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  2. December 2016

December 2016

Benton Foundation Updates Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Next Generation Broadband

The Benton Foundation published a handbook for city officials seeking the affordable, abundant bandwidth their communities will need to thrive in the decades ahead. Designed for local decision makers, The Next Generation Network Connectivity Handbook: A Guide for Community Leaders Seeking Affordable, Abundant Bandwidth reviews the current landscape of broadband networks, including next generation, gigabit capable networks, outlines best practices, summarizes existing models, and presents a framework through which community leaders might begin preliminary project steps given their city’s specific strengths and circumstances. “Our purpose,” said co-author Blair Levin, “is to lower the initial, daunting information barrier that exists between cities already immersed in these Internet infrastructure issues and those just beginning to navigate them.” From 2009-2010, Levin oversaw the development of the National Broadband Plan while at the Federal Communications Commission. A key insight offered by city officials is the important linkages between deploying next generation information networks and other municipal policies, including those affecting construction, transportation, housing, and economic development. As a result, the Handbook identifies two critical and related tasks for cities: understanding how its practices affect the economics of deploying and operating next generation networks, and organizing its assets, practices and people to improve its ability to negotiate with third party providers or deploy these networks themselves. “Many communities are tackling 21st Century information infrastructure challenges themselves, regionally, or with private partners. We have a lot to learn from their approaches.” said co-author Denise Linn, Program Analyst for the Smart Chicago Collaborative. “In the second edition of the Handbook, we’ve incorporated new cases and resources from 2016. This field is a moving target with emerging best practices and shifting players — tracking new broadband initiatives has never been more important.”

Community-Led Broadband Agendas and Issues to Watch in the Next Administration

Although Donald Trump will be our next President, we are not sure who will occupy key positions in broadband policy. We can, however, know what some of the agendas and issues will be and their potential direction. Several can impact the economics and options related to network deployments. 1) The Federal Communications Commission’s ability to legally undercut laws restricting municipal broadband efforts is likely to remain limited, but we note that a number of efforts have proceeded in states with such laws, and as more communities obtain next generation broadband through their own efforts, and as such broadband becomes more important from an economic development perspective, the ability for incumbents to convince legislatures to pass such laws will likely weaken. 2) As competitors try to deploy next generation networks, they have pointed to two places where they see significant barriers: utility poles and entry to multiple-dwelling units (MDUs). 3) One of the few areas of agreement between the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, and the President-elect, Donald Trump, is that both agreed there was a need for the country to spend more on infrastructure. While Trump has not yet laid out his technology-related agenda, cities making plans for upgrading their networks should pay close attention to policy debates in the first part of 2017 to determine if there are new resources to be utilized in upgrading networks for these future needs. 4) In the last few years, there have been increasing calls for the government to adopt policies that enable all to participate in what we might think of as digital life, particularly for such services as health care, education, job training, and public safety. Again, we cannot know what the precise policies will be for improving inclusion in digital life. We can know that greater efforts at inclusion increase the value of, and the percentage of, adoption in traditionally low-adoption communities. Both have the impact of improving the economics of new deployments, as they bring new customers, and a greater willingness to pay, to the platform.

Bipartisan agreement: Trump infrastructure plan must include broadband

Sens Klobuchar (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), and John Boozman (R-AR) agreed in at a Next Centuries Cities event in Washington (DC) that the in-coming Trump Administration’s infrastructure plan must include broadband. At the event, “Transforming Communities: Broadband Goals for 2017 and Beyond,” the Sens emphasized that there is bipartisan consensus that broadband is essential to the economic vitality of communities across America. "Broadband is a vital component to our nation’s 21st century infrastructure and our federal policies must reflect this,” Sen. Boozman said. “Right now, a digital divide exists between rural and metropolitan areas which we must overcome.” “Everyone, from the farmers in rural Minnesota to those in our towns and cities, must be able to log on and participate in this new digital economy,” said Sen Klobuchar. “High-speed broadband will enable people across the country, regardless of whether they live in rural Maine or New York City, to realize unprecedented economic, educational, and cultural opportunities,” Sen King added. “That’s why today’s event, which brought together a bipartisan coalition of voices to champion how broadband can transform our communities, is so vitally important.”

GAO Report: Info on LPTV, FCC's Spectrum Incentive Auction, and Unlicensed Spectrum Use

The US Government Accountability Office was asked to review the possible effects of the auction on low power television (LPTV) and translator stations and their viewers. This report examines: (1) LPTV and translator stations and how the Federal Communications Commission's incentive auction might affect their viewers, (2) selected stakeholders' views on actions FCC has proposed to mitigate the possible effects of the auction on such stations, and (3) selected stakeholders' views on the expected outcomes of preserving a vacant television channel for unlicensed use. GAO reviewed relevant FCC proceedings and comments associated with those proceedings; surveyed a non-generalizable sample of 330 LPTV and translator station representatives with available e-mail addresses; and interviewed officials from FCC and industry stakeholders selected to represent various types of organizations, such as broadcast industry associations and technology companies. GAO provided FCC with a draft of this report. FCC's technical comments have been incorporated.

Wireless Companies Won't Bid Up TV Spectrum

Stage three of the forward portion of the Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auction began and ended Dec 5 when forward auction bidders again refused to up their prices for reclaimed broadcast spectrum. In fact, the total after stage three was lower—$19,676,240,520—because the FCC reduced the amount of spectrum and the bidders simply reduced their demand along with it. That means the FCC will lower its spectrum-clearing target and proceed to stage four of the reverse auction.

The FCC said that stage four of the reverse auction will likely start Dec 13. It will provide details on Dec 9, including what the new clearing target will be. Stage three of the reverse auction ended last week with the broadcasters' new asking price now $40,313,164,425 for 108 MHz of spectrum (the "clearing target"). In stage two, the price was $55 billion for 114 MHz, but forward auction bidders, who had only ponied up $22 billion in stage one toward an opening price of $86 billion for 126 MHz, did not budge, simply reducing their demand rather than up the price. They did the same Dec 5, signaling broadcasters will have to drop their prices yet again, and wireless companies will get access to even less spectrum, in stage four. The FCC has nine different spectrum targets. Stage three of the reverse auction launched Nov. 1 at a 108 MHz clearing target. The next target is 84 MHz, which some see as the potential equilibrium point between broadcasters' asks and forward bidders' offers, perhaps around a $30 billion number.

FCC Gives EchoStar’s ‘AirTV’ a Lift

The Federal Communications Commission has cleared EchoStar to import, market and sell the AirTV, a new device seemingly targeted to cord-cutters that will support over-the-air digital TV signals as well as over-the-top content.

The FCC’s opinion and order, released Dec. 1, found that the AirTV, as well as a new USB-based tuner product from Hauppauge, are “capable of adequately receiving all channels allocated by the Commission to the television broadcast service.” Though TV broadcast receivers must be capable of receiving both analog and digital broadcast signals until August 31, 2017, the FCC said a waiver of this rule was in order for the EchoStar AirTV and Hauppauge WinTV-dualHD products because they are in the public interest. Neither EchoStar’s or Hauppauge’s waiver request faced opposition. “As EchoStar and Hauppauge point out, a digital-only device has several advantages over equipment using both analog and digital tuners: the digital-only models involve less design complexity, avoid substantial operating costs that are generally associated with additional hardware and software, and consume less energy,” the FCC noted in the order. “These advantages should result in lower costs, which can be passed on to consumers and also promote a strong, competitive marketplace.”

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