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  2. April 2021

April 2021

Gov. Lujan Grisham (D-NM) signs measures advancing broadband connection and development

Gov Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) signed a pair of measures moving the state one step closer to providing New Mexico with the broadband capacity to connect all New Mexicans to reliable, high-speed internet. Senate Bill 93 establishes an Office of Broadband Access and Expansion to centralize and coordinate broadband activities across state government agencies, local governmental bodies, tribal governmental organizations and internet service providers.

New York State Assembly Announces $15 Million Statewide Digital Inclusion Grant Program

The New York State Assembly's approved State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021-22 Budget includes the Assembly’s proposal to establish a new $15 million statewide Digital Inclusion Grant Program to assist local efforts to bring digital equity to individuals left out of today’s essential digital technology.

Verizon is recalling 2.5 million hotspots that could overheat and cause burn or fire damage

Verizon said it is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to recall 2.5 million hotspot devices after an investigation found the devices’ lithium-ion batteries could overheat and pose fire and burn hazards. The Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot models MHS900L, MHS900LS, and MHS900LPP were imported by Franklin Wireless Corp. and sold between April 2017 and March of 2021.

SpaceX a Threat to Rural Broadband Providers? Maybe in a Few Years, Maybe Never

A research note from telecom financial analysts at MoffettNathanson Research shows the firm estimates SpaceX’s total addressable US market at full deployment at between 300,000 to 800,000 households, or less than 1% of the market. It’s a particularly noteworthy number, considering that SpaceX is poised to receive nearly $900 million from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) to cover some of the costs of bringing broadband to unserved rural areas.

U.S. Actually Performed Worse During Covid Than Some Net Neutrality Countries, Not Better.

Internet service providers (ISPs) and their defenders are repeatedly claiming that the US did better than other network neutrality countries (specifically, the EU27) when it came to handling the crush of Covid-19 induced traffic. Unsurprisingly, they credit the lack of regulation for this amazing response. Once again, this claim does not hold up to real scrutiny. As with the investment nonsense, this is a highly complicated area and therefore subject to a lot of spin and heated arguments over what the data actually show and how to explain it.

SpaceX to keep Starlink pricing simple, exit beta when network is “reliable”

The Starlink broadband network will probably stick with one price instead of offering different tiers of service, said SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell. SpaceX has been charging $99 a month for the Starlink beta service, plus $499 upfront for the user terminal/satellite dish, mounting tripod, and router. Even if SpaceX has just one price for most customers, it will probably offer a cheaper plan to people with low incomes.

How the FCC wasted $45 billion on rural “broadband” and what the current FCC/Congress/Administration should have learned.

Before spending an additional $100 billion of public money on rural broadband, avoiding the mistakes of the past decade would be a good place to start.

Lesson #1: The digital divide was not a consequence of rural economics; it has been the policy of the federal government. Broadband is not simply a speed at a point in time. Rather than focus on a short-term goal of attaining any particular speed, public funding is better spent on long-term infrastructure, best defined as assets with a life of at least thirty years.

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