Tucked inside Governor Jay Inslee’s proposed budget for the 2019-2021 fiscal cycle was a $1.2 million plan to create an office devoted to building out broadband internet access across the state. The idea was to create an entity with the authority to set statewide policy and promote private investment. “Broadband access is essential for full participation in society and the modern economy,” the proposal read. “People rely on internet service to access health care and other essential services, obtain an education and build careers. Businesses need the internet to market themselves and serve customers. Broadband can also help first responders get quickly to residents in an emergency. Yet too many Washingtonians, especially in the most rural parts of the state, lack access to affordable broadband service.”

Maryland just scored over $267 million in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding. Kenrick Gordon, Director of Maryland’s Office of Statewide Broadband, is optimistic the amount will help fuel deployments, but he thinks it’ll take a couple of years before the money is available for broadband providers. Gordon said Maryland is currently working on its initial BEAD proposal and once it’s submitted, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has to review and approve it. Once the initial plan is approved, the state can begin the grant application process. The applications have to be included in the state’s final BEAD proposal, which the NTIA also needs to review. “We’re thinking it’s going to be early 2025 before the funds are actually available for construction,” said Director Gordon. “The efficiency’s there, we will have to modify our plan and set our programs just a little bit to match what NTIA is requesting for some of the scoring metrics that they have,” he said. “But I don’t see any problem with finding applicants and getting funding out the door.” Determining where those locations are is also difficult, as they are spread out across the state in places where providers “probably have the least interest in providing service.” Gordon said his office is looking into orphan locations – locations providers may have passed “for one reason or another.” One priority is convincing providers to go back and serve those areas.

I’m starting to see situations where a shortage of construction labor is causing problems for some broadband providers. The supply chain issues for materials have largely been solved but the supply chain for construction contractors is a worsening situation for many providers. To give an example, I know a broadband provider with a long history of building networks that recently went to bid for two projects that are being funded by local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funding. The provider went to its normal pool of fiber contractors, many that it has worked with for many years, and got zero responses. Nobody was willing to even bid on the projects. The provider called and talked to a lot of contractors and then reissued the bid package a second time. This time the provider got two bids – one that is 50% higher than rates it has been paying for fiber construction and one that was almost double. Not all providers are having a problem. There are many providers who have locked down construction firms for large grant projects or other major upgrades. It seems likely that the biggest providers all have multiyear contracts with contractors and are mostly able to find crews. However, even AT&T cited labor shortages as one of the reasons the company trimmed the planned fiber passings for 2023. The other concern for a lot of providers is the ticking clock of grant timelines. For example, many state grants require that projects get built within two years. The date for finishing ARPA-funded projects will be here in a few years. It’s looking like a lot of providers will be asking for waivers to extend construction timelines – but in many cases where the money was guaranteed by legislation, extensions might not be possible.

Congress is dysfunctional. The courts are a bad and dangerous joke. Independent government agencies are on the cusp of being dismantled. The Administration’s agenda is largely blocked. Companies large and small have pillaged the economy and jacked up prices that impose real pain on American consumers, long after economic circumstances can justify it. The media, which have a solemn obligation to give us real news and information, choose instead to blanket us with infotainment and trifle that divert our attention from the real problems that are undermining our democracy. And we, the people, have let it happen. I remarked at the outset that we, the people, have let much of this happen. That’s harsh, I know, but we each must do a better job of fulfilling our responsibilities as citizens. This country of ours, despite its many daunting challenges, remains the world’s best hope—if we do our part. That means voting, yes, but it means insisting on media and reporting that dig for facts, cover all beats, and provide us with fact-based information that enables us to vote intelligently. It means getting involved before and after we vote, holding elected and appointed officials responsible for good and intelligent behavior, pushing them to redeem their electoral promises, and organizing with like-minded fellow citizens to make sure political promises are kept. True reform seldom comes as a gift from beneficent lawmakers on Capitol Hill. It comes when they feel pressure from back home. That means pressure from you and me. It’s hard but necessary work. Without it, we get the mess we have. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It is a participatory obligation. Harsh as this piece may seem, I still believe we can stop our democracy’s slide and redeem the promise of America—if that’s what we really want. 

[Michael Copps served as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission from May 2001 to December 2011 and was the FCC's Acting Chairman from January to June 2009.]