Wednesday, October 13, 2021
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Today | Building on Broadband: Inspiring Progress
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FCC Commits Another $1.1 Billion from Emergency Connectivity Fund
The Costs of Exclusion: Economic Consequences of the Digital Gender Gap
6G Summit on Connecting the UnConnected: An Overview of the Possibilities
Digital Inclusion
Broadband Infrastructure
Broadband Service
State/Local Initiatives
Wireless/Spectrum
Platforms/Social Media
Security/Privacy
Policymakers
Stories From Abroad
Digital Inclusion
The Federal Communications Commission announced that it is committing $1,159,681,350.34 for 2,471 schools, 205 libraries, and 26 consortia that applied for support from the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund Program. Combined with the first funding wave, students, school staff and library patrons in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands will receive access to the devices and broadband connectivity they need to support their off-premises educational needs. The FCC to date has committed $2,362,788,847.22 in program funding to school and library applicants, and exceeded its goal of responding to 50 percent of all applications within 60 days of the closing of the first filing window by making funding decisions for nearly 60 percent of applications. In September 2021, the FCC announced that it was committing $1,203,107,496.88 in Emergency Connectivity Fund support that can be used for the purchase of laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connections for use by students, school staff, and library patrons in need. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as homework and virtual learning as schools continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined with the second funding wave, the FCC is providing support for 5,420,473 devices and 2,700,834 broadband connections to support 5,474 schools, 461 libraries, and 49 consortia of schools and libraries, providing nearly 8 million students the devices and internet connections they need. A second application filing window opened on September 28 and will close on October 13 at 11:59 pm EST.
Across the world, millions of people are still unable to access the internet and participate online — and women are disproportionately excluded. Men are 21 percent more likely to be online than women globally, rising to 52 percent in Least Developed Countries. Various barriers prevent women and girls from accessing the internet and participating online, including unaffordable devices and data tariffs, inequalities in education and digital skills, social norms that discourage women and girls from being online, and fears around privacy, safety, and security. While digital exclusion limits the opportunities
for those women and girls unable to connect, it also has broader societal and economic impacts that affect everyone. With hundreds of millions fewer women able to use the internet, the world is missing out on untold social, cultural, and economic contributions that they could make if they were able to harness the internet’s benefits. This report estimates the economic impact of women’s digital exclusion. Further, it underlines the economic opportunity governments have to include women in a fully inclusive digital economy.
While few dispute the existence of the digital divide, the true character of the divide is often masked by high-level information and false assumptions about exactly where the digital divide lives and the daily and systemic economic problems it creates. The Marconi Society's September 28 panel offered rich insights into the digital divide itself and some of the potential solutions for bridging it. Here are the top five takeaways:
- Techno/Economic Solutions to Connect the Next Billion are Driven by Geography and Income
- There is No One-Size-Fits-All Solution
- Uncontested and Uncongested Spectrum Drives Innovative Business Models
- Serving Unconnected Areas Poses New Regulatory Challenges
- Everyone Can Play
Cable operator Charter is participating in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) clean-up and notifying the Federal Communications Commission of census blocks it intends to remove from its RDOF plans. The FCC notified 197 winning bidders about concerns with their RDOF applications, suggesting there were numerous census blocks in those bids that shouldn’t qualify for the RDOF program. Reasons include census blocks that appear to already be served by 25/3 Mbps broadband service or include empty lots and even airports in some cases. These census blocks were subject to default and the FCC gave these winning bidders the opportunity to withdraw their funding requests for them. In its most recent filing, Charter notified the FCC that it is withdrawing a request for ETC designation in numerous census blocks throughout the states of Alabama, New Hampshire, and Tennessee. Obtaining ETC designation for winning census blocks is a requirement for receiving RDOF funds. Charter notified the FCC that these identified census blocks include ones designated by the FCC in its July 26th letters, as well as additional census blocks the company has decided to forgo. Charter is no longer seeking RDOF support for these census blocks in the three states. Charter isn’t rescinding requests for funding for these entire states, only certain census blocks within them.
Steve Schklair wonders why he’s being muscled by cable giant Spectrum. “It’s been years since I’ve even been a subscriber,” he said. Nevertheless, Schklair received a strange letter from Spectrum saying that “as a one-time courtesy,” the company will cancel the debt it claims he owes and stop reporting him as a deadbeat to credit agencies — if he agrees to resume cable service. A Spectrum spokesperson confirmed the letter’s authenticity and called it “an opportunity to reconnect” with the cable company. All subscription-based businesses work hard to retain and renew customer relationships. It’s common for such businesses to entice former subscribers to return with discounts and sweetheart deals. I’ve never before seen a pitch that so blatantly threatens harm unless you come around. The Spectrum letter tells Schklair that, despite his alleged fiscal irresponsibility, resuming cable service will allow him “to come back in good standing as a new customer.” However, Schklair reported not owing the company any money, nor receiving any notices of missed payments or warnings about adverse reports to credit agencies. Yet Spectrum’s letter explicitly says that if he resumes cable service, the company will “cease reporting” Schklair’s “prior debt” to credit agencies. That wording implies Spectrum has already submitted such reports. It specifically encourages him to sign up for internet service at an introductory rate of $49.99 a month for the first 12 months. After that, the price jumps to $74.99 monthly — a 50 percent increase. That’s not a promotional offer. It’s a shakedown.
[David Lazarus is an award-winning business columnist for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on consumer affairs.]
In a letter to the California State Senate, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) refused to sign Senate Bill 556 which would prohibit local electric utilities from "unreasonably denying" the leasing or licensing of utility poles to communications service providers. The bill would also require mobile service providers to measure and report their progress towards meeting the goal of universal broadband access for the areas they provide service. "This bill would restrict the ability of local governments and publicly-owned electric utilities to regulate the placement of small cell wireless facilities on public infrastructure and limit the compensation that may be collected for use of these public assets," said Newsom. "There is a role for local governments in advancing our broadband efforts. Part of our achievements laid out in the broadband budget bill, SB 156, enables and encourages local governments to take an active role in last-mile deployment and, in doing so, drive competition and increase access. My Administration has worked closely with the Legislature on broadband. I look forward to further discussions as we continue to make a meaningful impact on achieving our collective broadband efforts."
The Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative announced a multi-year, $100 million-dollar construction project to replace all of its copper and coaxial cable network within its Brunswick County (NC) service area with a new 100 percent fiber optic network. At the conclusion of this project, every cooperative member will have access to the company’s FOCUS Broadband fiber optic service with internet speeds up to one Gigabit. The project is expected to take up to eight years to complete and is slated to start in January of 2022. By constructing in the most densely populated communities first, the cooperative estimates that it can convert as many as 75 percent of homes and businesses to the new fiber optic network within the first 60 months. Over the past two years, ATMC has increased the maximum broadband speed delivered via its DOCSIS cable modem technology from 200 Mbps to 600 Mbps. Over 22,000 customers had their download speeds doubled without an increase in price. The project to convert to 100 percent fiber optics will allow customers currently served by DOCSIS cable modem technology to have even faster speeds with much greater reliability.
DigitalC in partnership with Millennia Housing Management launched the much anticipated OVERCOME 21: Project Empower. It was made possible through support and funding from US Ignite and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Announced in March 2021, this award is now finally making affordable high-speed internet easily accessible to 225 households residing in Lexington Village, an apartment complex located in Cleveland (OH). Additional support for the project is being provided by Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cuyahoga County, MetroHealth, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Public Library, and Case Western Reserve University, among others. DigitalC was selected as a Project OVERCOME grant recipient in March 2021. The NSF conceived of and provided $2.25 million in funding for the project. The Project OVERCOME grant provided awards to seven communities in an effort designed to connect the unconnected through novel broadband technology solutions. With these funds, DigitalC will deploy millimeter wave (mmWave) technology with wireless equipment from Siklu installed on rooftops to create a mesh network that will serve to connect the residents of Lexington Village. Through Project OVERCOME, ten Lexington Village households have now joined DigitalC’s wireless internet service network, EmpowerCLE. By mid-December, a total of 225 households in Lexington Village are expected to have access to high-speed internet.
Cable broadband operators are concerned that localities could start putting a thumb on the scale for Google Fiber when it comes to broadband service, and they want the Federal Communications Commission to nip that notion in the bud. The current battleground over the extent to which municipalities can build out broadband is West Des Moines (IA). Incumbent provider Mediacom Communications wants the FCC to require the city to stop construction on Google Fiber‘s network, stop marketing service to residents and reconfigure the network and contract. Mediacom asked the FCC in early 2021 to declare that the preferential treatment it says the city was extending to Google Fiber violated the Communications Act requirement that providers get non-discriminatory access. Not surprisingly, Next Century Cities, which comprises advocates of municipal broadband service, filed in opposition to the Mediacom petition saying that Mediacom was trying “to prohibit a local government’s public-private partnership agreement that is designed to increase competition and expand broadband service options for residents.” It said the declaratory ruling would set the “negative precedent” that could discourage cities from forming public-private partnerships to close the digital divide. In its comments, Google said Mediacom‘s petition mischaracterizes its agreement with the city, which it says is not a grant of monopoly control of conduits; is not a subsidy to the company; grants it no special permitting or access rights; and is not on more favorable financial terms than other all-fiber ISPs.
Motorola is building a private LTE network for the nation’s third most populous county using CBRS spectrum. The network In Harris County (TX) currently supports 1,000 households and is expected to connect 6,000 by the end of 2021. Harris County Universal Services, which provides IT and communication services for the public sector, is using CARES Act funds to extend connectivity to Houston-area residents through the private wireless network. The county will give free CBRS modems to people whose homes are covered by the network. These can provide in-home Wi-Fi using the CBRS network for backhaul. Harris County has been working with local school districts and community groups to let families in covered areas know they can get modems through their local libraries. The county is also creating a digital task force to connect senior citizens and others to resources and adult digital literacy programs to help them access the network and take advantage of online doctor visits, banking, community services and job opportunities. Harris County and Motorola are using CBRS under General Authorized Access (GAA), meaning they do not have to pay for the spectrum but could temporarily lose access if it is needed by the US Navy or by a licensed holder. Federated Wireless provides the software that mediates spectrum access for Motorola.
We are on the cusp of an opportunity to close the remaining digital divide with a once-in-a-generation investment in broadband infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which, if passed by the House and signed into law, would devote tens of billions more toward the deployment and affordability of broadband, with the goal of connecting every American. But how do we spend these funds wisely? Policymakers must aim for the best return. We should invest rather than speculate with these funds, deploying networks that are built to last and can keep pace with growing demands. We will not achieve national broadband goals — including enabling higher performance online services supporting artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, precision agriculture, and better access to health care and education — without a strong foundation of fiber connectivity. Fiber has been proven to provide the best levels of performance, and even those focused on a wireless 5G future acknowledge that more substantial fiber deployment will be critical to achieving the promise of that service. We are on the cusp of a new digital age, one where all Americans must have access to robust and affordable broadband connectivity. But we must invest wisely, ensuring that we are making investments that will stand the test of time and give consumers and businesses what they need today and for decades to come. As they look to spend and invest new funding for broadband, I urge policymakers to aim high and look local to give all Americans the best internet access.
[Shirley Bloomfield is Chief Executive Officer of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association.]
Major US wireless carriers have long touted the benefits of fifth-generation wireless networks, claiming faster speeds and reduced latency. But less attention has been paid to the environmental costs. While 5G networks can be more energy efficient at transferring data—up to 90% more efficient per unit of data transferred than their 4G predecessors, a study by STL Partners and Vertiv found—5G can also sap more energy over its life cycle because it will drive the increased use of data centers and 5G-enabled technologies and products. Proponents of 5G’s sustainability say the technology will enable better tracking so that energy usage can be monitored and reduced, thereby making technologies “greener.”
These days, everything lives in the cloud. Increasingly, mobile networks are doing their work there, too. That is especially true for wireless networks being built by upstart operators such as Dish Network and Rakuten Group that are trying to get a cost edge over bigger, more established rivals. The expense of installing and maintaining customized network equipment—made by suppliers such as Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei—helps explain why the bill for an unlimited monthly cellular data plan can top $70. A so-called virtualized network, by contrast, aims to put much of the functionality of that customized equipment into software programs that run on off-the-shelf servers. Tasks such as processing radio signals can then be done in the cloud, allowing carriers to reduce capital investment and operating costs. Companies such as Rakuten say maintenance costs are lower in a software-driven network because updates can be done remotely and all at once, rather than individually at base stations. It also makes it easier to fix problems and to shift and adjust network resources to areas where there is a sudden surge in demand—say, when a region is hit by a natural disaster—proponents say. Dish plans to introduce a 5G network running on cloud computing operated by Amazon Web Services. Dish Chairman Charlie Ergen has said that virtualization would transform the telecommunications industry by giving operators that don’t have existing infrastructure a chance to compete.
Despite the pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission advanced major spectrum policy and auctions in 2020. Yet despite continued successes of commercial spectrum auctions in which market actors pay for the right to use the public’s resources, policymakers persist in giving away valuable resources to Big Tech. 5G licensed mid-band spectrum is projected to deliver $191.8 billion to the US economy over 7 years. Wi-Fi revenues over unlicensed spectrum over 6 years are projected to bring $153.76 billion. When adjusted on an annual per MHz basis, 5G spectrum is $0.59 and Wi-Fi, $0.13. Over the period, 5G spectrum provides 4.5 times more economic value per MHz than Wi-Fi. Comparing the proceedings in these economic terms, auctions for spectrum rights are superior to unlicensed designations. This suggests that the FCC was shortsighted to reject one proposal to halve the 6 GHz into unlicensed and licensed portions, the latter of which was estimated to generate at least $20 billion in proceeds. If spectrum is critical to the Wi-Fi industry, it follows that the Wi-Fi industry should pay for it. Policymakers are intent on regulating Big Tech; the first step should be to stop giving them free spectrum.
[Roslyn Layton is Executive Vice President of Strand Consult and Co-Founder of ChinaTechThreat.]
As major tech companies have announced policy changes intended to protect young users online in response to a new United Kingdom children’s privacy law, Sen Edward Markey (D-MA) and Reps Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Lori Trahan (D-MA) wrote to the Federal Trade Commission urging the agency to use its full authority—including its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act—to ensure these companies comply with their new policies. The Age Appropriate Design Code (AADC) took effect in the UK in September 2021 and requires online services available to children and teens to meet 15 key children’s privacy standards, many of which are similar to legislative proposals to update Senator Markey’s 1998 law, the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA), in the United States. “The need to protect young people from privacy threats online is more urgent than ever. Since 2015, American children have spent almost five hours each day watching their screens, and children’s and teens’ daily screen time has increased by 50 percent or more during the coronavirus pandemic,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “We therefore encourage you to use every tool at your disposal to vigilantly scrutinize companies’ data practices and ensure that they abide by their public commitments.”
Anxiety is rising among Democrats as President Joe Biden marks nearly nine months in office without naming anyone to serve on the Federal Communications Commission — a lapse that could soon put Republicans in the majority at the agency. It also puts Biden’s broadband goals at risk, his party says. Congressional Democrats have been sounding the alarm for months, fearing a squandered year on the president’s progressive priorities, such as reinstating net neutrality rules and demanding greater transparency on internet billing. By comparison, former President Donald Trump named Ajit Pai as his FCC chair just three days after being sworn in, and the commission’s Republicans were rolling back net neutrality by December 2017. Biden’s delay is historic: No previous president has waited this long to name a chair of the five-member body. The closest parallels are President Jimmy Carter and President Richard Nixon, who waited until mid-September to name their agency chiefs. But President Biden has blown past that deadline, alarming Capitol Hill Democrats who have few legislative days remaining this year for confirming any nominees the president might offer. The White House’s lack of activity is sending K Street and Capitol Hill into spirals of speculation and rumor-mongering.
The controversy over what Facebook has said about social and emotional hazards stemming from its products could become a test of the Securities and Exchange Commission's growing interest in policing corporate risks that hurt reputations more than profits. The SEC has been communicating with attorneys for Frances Haugen, the former Facebook product manager who blew the whistle on the company’s efforts to grapple with problems it played down in public, according to John Napier Tye, a lawyer representing her. But the agency is almost certain to investigate, according to Marc Fagel, a former director of the SEC’s San Francisco office. “Given how much play this has gotten, especially with the revelation that the whistleblower went to the SEC, there is no way they are not looking at this and feeling pressure to bring some sort of case,” Fagel said. Any securities-enforcement action would likely focus on whether the company or its executives told investors one story about known business risks or trends, while concealing worse news that they shared only internally. Any misleading statements would have to be material, meaning they could be expected to influence a trading decision or a vote on a corporate proxy ballot. The issues cited by Haugen in her allegations may be material in the eyes of regulators, but they aren’t all traditional securities-fraud claims, according to lawyers.
Frances Haugen, the (hopefully first of many) Facebook whistleblower, made one thing abundantly clear in both her 60 Minutes interview and her Senate Hearing: The United States needs a specialized agency to oversee digital platforms. Antitrust enforcement alone is not enough. Breaking up Facebook would solve some problems, but without additional oversight it will also produce a bunch of smaller companies all running algorithms that maximize engagement regardless of the harm to society. Companies, Haugen warned, “will always put profits over people.” Haugen further emphasized that effectively regulating Facebook (and other digital platforms) requires specialized expertise about the sector. “Right now, the only people in the world trained to analyze these experiences are people who grew up inside of Facebook,” Haugen said. We don’t just need new laws, or to expand the Federal Trade Commission. As Haugen stressed multiple times, we need a specialized, sector-specific regulator to do the job right. In 2019, when Public Knowledge first published the blueprint for a digital platform regulator, few people were willing to concede that regulation was necessary — let alone a sector-specific regulator. But the last two years have shown that a sector-specific digital regulator is necessary, not “radical.” If you believe Frances Haugen and her case against Facebook, you should support her conclusion (and those of many others) that we can only comprehensively address the harms of digital platforms with a new expert agency.
[Harold Feld is Public Knowledge's Senior Vice President and author of "The Case for the Digital Platform Act."]
Major reform of the international tax system finalized at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will ensure that Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) will be subject to a minimum 15 percent tax rate from 2023. The landmark deal, agreed by 136 countries and jurisdictions representing more than 90 percent of global GDP, will also reallocate more than USD 125 billion of profits from around 100 of the world’s largest and most profitable MNEs to countries worldwide, ensuring that these firms pay a fair share of tax wherever they operate and generate profits. Following years of intensive negotiations to bring the international tax system into the 21st century, 136 jurisdictions -- out of the 140 members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) -- joined the Statement on the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy. Under Pillar One, taxing rights on more than USD 125 billion of profit are expected to be reallocated to market jurisdictions each year. Developing country revenue gains are expected to be greater than those in more advanced economies, as a proportion of existing revenues. Pillar Two introduces a global minimum corporate tax rate set at 15 percent. The new minimum tax rate will apply to companies with revenue above EUR 750 million and is estimated to generate around USD 150 billion in additional global tax revenues annually. Further benefits will also arise from the stabilization of the international tax system and the increased tax certainty for taxpayers and tax administrations.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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