Infrastructure

In 2020 and beyond, my principal focus will be ensuring that our communications networks and technologies support security, privacy, and our democratic values. Internet inequality is a persistent problem that is only growing in urgency. Low-income people, people of color, and people in rural areas either aren’t getting online or are making great sacrifices to get connected. For example, according to a Pew Research study, only 45 percent of adults with incomes under $30,000 have broadband at home. Solving this problem is a moral imperative.

At least two rural service provider groups have voiced opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to add a new 50/5 Mbps speed tier to the bidding categories for the proposed Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Both NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) argue that adding the new speed tier creates two speed tiers that are below the average broadband speed already experienced in urban areas. The FCC is scheduled to vote Jan 30 on whether to adopt the RDOF order.

Public Knowledge, Common Cause, New America’s Open Technology Institute, et al. met with Federal Communications Commission Wireline Competition Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff on January 16, 2020, to express concern regarding the methodology, analysis, and conclusions in the Fifteenth Broadband Deployment Report Notice of Inquiry. They disagreed with the FCC’s conclusions in its two prior broadband deployment reports that broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a timely fashion.

Rep Bill Johnson (R-OH), Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, and local dignitaries met to discuss the importance of broadband access for Southeastern Ohio’s rural communities. In Marietta (OH), Chairman Pai outlined the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) at the roundtable. He said the RDOF would be divided into two phases. Phase 1 will cost $16 billion and will target areas with no broadband access. He said part of phase 2 will be data collection. “We’ll collect information from providers as a map may show an area has service, but they don’t in reality,” he explained.

The Senate Commerce Committee convened a hearing "The 5G Workforce and Obstacles to Broadband Deployment" to discuss their 5G concerns, despite the fact that day one of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump went until almost 2am the night before. Seven members of the committee questioned the witnesses about the "5G labor shortage." According to Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), some projections estimate the US needs 20,000 more people to help "accelerate the deployment of 5G in order to win the race and secure the first-move advantage in the United States." Right now, there

Gov Tim Walz (D-MN) announced the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is awarding $23,270,933 in Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program funds to 30 broadband projects across the state.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $7.1 million in two, high-speed broadband infrastructure projects that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for 1,250 rural households in north central Arkansas. The Yelcot Telephone Company will use a $1.7 million ReConnect Program grant and a $1.7 million loan to upgrade facilities from copper cable and drops to a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network that is expected to connect 548 households in Baxter and Marion counties.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $18.7 million in a high-speed broadband infrastructure project that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for more than 6,300 rural households and an estimated 383 farms in Harrison, Doddridge, Lewis, Barbour and Upshur counties in West Virginia. The Harrison Rural Electrification Association Inc.

Here are just a few pieces that we think are worthy of further consideration and some modification before the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) order becomes final.

The problem with using speed alone in assessing the capabilities of broadband networks is that it represents only one product characteristic, and is not necessarily linked with the requirements of the applications commonly used by end consumers.