What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
Lessons Learned from RDOF: Some Advice for the States as They Embark on BEAD
Today, many months after passage of the landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the states are finally on the cusp of implementing National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s $40+ billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program. Some states are confidently moving ahead quickly, while others are in the early days of developing concrete plans for how they will manage this historic federal investment.
Senator Luján (D-NM) Leads Colleagues in Urging the FCC to Combat Digital Discrimination
We write concerning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Implementing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) “Prevention and Elimination of Digital Discrimination” (Docket/RM 22-69). We urge you to take swift action to adopt final rules to facilitate equal access to broadband internet. Congress intended Section 60506 to require internet service providers to end discrimination resulting from programs and policies that perpetuate systemic barriers for people of color and other underserved groups.
Cable operators can get to 8 Gbps without end-to-end DOCSIS 4.0
DOCSIS 4.0 has been billed as the technology that will put cable operators on par with 10G PON service from fiber providers, but a recent CableLabs interoperability event showed cable companies can hit over 8 Gbps with a mix of new and old gear. CableLabs Principal Architect Doug Jones said that operators demonstrated speeds of “eight point something” gigabits per second downstream and 1.5 Gbps upstream. But rather than using an end-to-end DOCSIS 4.0 system, this was done using a DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem termination system (CMTS) in a high split configuration and a DOCSIS 4.0 modem.
Telecommunications and the climate crisis: Solutions for cutting CO2
As global economies race to curb climate change, the telecommunications industry is positioned to make a substantial difference.
RDOF Winner Coalition Still Hopes for Additional Funding Due to Increased Costs
A group known as the Coalition of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Winners is still hoping that the Federal Communications Commission will release additional funding to the companies to help cover the large increases in deployment costs that the winners have experienced since the RDOF rural broadband funding auction was completed in 2020, just prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. One of the companies seeking extra funding is Aristotle Broadband, which won $62 million in the auction for deployments primarily in Arkansas and Mississippi, including persistent poverty cou
Tennessee Broadband Director Talks BEAD and Why the State Targeted 3 Counties for Capital Projects Fund Dollars
The Tennessee Economic and Community Development Office (TNECD) will begin accepting applications for $60 million in Capital Projects Fund (CPF) dollars for rural broadband deployments in September 2023. But not every county will be eligible for funding. “We wanted to look at counties that historically had very few applications for grant programs," Tennessee State Broadband Director Taylre Beaty said.
Oregon Broadband Office Requests Comment on the Draft Five-Year Action Plan
The Oregon Broadband Office has completed a draft Five-Year Action Plan and wants to hear your feedback.
The conference has been held for the past 25 years and has moved around the State of Oregon, from La Grande, to Bend, to Newport, to Hood River and now to Ashland. Attendees include educators, government representatives, internet service providers, municipalities, healthcare representatives, tribal nations, equipment vendors, etc.
Grant Funds are Still Taxable
In October 2022, I wrote a blog about a bipartisan attempt to exempt broadband grant funding from being taxable income. Unfortunately, Congress has still not moved this legislation forward.