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November 2019

On the Road to Better Broadband Maps?

On November 14, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the House Commerce Committee held a markup session on nine bills. Of note were two bills aimed at improving broadband data collection so policymakers have a better sense of where networks reach -- or don't reach. As we reported in September, there's a general consensus that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) isn't doing a good enough job collecting broadband data. The bills passed with little debate or controversy. But how will they help?

Meeting the Gretzky Test

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, warned us against this status quo bias. The secret to his legendary success on the ice was to “skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” The Gretzky Test is popular in sports and in business now, and I think competition authorities—and especially those of us in tech and telecom regulation—should hold ourselves to it, too. The Federal Communications Commission has not always met that test. For too long, too many at the FCC sought to preserve the status quo, thinking that doing so could only benefit the Americans we serve. The FCC was wrong.

USDA Invests $41.6 Million in Rural Broadband for Missouri and Southern Iowa Families

The Department of Agriculture invested $41.6 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Missouri and Southern Iowa. The Grand River Mutual Telephone Corporation will use ReConnect Program funding to deploy a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) or greater. The funded service areas include 2,288 households, 17 businesses and 39 farms.

USDA Invests $7.2 Million in Rural Broadband for Iowa and South Dakota Families

The Department of Agriculture invested $7.2 million in high-speed broadband infrastructure that will create or improve rural e-Connectivity for rural households and farms in Iowa and South Dakota. The Heartland Telecommunications Company of Iowa, doing business as Premier Communications, will use a ReConnect Program loan to deploy a fiber to the premises (FTTP) broadband network capable of simultaneous transmission rates of 1/1 gigabits per second. The funded service areas include 868 households, 17 businesses and 27 farms.

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