On October 4, 2021, the National Lifeline Association (NaLA) met with the Office of Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel to discuss the Lifeline Program and the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program. The discussion focused on the Lifeline minimum service standards (MSS), getting the Lifeline program ready for the end of the EBB and certain Lifeline and EBB process improvements that should be made by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). There is a looming December 1, 2021 deadline for another dramatic increase in the mobile broadband MSS. In her dissent to the 2019 MSS Waiver Order, then Commissioner Rosenworcel called a pause at 2 GB a “smart approach” because another arbitrary increase would do “nothing to provide the certainty we need for this program.” She went on to correctly foresee that “without pausing for review, the FCC will simply be back in the same place, wrestling with the same issues, and more of the same scheduled service adjustments at this time next year.” She was right. Unfortunately, the FCC’s majority did not listen and instead increased the mobile broadband MSS in 2019 to 3 GB, and then the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau did the same thing in 2020 by increasing the MSS again to 4.5 GB. Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s view that pausing the mobile broadband MSS would be a “smart approach” is as true today as it was in 2019. However, the FCC also needs to address the petitions for reconsideration of the 2016 Lifeline Modernization Order’s mobile broadband MSS formula that have been pending for five years. Further, the FCC should waive reimbursement reductions to restore the Lifeline voice reimbursement to $9.25 per month for which many Lifeline providers will offer unlimited or the equivalent of unlimited voice minutes (e.g., 3,000) to eligible low-income households. The FCC could also address these MSS issues more permanently by taking action on the NaLA Petition for Rulemaking filed on April 19, 2021. 

Local governments play a critical and direct role facilitating broadband upgrades and new deployments through their zoning and permitting functions. Recognizing that communities across the country could benefit from additional resources, I introduced H.R. 5058, the Broadband Incentives for Communities Act, to provide grants to hire and train employees, purchase software, and upgrade capabilities to facilitate broadband upgrades and deployment. To ensure broadband providers can build the networks that are critical to meet the rapidly increasing connectivity needs of all communities, we must make it a federal priority to provide local governments with the additional resources they need to process requests for zoning and permitting approval. My bill establishes a voluntary grant program that relies on incentives to promote broadband deployment. To be eligible for grant funding, applicants are asked to demonstrate that they have adopted certain commonsense measures that facilitate deployment. The head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will consider and process grant applications and award funds to eligible jurisdictions. The bill also establishes a Local Broadband Advisory Council to develop solutions to ongoing challenges to deployment faced by local governments and infrastructure providers in unserved and underserved areas.

[Lizzie Fletcher represents the 7th District of Texas and is a member of the House Commerce Committee]

Two federal laws passed in 2021 increased broadband funding to states by more than $20 billion. That’s on top of the $38 billion that the Federal Communications Commission can spend. And, if Congress passes the federal infrastructure bill, another $65 billion would head to states and cities with the goal of providing high-speed internet to nearly all Americans. The FCC estimates it would cost $80 billion to deliver broadband internet to everyone. All this spending would put us there. Unfortunately, much of the incoming funding risks being misspent by being too much, distributed too quickly and not properly targeted. But there are steps that states and municipalities can take to effectively use the broadband funding they get. 

• Before launching expensive and ambitious projects, government officials should review their current regulations and remove artificial limits on private companies that want to expand high-speed internet access.
• State and local municipalities should rely on private providers as much as possible.
• Governments should avoid prioritizing one type of technology over another.
• Instead of taking on the risks of operating a profitable network of its own, local governments should use money they would have spent on construction and provide vouchers to people in underserved areas.

[Jarrett Skorup is director of marketing and communications at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy]

Puerto Rico’s government announced that it plans to offer free, high-speed internet to the more than 300 public housing projects across the US territory. Public Housing Administrator Alejandro Salgado said nearly all units will have internet access by the end of next year as part of the $11.8 million project. He said an internet connection has become an urgent need, especially for schoolchildren. Salgado said the service recently debuted in some of the island’s 78 municipalities, including Aguada, Arecibo and Isabela. The government also is installing technical education centers in every housing project that offer computer and printing services to residents.

Missouri’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is allowing Ameren Missouri to lease a section of unused fiber to another company seeking to expand broadband coverage. Ameren sought a 20-year “dark fiber” lease agreement with MCC Network Services to provide internet service along a 1.6 mile stretch between where the Mississippi River crosses from Missouri to Illinois. PSC Staff recommended the approval of the lease in September 2021, finding MCC’s use of the cable would not interfere with Ameren’s service. The PSC approved the lease during this week’s agenda meeting on the condition that Ameren provides regular updates and notifies the PSC if it intended to cancel or alter the lease. 

City officials in Tupelo (MS) allowed an electronic cooperative the option to use its utility poles to provide broadband services more efficiently to some Tupelo residents. The Tupelo City Council voted to accept a pole attachment agreement between the city and Tombigbee Fiber, which will allow the organization to place attachments on city-owned utility poles for broadband services. A small portion of city residents are customers of Tombigbee, but the organization does not offer broadband internet services citywide. Scott Hendrix, the CEO of the Tombigbee Electric Power Association, said the agreement is primarily a way for the organization to build its existing broadband project in the city more efficiently and help with the transportation of equipment. But the recent agreement does not mean that the electric cooperative plans to extend its broadband services out to the city at large. However, it could allow for plans to expand in the future. Private companies such as Comcast and AT&T already provide internet services to Tupelo residents, but those services often have a tiered plan where the companies charge different prices for different internet speeds. Electric cooperatives are organizations that are owned by the customers themselves. Most of their profits are invested in infrastructure upgrades.

The push to allow the 12 GHz band of spectrum to be used for 5G is taking on new significance, as broader infrastructure spending talks continue and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service prepares for a nationwide rollout. The 5G for 12 GHz Coalition, which represents more than 30 telecom companies, trade groups and public interest groups that want to open up the 12 GHz satellite airwaves for two-way 5G connections, told the FCC that it should move forward with a rulemaking to expand access to the band. It says this would “match that commitment to next-generation broadband infrastructure” in Congress, as lawmakers weigh devoting $65 billion for broadband initiatives to boost connectivity nationwide. “The FCC can take action now — without waiting on the legislative process — to open up 500 megahertz of contiguous spectrum ideal for accelerating the 5G mobile and wireless networks, improving opportunistic access to spectrum, and strengthening the capacity of Wi-Fi and other unlicensed services,” the coalition wrote in its filing. One of the main opponents of the push is SpaceX, which already uses this band of spectrum for Starlink. CEO Elon Musk dropped some news about Starlink the same day, tweeting that there should be a “nationwide rollout" by the end of October.

Chariton Valley Wireless, a provider in Northeastern Missouri, is selling its wireless assets to Verizon, AT&T and USCelluar. According to Federal Communications Commission filings, Verizon will receive 2 AWS-1 licenses and 2 cellular licenses. AT&T will receive 3 - 700 MHz band licenses. US Cellular will receive 2 PCS licenses. Chariton Valley also has 73 cell tower locations, according to its website. It did not respond to a request for comment as to how those assets or its wireless subscribers would be divvied up. The company also provides fixed broadband services via fiber. That part of its business will not be affected by the wireless sale; according to its website, it has more than 3,000 miles of fiber and 12,000+ fiber customers. The company had previously participated in Verizon’s LTE in Rural America (LRA) program. Verizon will acquire not only the aforementioned spectrum, but “the wireless network assets of Chariton Valley’s LTE in Rural America (LRA) wireless network.” Kirby Underberg, CEO of Chariton Valley, stated, “Entering this agreement will best serve our wireless customers in the long term. Chariton Valley looks forward to continued fiber growth providing services to unserved and underserved areas.”

The Federal Communications Commission's "rip and replace" program, formalized in June 2021 as the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, is designed to reimburse small carriers so they can tear out network equipment from Chinese vendors like Huawei and ZTE that the US government has deemed insecure. The program's goal is to finance the replacement of that equipment with gear from "trusted" vendors. It has $1.9 billion in funding from Congress, and the FCC is expected to begin accepting reimbursement applications in the coming months. However, there are plenty of concerns that the FCC's reimbursement efforts could do more harm than good. "Small carriers have been between a rock and a hard place," explained Carri Bennet of the Rural Wireless Association (RWA). The trade group represents many of the small wireless network operators that have been caught up in the "rip and replace" drama during the past several years. In fact, RWA estimated in 2018 that 25 percent of its members use equipment from Huawei and ZTE. Bennet explained that many of her group's members have been stuck in limbo for years, unable to move forward because of federal prohibitions on business with their own network vendors. Even with an official rulemaking by the FCC and Congressional funding, the "rip and replace" program isn't expected to dole out significant reimbursements for another year or so. It also won't pay for new terminals like the fixed wireless receivers or cover any network-operating costs. For small carriers, the process could ultimately put their businesses in a tailspin.

[Mike Dano is Editorial Director of 5G & Mobile Strategies at Light Reading.]

AT&T saw notable drops in mobile traffic in major cities when Facebook and its popular Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps went offline for hours during a massive global outage. In two cities, mobile traffic declines hit double digits – 11 percent in New York City and 10.6 percent in Houston – on October 4 during the six-hour period “coinciding with a disruption across several top social media platforms,” AT&T said. Mobile traffic on AT&T’s network in Arkansas and in Miami/South Florida plunged 9.9 percent each, while Chicago was down 9.2 percent during that time. The stats give an indicator of just how much traffic is tied to social media and messaging services. As of the end of June 2021, AT&T had more than 191 million mobility subscribers and connections, including connected devices. Verizon declined to say if the carrier saw a similar network traffic trend during the outage and T-Mobile hasn't shared information about its mobile network usage. Facebook’s platforms are used by individuals as well as businesses, with the number of daily average users across the suite of apps approaching 3 billion.

Fueled by the slowdown of broadband subscriber additions, Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall estimates that as penetration rates rise and DSL competition sputters, the cable sector could be entering a period of diminished profitability. Most cable operators have warned that subscriber additions would be lower as pandemic lockdowns disappeared and workers returned to their offices. But adding to the pressure is increased penetration of homes with annual household incomes above $25,000 — now at about 100 percent — and the continued slide of digital subscriber line (DSL) service. Cahall said that slower-speed DSL, a ripe target for cable broadband service, especially in rural markets, has seen its penetration rates dip from 25 percent about five years ago to 14 percent in 2021. Comcast said in September 2021 that it expects broadband growth to soften in Q3, and Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei shook the market when he said the operator would lose between 15,000 and 20,000 broadband customers in Q3. For the full year, Cahall predicts cable broadband subscribers will rise by 2.9 million (down from his previous estimate of 3.2 million), slipping to 2.4 million additions in 2022 and 2 million by 2023.

Jonathan Kanter, who has represented Big Tech rivals like Yelp and News Corp, skated through his nomination hearing for leader of the Justice Department's antitrust division without incident as both Democrats and Republicans lauded his tougher stance on regulating digital behemoths. It’s no surprise Democrats are backing President Biden's pick, a favorite among progressives and anti-monopoly advocates. But the fact that Republicans raised few, if any, objections to him while some went as far as to say they will vote to confirm him speaks to how united lawmakers are in wanting tougher oversight of Big Tech. The controversy-free session largely mirrored the confirmation process for Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, a star of the progressive movement who rose to prominence by arguing that current antitrust standards are ill-equipped to deal with online powerhouses like Amazon. The tech industry’s efforts to get lawmakers to raise political and ethical issues with Kanter’s nomination ahead of the hearing also appear to have fallen flat. Ultimately, Kanter offered glimpses of the views that have endeared him to tech critics across the political spectrum, including taking extra funding for the division, keeping pathways open for whistleblowers to come forward, and adapting competition policy to keep up with evolving markets.

[Cristiano Lima is a tech newsletter reporter for the Washington Post.]