Infrastructure

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Kentucky and Maine’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Kentucky and Maine to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.  

Everywhere I look I see Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant rules that are doing what I call regulating by grant. State Broadband Offices are creating grant rules that go far beyond adhering to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) guidelines. They are insisting on grant rules which are intended to achieve social policies. I’m highlighting two such items buried inside Iowa's BEAD rules. The first requirement is in paragraph 1.3.18 of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) and concerns having a low-price option for low-income subscribers.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Illinois, Oregon, and Puerto Rico’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Illinois, Oregon, and Puerto Rico to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Today’s action allows the entities to request access to:  

In 2021, California did something truly remarkable and forward looking by approving historic legislation that allocated a record $6 billion to bring equitable and affordable high-speed broadband service to all its citizens. The multiyear investment aimed to close the digital divide by building the largest “middle-mile” and “last-mile” high-speed broadband internet project in the nation. However, with the state facing a record $44.9 billion budget deficit this year, Gov Gavin Newsom (D-CA) plans to cut $2 billion for the program he previously championed. California lawmakers must not backtra

By mid June, we will have blown past the halfway mark in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment challenge process—with more than thirty states having completed their “challenge windows” and another handful set to close imminently. But the “challenge window” is only part of the overall challenge process, and there are reasons for communities to stay engaged with the process even after that window closes.

Senate Commerce Committee  Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked New Street Research Policy Advisor and Brookings Nonresident Senior Fellow Blair Levin to clarify remarks Levin made about the negative impact the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will have on the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Levin answered saying that BEAD does not fund the cost of deployment broadband to an unserved or underserved area; rather it funds the difference between the cost of deployment and what a provider would be willing to invest to serve that area.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) seeks comment on the petition of EMPOWER Broadband (EMPOWER) to expand its Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) designated service area in Virginia.  EMPOWER seeks to expand its ETC designated service area to become eligible to receive Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II Auction (Auction 903) support associated with certain census blocks (constituting complete census block groups (CGBs)) in Virginia, a subpart of an original CAF II support award authorized to RiverStreet Communications of Virginia.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Colorado and New Hampshire’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Colorado and New Hampshire to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.

Rural America disproportionately lacks access to high-speed broadband, an essential component of modern life. Though the issue—and many attempts to address it—go back much farther, the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriated $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the gap once and for all. In this episode, Tony Pipa visits Macon County, Alabama, and also talks with leaders from Jal, New Mexico, and Humboldt County, California to learn how they have overcome their challenges to bring broadband to their rural communities.

The latest broadband public-private partnership comes from Ziply, which will bring fiber broadband at speeds up to 50Gbps symmetrically to Camaro Island, Washington. The deployment will require an investment of almost half a million dollars, some of which will come from Ziply and some of which will come from Island County.