Governing

FCC’s New Broadband Map Brings Challenges for Local Government

On November 18, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled an update of its map showing broadband availability in communities throughout the U.S.

Rural Areas in Nevada See Broadband as Key to Progress

Pershing County, Nevada is one of many rural communities throughout the US that will receive new, fiber optic, high-speed internet connections through the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) ReConnect Program.

How Can States Plan for the Long Game of Digital Equity?

The $65 billion included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is intended to finally close a technology gap identified more than three decades ago, giving “every American” access to affordable, high-speed Internet.Almost two-thirds of the Infrastructure Act's broadband dollars will go to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). States have until July 18 to send NTIA a letter of intent to participate in the program.

New Maps Help Set Priorities for Broadband Deployment

In 2018, Congress provided funding to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to create a National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) and to work with Federal Communications Commissionas well as state and local governments, nonprofits, network owners and operators and other stakeholders to achieve this goal.

Infrastructure and Broadband: What to Watch in 2022

State lawmakers should be thinking about how to go on one-time spending sprees — such as funding infrastructure projects, including broadband, largely underwritten by the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. In recent years, state programs have received applications in excess of available funds, says Anna Read, senior officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts Broadband Access Initiative. “State grant programs to date have focused on expansion of last-mile infrastructure to unserved areas,” she says.

2022 Brings Hope for State and Local Broadband Progress

The urgency for wider access to high-speed Internet has been palpable in the past year. The federal government has ramped up its focus on the issue, devoting billions in funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In turn, states are setting aside eye-popping amounts of money themselves. But is all that money enough to help everyone?

Broadband and the States: The Critical Role of Partnerships

The recently signed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill sets aside $65 billion to expand broadband access and equity across the nation. It is a once-in-a-generation investment that acknowledges how critical high-speed Internet is to quality of life and opportunity in America. The next move in broadband expansion belongs to the states, which are required to submit five-year action plans that illustrate how they will use the federal broadband funds to improve local economic development, education, health care and other vital needs.

Stimulus Funds Bolster Broadband Equity in Vermont and Virginia

Billions of federal dollars for broadband came with the stipulation that they benefit underserved populations. New projects that link last-mile access with affordability are paving the way for universal Internet service. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) included hundreds of billions of dollars for which broadband infrastructure was among the allowed uses. Infrastructure is not the only issue for those on the wrong side of the digital divide, however. Many who might have providers in their area cannot afford home service.

Digital Equity: The Softer Side of the Biden Infrastructure Plan

President Biden’s recently announced infrastructure proposal calls for a massive, unprecedented investment aimed at connecting all Americans to the Internet, one that has led to some digital equity experts calling it a potential game changer for their work. What does Biden’s plan need to do to fully address digital equity and Internet access in the United States? Experts say: availability is goog; adoption is better.

 

Closing Education’s Digital Divide Will Cost Billions

As many of the nation’s pupils close in on a year of virtual remote learning, public policy analysts are highlighting the scope of the digital divide and ways in which policymakers can close it. While policymakers have made efforts to expand access to computers and broadband since the COVID-19 pandemic began, analysts say up to 12 million K-12 students remain underserved.

America’s Moral Obligation for Universal Broadband

As much as the pandemic is a challenge, the urgency it presents also provides an opportunity to finally make significant progress on these digital issues. To get started and provide a framework for future action, I recommend focusing on the following:

How Governments Can Keep Disaster Survivors Connected

There's no better time for state and local governments to get serious about developing proactive approaches to keeping residents connected in the days, months and years following a natural disaster. Among the programs that should be advertised to disaster survivors is the federal Lifeline program, which provides a subsidy that covers all or a portion of the cost of wireless voice and internet services for low-income consumers who qualify.

The Future of 5G: The Bitter Battle for Local Control

Across the country, telecommunication companies are beginning to lay the groundwork for 5G wireless networks. The buildout often pits states against cities. But a proposal that the Federal Communications Commission is set to vote on Sept 26 would not only upend future local agreements, but also preempt states. If approved, localities across the country would have drastically less authority over 5G infrastructure. 

The Broadband Boost Small-Town America Needs

[Op-ed] Publicly owned broadband networks exist for one purpose: to give the most people the best service at the lowest possible prices. They do this because they know it benefits their residents’ quality of life and incomes. Verizon, Comcast and other big internet providers don’t like localities encroaching on their business, and they have gone to court to stop public broadband networks from being established. They have lost these cases, but defending them costs governments time and money.

Broadband Equity Defines the Future of Communities

[Commentary] Public broadband offers communities options to extend high-speed connectivity to un- or underserved constituents. At least it did.

But now the US Court of Appeals has put a speed bump squarely in the middle of the so-called information super highway with its ruling that the Federal Communications Commission cannot block states from setting limits on municipal broadband expansion. Cities in Tennessee and North Carolina had previously received backing from the FCC to expand their fiber optic networks beyond their traditional service boundaries. It's an odd situation, especially in Tennessee as Chattanooga has received international acclaim for providing its citizens with access to one of the fastest broadband systems in the world for the last five years – and it’s only getting faster. As of 2015, the city’s Electric Power Board (EPB) began offering the world’s first community-wide 10 Gbps internet service. Beyond bragging rights, Chattanooga’s commitment to connectivity is a successful business venture that has defied dire predictions by critics.

[Littlefield was mayor of Chattanooga when the city's municipally owned Electric Power Board built the fiber optic system to provide gigabit connectivity to an area covering more than 650 square miles]

Cities Are Fighting States over Municipal Broadband

Wilson, North Carolina, determined nearly a decade ago that high-speed Internet access would be essential to the community’s social and economic health in the 21st century, just as electricity, water and sewers were in the previous 100 years.

Today, Wilson is North Carolina’s first “Gigabit City.”

Its Greenlight broadband utility serves 7,000 of 50,000 residents with Internet speeds between 20 Mbps, or 20 megabits per second, and 1 Gbps, or 1 gigabit per second.

Greenlight also offers electricity to six surrounding counties, but not Internet, cable TV or phone service. Many other small communities without high-speed broadband would like to follow Wilson’s lead, but they have run into resistance from state officials who don’t want municipalities competing with private companies that pay taxes.

States also fear exposing taxpayers to potential losses if systems should fail. In recent years 20 other states either have prohibited municipal broadband or thrown up hurdles making it more difficult for communities to get into the broadband business.