Analysis

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.

This white paper explains how communities can ensure access to fifth-generation wireless bandwidth and services (5G) for all residents through citywide, architecturally coherent, shared wireless networks. The public-private partnership approach outlined below—made possible by recent developments in private wireless networking—enables communities to co-create ubiquitous, resource-efficient, and flexible neutral host networks that facilitate equitable deployment of wireless connectivity.

Is our practice of dumping the proceeds from the privatization of the public airwaves into the federal treasury, as is now routinely done, the best use of this precious public resource? No. The nation should dedicate a sizable share of spectrum auction proceeds to closing these digital equity gaps and should establish a reliable, proven vehicle to pursue this task. An endowed, independent, and private charitable foundation would best have the flexibility, research focus, long-term time perspective, and ability to engage other partners that such a mission will require.

President Joe Biden's $2 trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal provides $100 billion to America’s digital infrastructure, with a lofty goal of giving all Americans access to the affordable, reliable high-speed internet they need to participate in today’s economy. The fact sheet the Biden administration released doesn’t go into the details beyond saying how much money President Biden wants to invest and, generally, what he hopes the return on that investment will be: high-speed, “future-proof” broadband access covering the entire country; more competition between providers, inc

The White House’s new infrastructure plan includes a proposal to spend $100 billion to extend fast internet access to every home. Its central premise is a powerful one: To achieve the internet that we all deserve, the federal government must be more involved — but not too much. The White House plan could be the shakeout we need.

Do you know how much money your state is getting from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)? We crunched the data to find out how much RDOF money each state will get to expand internet access to rural Americans, breaking it down to dollars per resident.

The American Jobs Plan's $100 billion in broadband funding would be spread out over a number of years, as the entire jobs plan is slated to "invest about $2 trillion this decade." Municipally owned networks, nonprofits, and co-operatives would play a major role in the expansion. The broadband industry and Republicans have been fighting city-owned networks for years, and nearly 20 states have laws that restrict the growth of municipal broadband.

Respecting the limitations of the speed-test data, I analyze a sample of over 100 million speed-tests conducted in the US in 2020. Through its Open Data Initiative, the data are made available by Ookla (speedtest.net). I also link the Ookla Speedtest data to the Federal Communications Commission’s Form 477 data for comparison purposes.

Wireless carriers TruConnect, American Broadband & Telecommunications, Standup Wireless, and SafetyNet Wireless have asked the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its Emergency Broadband Benefit Program rules. The carriers say the rules unintentionally allow eligible consumers in the program to obtain multiple connected devices, even though the FCC only authorizes one connected device per eligible household.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will distribute more than $2 billion in new broadband grant funding through three new programs created by the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act. If your community or institution will be eligible to apply for one or more of these programs, don’t wait for NTIA to issue rules later in spring 2021. Start preparing the broad outlines of your proposed projects now—so you’re ready to submit a competitive application when the window opens this summer.