Daily Digest 9/29/2022 (ITU)

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Table of Contents

Broadband Funding

Scoring Big on Your Middle Mile Application Series: Understanding Review and Applicant Information  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Scoring Big on your Middle Mile Application Series: Budget Information  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Scoring Big on Your Middle Mile Application Series: Project Information  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The cost of running fiber in rural America: $200,000 per passing  |  Read below  |  Diana Goovaerts  |  Analysis  |  Fierce
Lobbying the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Rules  |  Read below  |  Doug Dawson  |  Analysis  |  CCG Consulting

Data/Mapping

Communities collect granular broadband data amid wait for better federal maps  |  Read below  |  Chris Teale  |  GCN
Common Sense and Public Knowledge recommend updates to the Affordable Connectivity Program Enrollment Claims Tracker  |  Read below  |  Amina Fazlullah, Jenna Leventoff, Drew Garner  |  Letter  |  Common Sense, Public Knowledge
Broadband Industry Lobbyists Offer Recommendations on Affordable Connectivity Program Data Collection  |  Read below  |  Morgan Reeds  |  Letter  |  USTelecom

State/Local Initiatives

$447 million broadband infrastructure investments for dozens of Tennessee counties  |  Read below  |  Katie Nixon  |  Tennessean, The
City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania create Pittsburgh Digital Equity Coalition  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  City of Pittsburgh
Five Model Practices for Partnerships in Smart City Projects  |  Read below  |  Analysis  |  US Ignite

Spectrum/Wireless

Commissioner Simington Addresses the Competitive Carriers Association  |  Read below  |  FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington  |  Speech  |  Federal Communications Commission
Spectrum Allocation in the United States  |  Read below  |  CTIA-The Wireless Association
Moffett: Fixed Wireless Access Subscriber Growth Will Rise Sharply in Next Two Years, Then Fizzle  |  Multichannel News

Emergency Communications

Hurricane Ian: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Offer Free Wireless Service for Impacted Customers  |  C|Net

Platforms/Social Media

Is This the Beginning of the End of the Internet? How a single Texas ruling could change the web forever  |  Atlantic, The

Privacy

Some Thoughts on the FTC's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on "Commercial Surveillance and Data Security"  |  Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies

Government Performance

The White House Wants to Make Food Assistance Programs Easier to Use -- and Tech Plays a Big Part  |  nextgov

Company News

Tarana upgrade provides 1 Gig+ speeds via fixed wireless access  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Tarana
Consolidated expects to add 3X as many fiber subs in '22 as last year  |  Fierce
Google Fiber hits 20 Gbps in field trial as it plots multi-gig step up  |  Fierce
Spectrum Celebrates its State-of-the-Art Broadband Expansion in Eau Claire, Dunn and Chippewa Counties, Wisconsin  |  Charter Communications

Policymakers

US defeats Russia to head UN telecoms agency in fight for internet’s future  |  Read below  |  Clothilde Goujard  |  Politico

Stories From Abroad

In protests over death of Mahsa Amini, internet is key to planning. Can Iran block access?  |  Los Angeles Times
Today's Top Stories

Broadband Funding

Scoring Big on Your Middle Mile Application Series: Understanding Review and Applicant Information

There are three phases of application review associated with the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program: Initial, Merit, and Programmatic. During the Initial Review, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) confirms completeness, eligibility, and responsiveness to curing. In Merit Review, applicants will score up to 100 points, and then NTIA will prioritize those applications which average 80 or more points AND meet 2 of the 5 statutory criteria in Programmatic Review. Essentially, applications for the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program that are most likely to be successful will remember the basics for scoring big:

  • Focus on how the project will meet the needs the program intends to address.
  • Submit all of the required forms through the grant portal.
  • Provide complete, detailed information in each section of the application.
  • Check documents for consistency and accuracy.

The application window will close on September 30, 2022. You can find more details here

Scoring Big on your Middle Mile Application Series: Budget Information

The Budget Information section is the third major section of the National Telecommunication and Information Administration's (NTIA) "Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure" application. It is where applicants will have the opportunity to showcase their financial success as well as the sustainability of their project. These areas of consideration will be examined within the budget information portion of the application.

  • Has the applicant demonstrated any formal or informal partnerships for this project?
  • Did the applicant detail each area of your budget, using the templates provided?
  • Do the budget details indicate the applicant’s financial ability to manage and operate a middle mile network?
  • Has the applicant explained all costs? For example, an applicant may explain how they validated the cost of a tower or hut site or how they know that the price per foot of fiber is reasonable.

In summary, applications for the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program that are most likely to be successful will address the basics for scoring big:

  • Focus on how the project will meet the needs the program intends to address.
  • Submit all of the required forms through the grant portal.
  • Provide complete, detailed information in each section of the application.
  • Check documents for consistency and accuracy.

The application window will close on September 30, 2022. You can find more details here. 

Scoring Big on Your Middle Mile Application Series: Project Information

The Project Information section is the second major section of the National Telecommunication and Information Administration's (NTIA) middle mile grant application. This portion provides space for applicants to describe the details and timeline of their project. It includes an executive summary, a “level of need narrative”, and a description of government and community involvement. For a successful application, an applicant must make a binding commitment to prioritize at least one of the following:

  • Connecting middle mile infrastructure to last-mile networks that service unserved areas;
  • Connecting non-contiguous trust lands; and/or
  • Offering wholesale broadband service at reasonable rates.

Additionally, applicants will be prioritized for Programmatic Review if they average an 80+ in merit and commit to at least 2 of the following 5 criteria:

  • Adopt fiscally sustainable middle mile strategies;
  • Commit to offer non-discriminatory interconnect to parties that request it;
  • Identify specific terrestrial and wireless last-mile broadband providers that have requested interconnection and demonstrated sustainable plans;
  • Identify supplemental investment or in-kind support to accelerate completion of the project; and
  • Demonstrate that middle mile grant infrastructure will benefit national security interests.

The application window will close on September 30, 2022. You can find more details here.

The cost of running fiber in rural America: $200,000 per passing

Diana Goovaerts  |  Analysis  |  Fierce

A US Department of Agriculture (USDA) release of the latest grant winners for the ReConnect broadband deployment program was the cost of deploying fiber in rural America. Looking at rural Alaska as an example, the Alaska Telephone Company, which won a $33 million grant, is planning to run fiber to 211 homes and five businesses at a staggering cost of nearly $204,000 per passing. In addition to the grant, the operator said it plans to invest $11 million of its own money in the project. High passing costs appear common for other ReConenct operators as well. The ReConnect grants lead to (at least) two key questions: why fiber in the first place and what’s driving the higher costs? Fiber because no other options were on the table for these rural areas. As for what’s driving the high cost in award areas, Michael Burke, CEO of Alaskan operator MTA, stated the rugged terrain, short construction season, and wetlands in Alaska are all factors. But he added “the most significant cost driver is the difference between the relatively small number of homes being served and the distance to the nearest fiber optic network." 

Lobbying the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Rules

Doug Dawson  |  Analysis  |  CCG Consulting

Thirteen Republican Senators sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) asking the agency to change its approach to administering some of the provisions of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants. The letter specifically asked for changes related to rate regulation, technology preference, provider preference, workforce requirements, middle mile deployments, and the application review process (You can read the letter here). It’s an interesting list of objections. A few of the objections are on everybody’s hate list of the grant rules. Grant applicants do not want to figure out a climate resiliency plan and will be fearful if they do it poorly, they might not win a grant. A few of the requests are clearly in favor of incumbent broadband providers, such as any requirement that might force a state broadband office to consider non-traditional providers like cities. And a few requests are things that concern all broadband providers, such as the NTIA requiring broadband rates that are too low to make a business plan work. Just as interesting are the items not included on the list. Small providers are worried about the requirement to have a certified letter of credit—something that doesn’t concern large providers. Not having this on the list makes me think the senators are being prompted by big broadband internet access service providers.

Data/Mapping

Communities collect granular broadband data amid wait for better federal maps

Chris Teale  |  GCN

States have begun to produce their own mapping data for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant allocation. Local leaders said during a webinar hosted by the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society that their efforts to provide more granular data come in a bid to better serve their residents and in response to deficiencies in the Federal Communication Commission's previous data collection process that relied on vendors to submit internet availability and speed data through its Form 477 process. Lonnie Hamilton, broadband planner at the Virginina Department of Housing and Community Development's Broadband Office (DHCD), worked with every broadband provider in Virginia to obtain the data, an effort he said was “surprisingly difficult.” Some providers missed submission deadlines, and many others needed technical assistance to help them provide the necessary information. But he said the finished product, which will be updated regularly, will be enormously helpful, as it will have nine-month-old data, compared to the FCC data — which is currently 18 months old. The FCC has faced criticism over the methodology behind its broadband mapping for years, which breaks availability coverage down by census block and deems a block served by broadband if just one property within it has access. In a bid to revamp the process, Congress passed the Broadband DATA Act, which mandated that the FCC change its data collection methods to show availability at a more granular level.

Common Sense and Public Knowledge recommend updates to the Affordable Connectivity Program Enrollment Claims Tracker

Amina Fazlullah, Jenna Leventoff, Drew Garner  |  Letter  |  Common Sense, Public Knowledge

Common Sense and Public Knowledge recommend that the Universal Service Administrative Company make additional types of data available through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) Enrollment Claims Tracker. The tracker is the main source of publicly-available data on the ACP. However, the tracker currently lacks key types of data to precisely measure the effect of these campaigns or understand the quality of the services and devices purchased. By providing additional data, the FCC could increase the ACP’s transparency; maximize the impact of ACP campaigns, including those funded by the upcoming ACP Outreach Grant Program; and generate high-quality feedback for the digital discrimination task force. We recommend the tracker be updated to provide the following types of data:

  • Total enrollment per state per week
  • Gross new enrollments and gross de-enrollments
  • Faster data releases
  • Total benefits transferred between providers
  • Data on service and device quality
  • Include ACP claimed support
  • Estimates of household eligibility
  • Data on Public Housing Authorities

Common Sense and Public Knowledge also ask the FCC to facilitate ACP enrollment by encouraging data sharing between states and relevant agencies.

Broadband Industry Lobbyists Offer Recommendations on Affordable Connectivity Program Data Collection

Morgan Reeds  |  Letter  |  USTelecom

On September 21, 2022, representatives from the USTelecom – the Broadband Association, CTIA, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, and ACA Connects – America’s Communications Association met with staffers in the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics to offer recommendations to maximize the effectiveness of the Affordable Connectivity Program’s (ACP) data collection and to keep it simple, streamlined, and efficient for the benefit of consumers and providers alike. The lobbyists pointed out that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directs the FCC to “issue final rules regarding the annual collection by the Commission of data relating to the price and subscription rates of each internet service offering of a participating provider under the Affordable Connectivity Program . . . to which an eligible household subscribes.” This language, they point out, authorizes an annual data collection focused on two components – price and subscription rates of each ACP offering. It does not authorize the FCC  to require providers to continually submit extensive data for each of the almost 14 million current ACP subscribers, as well as future ACP subscribers. They suggest FCC data collection should capture (1) the non-discounted month-to-month price and (2) the number of subscribers for each internet service offering to which an ACP household subscribes, aggregated at the state level.

State/Local

$447 million broadband infrastructure investments for dozens of Tennessee counties

Katie Nixon  |  Tennessean, The

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development is awarding $446,770,282 in grants for the expansion of internet access across Tennessee. Nearly $50 million more will be directed to broadband adoption and digital literacy efforts. More than 150,000 unserved homes and businesses in 58 counties receiving broadband access. Priority was given to applicants with the lowest internet speeds, though all “unserved” areas (where only services with speeds below 100 Mbps download speed and 20 Mbps upload) were considered for the grant. Overall, with the $447 million awarded in funding, broadband access will be available to 36 grantees with 75 projects across 58 Tennessee counties through the Broadband Accessibility Grant Program which aims to offset capital expenses of deployment in unserved areas. 

City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania create Pittsburgh Digital Equity Coalition

Press Release  |  City of Pittsburgh

City of Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald created the Pittsburgh Digital Equity Coalition (PDEC), a working group of anchor organizations already working to promote digital equity and smaller community groups with intimate knowledge of the community need. To address the gaps in digital skills, low-cost high-speed internet services, access to devices, and technical assistance, a coordinated effort led by County and City officials along with leaders from other anchor institutions will allow the Pittsburgh region to submit well-rounded applications for enough funding to make digital equity a reality in the years to come. PDEC’s strategy to close the digital divide will focus on achieving:

  • Reliable, robust broadband internet for all residents at a price point they can afford;
  • Access to a computing device that meets the needs of the end-users;
  • Digital skills to safely and securely use the internet for resident needs; and
  • Accessible technical support when technology breaks.

The PDEC expects to publish its five-year plan in the 2nd quarter of 2023.

Five Model Practices for Partnerships in Smart City Projects

Analysis  |  US Ignite

 US Ignite curates the best practices in designing and delivering smart city projects with leading-edge municipalities. These five practices on handling partnerships can help any smart city service, project, or application – at any phase – find success:

  • Inspire the Right People: Inspired and empowered project and technical managers serve to build consensus and enthusiasm within the team and gain additional support for a project.
  • Set and Agree On the Project Requirements: Clearly setting and agreeing to project requirements helps capitalize on the partners’ differing capabilities. Establishing project requirements and parameters prompts a transparent understanding of the constraints and expectations of the partners.
  • Build Trust Among the Partners and with the Community: The establishment of steering committees succeeds in fostering trust across the community. This governance body acts to institute clear expectations, roles, and responsibilities for the members. 
  • Prepare for an Iterative Process and Hold Evaluations: All the partners should be comfortable with unlearning and relearning throughout the iterative process. When evaluating a project, representatives from different stakeholder groups should be involved.
  • Look Forward: Smart city projects provide communities and partners a prime opportunity to create a roadmap to replicate and scale projects. Communities should keep stock of the assets gained through smart city initiatives to reuse in future projects and initiatives.

Ultimately, well-organized partnerships lead to successful outcomes for the partners, residents, and municipalities deploying a smart infrastructure project. Communities that master this art stand to make great improvements in the lives of their residents.

Spectrum/Wireless

Commissioner Simington Addresses the Competitive Carriers Association

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington  |  Speech  |  Federal Communications Commission

5G, and the technologies it can enable, are not promised to us. As those in rural America well know, 5G is not an inevitability, or simply a function of time and technological development. It is the product of purposeful effort and long-term planning. The capitalintensive 5G transition has been a decade in the making and we are poised to fully deploy 5G in C-Band spectrum, with the auction of the 3.45 GHz band in sight. But much work remains. In order to ensure the continued success of 5G and that we indeed see robust deployment of 5G services to those who most need it, policy makers must get spectrum policy right; and do so right now. We’ve all noticed that there has already been a mental shift among in some policy circles, from one where the highest and best use of spectrum is one of high-power, exclusive use licensing, to one of a shared spectrum model. I have said myself that I think the need for sharing of spectrum will only increase over the next 20 years. And people looking ahead to 6G often assume that a sharing model will predominate. However, before we make the leap to a sharing-centric model in policy, we should remember that being too early can be even worse than being too late. It doesn’t do us any good if we have the New Coke of spectrum policy. The United States is a huge market—but it’s not the whole world, and we can’t afford to be an island in a sea of exclusive-use, full-power licenses. It doesn’t matter who I ask; device manufacturers, tower equipment companies, network engineers, major telecoms, everyone agrees that for 5G, we need the present licensing model.

Spectrum Allocation in the United States

This study explores the current state of radio spectrum (spectrum) allocation in the US and how additional licensed spectrum will enable wireless providers to continue expanding 5G connectivity and unlock 5G-enabled innovation. 5G brings new promises of greater capacity, lower latency and faster speeds. With 90% of all mobile subscriptions in North America forecasted to be using 5G networks by 2027, alongside the expected growth in industrial 5G connections,1 the commercial wireless industry will need additional spectrum to bolster networks and ensure 5G connectivity reaches its full potential. In assessing the current state of spectrum allocation in the US, it becomes clear that several imbalances could hinder the ability of wireless networks to keep up with projected growth and increased demand.

[An Accenture report commissioned by the CTIA]

Company News

Tarana upgrade provides 1 Gig+ speeds via fixed wireless access

Press Release  |  Tarana

Tarana is releasing its next-generation fixed wireless access (ngFWA), representing a significant evolution of the company’s heralded G1 broadband solution. Tarana’s G1 ngFWA platform has been embraced by more than 190 broadband providers in 8 countries in its first year of commercial shipments. G1 base nodes sold to date are expected to cover 20 million households and will have the capacity to serve as many as 1 million subscribers when fully deployed in the coming months. Tarana’s next G1 releases will take two new directions. First is the operation in the 6 GHz unlicensed channels being opened up in the US, Canada, and soon other countries around the world. Second is the introduction of G1x2 mode, a software update that doubles the current 80MHz bandwidth of the G1 platform to 160MHz, organized as four independent 40MHz carriers — in either 5 or 6 GHz or both — to deliver up to 1.6 Gbps in aggregate for each G1 link. 

Policymakers

US defeats Russia to head UN telecoms agency in fight for internet’s future

Clothilde Goujard  |  Politico

Doreen Bogdan-Martin won a massive majority to lead the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations agency that sets global standards for telecommunications and technology infrastructure. Doreen Bogdan-Martin received 139 of the 172 votes. The election pitted Western democracies' vision of a more open version of the internet against authoritarian countries' government-controlled approach. Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Iran have already shown how the internet can be turned into a powerful tool for censorship and to crack down on dissent. “The world is facing significant challenges – escalating conflicts, a climate crisis, food security, gender inequalities, and 2.7 billion people with no access to the Internet,” said Bogdan-Martin after her victory. “I believe we, the ITU and our members, have an opportunity to make a transformational contribution.” Bogdan-Martin will become the first woman to lead the 157-year-old UN agency. She will set the direction for several major telecoms and technology issues including the severe lack of internet connectivity across the world. Only 40 percent of Africans have access to the Internet compared to Europe, the most connected region, where 89 percent of the population has a connection.

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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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Kevin Taglang

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
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