think when it comes to covering rural and underserved areas. That’s where private equity comes in, according to GTCR managing director Stephen Jeschke. The way Jeschke sees it, delivering broadband to every American is an all-hands-on-deck kind of task. “The way that the government dollars work well is they’re trying to allocate capital to where there’s a need...[but] they’re not subsidizing 100 percent of the build, so there needs to be capital to go in alongside that capital to complete those builds, and, two, there needs to be somebody kind of overseeing the allocation of that capital at a more micro level once they’ve allocated it at a macro level,” he said. Jeschke also noted private equity has a role to play in helping bring more competition and better service to areas that are technically already considered served and thus aren’t eligible to receive deployment subsidies. GTCR primarily invests in four areas: Financial services and technology; healthcare; business and consumer services; and technology, media and telecom. As far as the latter is concerned, the company is primarily focused on connecting rural markets. Its telecom holdings include Clearwave Fiber (a joint venture with Cable One), Point Broadband and Vyve Broadband. Through these assets, Jeschke said GTCR has its hand in fiber builds across 20 or so states.

The Federal Communications Commission heard from the public on April 7 as the agency focuses on plans to create broadband consumer labels. This was the second FCC public hearing on so-called nutrition labels as the agency revives an effort from late in the Obama administration to stick the information on internet service provider (ISP) plans. One common thread was that even when information is available on internet service quality, consumers don't know enough about the specifics to grasp what it means for their own online needs. Consumers told the FCC there's no good way to comparison shop for ISPs given the lack of consistent data disclosures. FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said at the hearing's outset that "to be truly useful to consumers, these labels must be simple, accurate, and user-friendly." Starks said the FCC is still working to resolve multiple questions: whether broadband services and the way consumers use them have significantly changed since the 2016 labels; where the new labels should be displayed to best inform consumers; how the FCC should ensure label accuracy; and the appropriate time frame for the commission to require broadband providers to meet the labeling requirements. FCC staff wrapped up the hearing saying they had a better grasp of what stakeholders want as the FCC moves to the next steps. The infrastructure bill requires the FCC to sign off on the labels by the end of 2022.

AT&T and Verizon – two of the nation's biggest 5G mobile network operators – own extensive fiber holdings around the country, and both argue that such ownership is critical to their long-term success. T-Mobile and Dish Network, on the other hand, are building extensive 5G mobile networks (though Dish hasn't yet switched on commercial services) without owning any fiber whatsoever. And, according to both Dish and T-Mobile, that's just fine. So, which side is right? Naturally, the answer isn't straightforward. But it's an important topic considering a commercial 5G network cannot exist without somehow connecting into the world's broader fiber Internet backbone. That connection – called backhaul – can account for around 15 percent or more of a mobile network operator's total spending, according to estimates from the GSMA. "While T-Mobile and Dish do not own a fixed network, they lease fiber connections to cell sites and use microwave where fiber is not available," explained analyst Jimmy Yu with research and consulting firm Dell'Oro Group. "AT&T and Verizon use their fixed network for backhaul, lease fiber from other carriers where needed and use microwave when fiber is not available. I'm not sure any one operator's [mobile network] performance is better than the other's due to ownership of backhaul. It may improve their long-term costs to own the backhaul."

[Mike Dano is editorial director of 5G and mobile strategies at Light Reading.]

Increasing interdependencies and deepening uncertainty change how the information society can be governed sustainably. In response, policy approaches worldwide are being reconsidered and new approaches developed that are more appropriate to these conditions. This research explores the conditions under which policies that worked in the past remain appropriate and when they will likely fail. It explores the role of dynamic analytical frames and a reconsideration of the normative principles of information society policies in overcoming these weaknesses. New instruments and policy arrangements that are considered include the establishment of boundary conditions (“guardrails”) for players, reliance on adaptive forms of policy, and reliance on ethics across all layers of governance. Driven by the global heterogeneity of values and the diversity of historical, economic, political, and cultural conditions, national and global governance arrangements will likely become more multi-centric. To avoid regulatory drift and fragmentation, policy must strive to create dynamic learning systems that help to continuously improve information society governance.

Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced the following staff changes:

• Justin Faulb has joined the office as Wireline and National Security Advisor. Previously, Faulb served as Associate Bureau Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, overseeing the implementation of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act and other national security, privacy, numbering, and pricing issues.
• Diane Holland, Starks’s previous advisor for media and consumer protection issues, has moved to the Wireline Competition Bureau to serve as a Deputy Bureau Chief. Austin Bonner will now advise Starks on media and consumer protection issues.
• Morgan Bodenarain is joining the office as Legal Advisor, where she will focus on issues of digital equity. She most recently worked in the office of Congressman G K Butterfield (D-NC), where she managed his Communications and Technology policy portfolio. Bodenarain will succeed Special Advisor Dr. Alisa Valentin, who is departing the FCC for the non-profit space.