Internet/Broadband

Minnesota is getting a taste of open-access fiber, as Intrepid Fiber will expand its network into the Greater St. Cloud area—bringing symmetrical multi-gig broadband to over 44,000 households and businesses. This marks Intrepid’s second open access initiative in the state: a project in Bloomington is set to cover 40,000 locations. As for St. Cloud, construction is already underway in the city as well as in Sauk Rapids, Waite Park, and Sartell. Intrepid expects fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) service to be live in the area by the end of 2023.

Through a recent partnership announcement with Ciena, eCommunity Fiber is poised to extend its open-access fiber network in Georgia and beyond. Launched by parent company A2D, an open-access local exchange carrier, the privately-funded eCommunity Fiber network currently serves five cities within Clayton County in Georgia. eCommunity is now gearing up for its second Georgia deployment, with plans to cross other state lines in 2024. Open-access networks are deployed by one company and then leased to multiple internet service providers, which can then offer broadband service to end customers.

Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) announced $69 million in federal funding for two new programs to help more Marylanders access high-speed, affordable internet. Administered by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office of Statewide Broadband, the two programs, Home Stretch for Public Housing and Home Stretch for Difficult to Serve Properties, are expected to provide internet access to an estimated 15,000 unserved Maryland households.

We write to express our disappointment and opposition to your announcement that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to reclassify fixed and mobile broadband as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Not only is this bad public policy, but it is also unlawful. Reclassification and the associated heavy-handed regulations that accompany this action continues to be a solution in search of a problem. We seek the following information by October 31, 2023:

Statewide telehealth use jumped dramatically among low-income Californians covered by Medi-Cal in March 2020, when telehealth visits began to be reimbursed at the same rates as in-person visits. We find comparable trends in California’s community health centers (CHCs)—primary care clinics that serve all comers—for Medi-Cal and undocumented patients. However, telehealth can still pose challenges for those who are uncomfortable with technology or lack English proficiency.

One of the most questionable facts circulating in the broadband industry is that a large percentage of homes in the country have multiple internet service provider (ISP) options. A recent U.S. News and World Report states that the FCC data shows that 94 percent of homes have a choice of three or more ISPs. I’ve seen similar statistics elsewhere, and it’s not hard to see that this information comes from the latest FCC mapping data. I’m not surprised to find that the FCC maps show that 94 percent of homes in the country have three or more ISPs claiming the ability to provide service.

On September 29, the American Enterprise Institute hosted an expert panel to discuss states’ plans for managing the billions of dollars allotted to broadband expansion. The panel featured Duke University’s Michelle Connolly, North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Nate Denny, ConnectLA’s Veneeth Iyengar, and Kansas Office of Broadband Development’s Jade Piros de Carvalho. Piros de Carvalho highlighted the need for solutions to the labor shortage that the deployment process will soon be facing, as well as the need for streamlined permitting processes.

Small rural internet service providers (ISPs) had until the end of September to tell the Federal Communications Commission whether they wanted to participate in the Enhanced ACAM program. The E-ACAM program extends subsidies to these small providers through 2038, and in exchange the providers will serve all locations in their territory with 100/20 Mbps broadband, making most of them ineligible for the BEAD program.

The state of Mississippi will be getting one of the largest allotments in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program–$1.2 billion. The funding comes on top of $151.5 million that the state was awarded from the Capital Projects Fund and an earlier award of $32.6 million from the Broadband Infrastructure Program (BIP). “We started with a smaller award and the awards have been getting larger and larger," said Sally Doty, director of the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM).

The Nevada Governor's Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) is accepting public comment this month on its draft Digital Equity Plan, the state's first statewide-level attempt to eradicate the digital divide. For broadband internet subscriptions, Nevada is slightly above the national rate.