Analysis

Artificial Intelligence and Your Health

There’s a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, or AI, these days. AI is everywhere—from virtual assistants to facial recognition software. The technology is even assisting doctors and scientists. One area that AI is already being used daily is medical imaging. Computers help doctors comb through CT and MRI scans for signs of problems like heart disease and cancer. While it may be tempting to ask general chatbots, like ChatGPT to find health information, it's important to use caution, as the chatbot doesn't actually understand what you're asking. However, Dr.

The Licensed Wireless Dilemma

One of the stickiest issues that State broadband offices are going to be wrestling with is how to recognize the service areas for ISPs that use licensed spectrum to deliver rural broadband. This issue comes from a ruling from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that, for purposes of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants, fixed wireless networks using unlicensed spectrum are deemed to be unreliable.

Everyone Connected: Connecticut's Digital Equity Plan

In 2022, Governor Ned Lamont (D-CT) called on the Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology within the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to lead the State’s efforts around digital equity. In late 2023, the commission released its draft digital equity plan, Connecticut: Everyone Connected, for public comment.

Cable Companies Fight an End to Junk Fees

All of the big cable companies, and many of the smaller ones, routinely use hidden fees to disguise the true cost of buying cable TV. The Federal Communications Commission has been moving to tackle hidden fees, and at its December 2023 meeting it released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to eliminate a service fee and early termination fees on customer who want to break the contracts that are required to get promotional pricing. Not surprisingly, the cable industry is fighting vehemently against the elimination of such fees.

Big Cities Turn To FCC To Tap Cable Broadband Fees

Some major US cities are targeting a federal rule that likely stands between them and a gusher of broadband gold. Under current Federal Communications Commission rules, cable’s broadband revenue is off limits to local taxing authorities.

Advocating for Consumers and Organizations Facing a Potential ACP Wind-Down

While continuing to fight for Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding, we must also prepare for a future without the program if Congress doesn’t act. We spoke with NDIA community members about what you need to help consumers transition off of ACP.  On January 8, NDIA officially filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission sharing your needs and requests and advocating for what consumers and organizations working with ACP recipients need in this challenging time. Our requests to the FCC: 

Update on Smart-Farm Technology

Agriculture ventures across the spectrum are adopting smart technologies to be more productive—all of which require decent broadband. 

Coloradans at the Heart of State's Digital Access Plan

The Colorado Office of the Future of Work's Digital Equity Team released the Colorado Digital Access Plan for public comment. The plan includes a vision, mission and values that honor Coloradans and their unique needs and assets. People are at the center of Colorado’s digital inclusion work and in every section of the plan. With this in mind, feedback from the public can be submitted until January 19, 2024.

Is Lumen in Trouble?

In a recurring theme, Lumen finds itself facing financial challenges. At the end of the third quarter of 2023, Lumen CEO Kate Johnson announced some restructuring with current debt holders to extend the due dates of some debt to ‘reduce the noise” around the company’s debt. The company is also eliminating staff to reduce expenses by $300 million annually. Lumen’s revenues dropped over 17 percent compared to 2022, but a large part of that drop comes from its spin-off of copper networks to Brightspeed for $7.5 billion and the sale of its Latin American business to Stonepeak for $2.7 billion.

Five reasons BEAD alone won’t deliver internet for all

In 2024, the first Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants will go out — an ambitious $42 billion in subsidies to build broadband infrastructure to close America’s digital divide. While excited and hopeful, I’m not alone in worrying that there is a significant gap between BEAD’s ambition and what it will likely deliver. BEAD alone is not enough. Here are five reasons why:

Broadband Affordability Program Maintains Overwhelming Bipartisan Support

New polling shows that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) continues to be overwhelmingly popular among Republican, Democratic, and Independent voters alike. Among Independents, the margin of support for ACP has jumped from 40 percent to 56 percent over the last year.

Are There Superior Technologies?

It’s easy to say that fiber is better than cable technology or fixed wireless when in real life, broadband customers make this decision. My firm does a lot of broadband surveys every year, and we find customers who are happy with most broadband technologies. The bottom line is that any broadband technology or provider that a customer likes is good for them. For a customer to remain happy for a long time requires technology that works, customer service that is responsive, and a price that customers are happy with. Are there superior technologies?

Understanding the Complexities of Buy American vs. Build America Buy America

Over the last year, there has been a significant increase in the number of federal broadband grant programs that require a domestic preference (“Buy America”) for the purchase of manufactured products. The problem, however, is that there are two different Buy America standards that apply across multiple federal agencies and there are 4 different waivers available for 6 different programs.

Connected and Empowered: A Digital Equity Plan for Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania strives to achieve universal and equitable connectivity to support the state's social, economic, and quality of life outcomes. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) has released Connected and Empowered: A Digital Equity Plan for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to work towards digital inclusion for every resident of the Commonwealth. PBDA's draft plan is available for public comment until January 8, 2024.

Taking a closer look at renter preferences going into 2024

Each year, Grace Hill partners with the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) to conduct a Renter Preferences Survey. Here are some of the highlights:

Illinoisans pay nation's highest wireless cell phone service tax

Illinoisans paid the highest state and local taxes for wireless cell phone service in the nation in 2023, spending more monthly than the combined rates of the two lowest states—Idaho and Nevada. Illinois wireless plan holders paid 23% in state and local taxes, fees and government surcharges on their monthly wireless bills in 2023. Residents in each state also paid 10.8% in federal taxes to the Universal Service Fund for cell phone service in 2023. That gave Illinois a grand total of 33.8% in government taxes on the cell bills compared to the 24.5% U.S. average.

Impact of the Fiber Slowdown

While there was a huge amount of fiber built in the US in 2023, the largest providers almost universally cut back their plans during the year. There are a lot of reasons for the fiber construction slowdown. The high cost of borrowing put a crimp in a lot of service provider plans, and slowed new home startups, which are part of any plans for fiber expansion. Inflation played a role in the slowdown, too: it cost at least 20% more to build a fiber network by the end of 2023 than just a few years earlier. What are the consequences of a fiber construction slowdown?

Guiding Texas' Digital Opportunity Investments

The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO), under the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, developed the Texas Digital Opportunity Plan to guide non-infrastructure-related digital opportunity investments. Another aim is to position the BDO to receive State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Infrastructure Administration (NTIA).

Internet Service Provider Upgrades in Front of BEAD

I’m working with several small cities that were recently notified that the existing cable company plans to upgrade its network. In these cities, the cable company still operates a DOCSIS 3.0 network. The networks have download speeds a little faster than 100 Megabits per second (Mbps), and upload speeds are under 10 Mbps. These cities are currently considered to be underserved and are eligible for BEAD grants. I talked to the State Broadband Offices in several states about the issue of announced upgrades coming just in front of the final BEAD map challenges.

Florida's Roadmap for Closing the Digital Divide

The Florida Department of Commerce (FloridaCommerce) released the State of Florida’s Digital Adoption and Use Plan for public comment. FloridaCommerce developed this plan to serve as the state’s benchmark and roadmap for closing the digital divide and increasing digital access across the state.

A Vision and a Mission for Digital Equity in North Carolina

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity developed the North Carolina draft Digital Equity Plan. This plan is a comprehensive strategy that aims to ensure all individuals and communities have access to the digital tools, resources, and skills they need to participate fully in the digital environment.

Creating Digital Opportunities in Nebraska

Nebraska is both an agricultural state and a state with growing metropolitan areas. Agriculture, in particular, is important to Nebraska’s economy; Nebraska ranks second in the use of precision agriculture technologies. Nebraska ranks 3rd in percent of households with fiber internet available, with 56 percent of households having fiber available. However, Nebraska ranks 30th in the availability of 25/3 Mbps and 100/20 Mbps broadband via copper, cable, fiber or licensed fixed wireless.

Lobbying Against Municipal Broadband

Every few years since municipal broadband was new, a lobbying group comes out against the concept of municipal competition. The lobbying effort has taken many different tactics over the years, but generally the attacks against municipal broadband haven’t been very public and were aimed at generating lobbying materials to give to politicians. An anti-municipal lobbying effort using a new tactic recently surfaced. There is a huge lobbying effort underway against Utopia, a municipally-owned network in Utah.

How Public Input Helped Shape NTIA’s Approach to the Uniform Guidance in the BEAD Program

The National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) released a Policy Notice providing guidance on the application of the Uniform Guidance in the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This Policy Notice reflects NTIA’s latest step to create the conditions necessary for building high-speed networks that connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service. The Uniform Guidance is the Federal Government’s framework for grants management, providing rules and requirements for Federal grant programs.