Infrastructure

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Idaho, North Dakota and American Samoa’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.  This approval enables Idaho, North Dakota, and American Samoa to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. This action allows states and territories to request:  

• Idaho: Over $583 Million
• North Dakota: Over $130 Million
• American Samoa: Over $37 Million

Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading statewide broadband expansion and digital equity in Maine, is seeking proposals from qualified technical and construction experts to design and construct a 536-mile fiber optic network across the state of Maine.

The buildout of broadband is well underway in Vermont, with eight out of the state’s ten Communications Union Districts (CUDs) currently connecting customers. But for Vermonters who live more than 400 feet from the fiber line along the road, that connection can come at a cost that’s unaffordable.

In 2011, Community Networks built our first map showing where community-owned networks were around the United States. At the time, it aimed to illustrate what we knew to be true: that more than a hundred communities were choosing to fill the local broadband marketplace by building and/or operating their own networks.

In Montana, over 63,400 Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) remain unserved and nearly 24,000 remain underserved. The Montana Broadband Office’s vision is to close the digital divide in support of Montana’s economic, workforce, health, and educational goals by ensuring reliable, affordable internet access for everyone in the state.

On September 9^th I testified to the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology at a hearing entitled “From Introduction to Implementation: A BEAD Program Progress Report.

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association and ACA Connects–America’s Communications Association submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) regarding the agency’s proposed guidance on the use of alternative broadband technologies in deployment projects funded by the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.  NTCA and ACA Connects urged NTIA, in enabling the use of alternative technologies, to:

Comcast still sees fiber networks as its biggest competition in the long term, but a top exec acknowledged fixed wireless access (FWA) as a "near-term issue" that is taking a piece of the lower end of the market. Although the pace of FWA subscriber growth among some of the top US service providers is showing signs of slowing, T-Mobile, Verizon and 

We don’t need any more delays in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant process, but there are potential delays on the horizon due to the political calendar. What do I mean by political calendar? There is going to be a new president in the White House, and that means a change in many of the people who run various cabinets and agencies. It could mean a new head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is run by an Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

Consolidated Communications has won over $200 million in broadband funding, said the company’s vice president of market development, Sarah Davis. Most of the broadband funding that Consolidated has received was for New England, where the company is a major provider, Davis said. The company is currently gearing up to bid for funding in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program in several states that it serves, she added. Consolidated’s latest win was $11.8 million through New Hampshire’s Broadband Matching Grant Initiative (BMGI) Program.