March 2024

There's this annoying saying from coaches in every sport: "No pain, no gain." But that’s what seems to be going on with the big fiber equipment vendors before they start seeing revenues from Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds. “Last year was a very challenging year because we had an inventory work-down year,” said Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. He said that during the Covid years, service providers were “buying up anything they could” and “stockpiling” because of concerns about the supply chain.

While there's still a chance that funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will be extended beyond April, one top policy expert fears that a successful extension faces an "uphill struggle." That was the assessment of New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin, who shared his latest thoughts on the perils of the program in a research note. A pressing issue, he points out, is that ACP was not woven into Congress's latest budget package.

Some State Broadband Offices are taking a stab at social engineering by trying to force BEAD grant winners to offer low broadband rates. I understand the sentiment behind this because everybody in the industry involved with digital equity issues hears stories about homes that can’t afford broadband even when it is available. I know this feels like a broadband office is doing something good, but there are a number of reasons why this is a terrible idea.