Friday, October 18, 2024
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State Digital Equity Spending Can Benefit Economies, Health Care, and Education
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The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Alabama and Florida’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This approval enables Alabama and Florida to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. One year from Initial Proposal approval, states must submit a Final Proposal that details, among other things, the outcome of the subgrantee selection process and how the state will ensure universal coverage.
- Alabama: Over $1.4 billion
- Florida: Over $1.1 billion
Biden-Harris Administration Connects People, Farms and Businesses to Reliable High-Speed Internet in the Dakotas and Eight States
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Dr. Basil Gooden announced nearly $173 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in the Dakotas and eight other states to reliable high-speed internet. Projects are being financed by the fifth round of the ReConnect Program. These investments will connect people to high-speed internet in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Virginia. For example:
- In Arizona, Table Top Telephone Company Inc. is receiving a nearly $4 million loan to provide high-speed internet that will benefit 766 people, 21 businesses and 39 farms in Yavapai County.
- In New Mexico, Roosevelt County Rural Telephone Cooperative is receiving a $29 million loan to provide high-speed internet that will benefit 323 people, 12 businesses and 261 farms in Chaves, De Baca, Lea and Roosevelt counties.
- In Virginia, Pembroke Telephone Cooperative is receiving a $10 million loan to provide high-speed internet that will benefit 2,127 people, 22 businesses and 130 farms in Craig, Giles and Montgomery counties.
See a full list of projects from this announcement
States are using their digital equity plans to demonstrate how successful digital inclusion efforts can advance progress toward other goals, including improvements to civic and social engagement, economic development, education, health care, and delivery of essential services. For example, broader availability of affordable high-speed internet and digital skills can help residents access government services online, apply for jobs, take online classes, and use telehealth resources. Although these tasks are not the direct focus of the federal Digital Equity Act, measures that boost broadband adoption will enable more households to reap the benefits of the digital economy.
- States are emphasizing the importance of digital inclusion to ensuring equitable access to government services.
- Digital equity programs also can support goals around boosting workforce skills by improving digital skills needed for today’s job market, creating jobs related to broadband and technology, and increasing remote work opportunities.
- Recognizing that digital skills are critical to education today, states are planning to increase internet access and skills training in schools, provide devices for students, and offer opportunities for both children and adults to learn digital skills.
- States are also tying their digital equity goals to initiatives to improve health outcomes through expanded telehealth and access to health records and monitoring.
- The state plans, in general, focus on increasing government website accessibility and ensuring that government services are widely available online.
The Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, enrolled more Americans than any previous broadband affordability program in the United States. Despite that success, the ACP faced substantial criticism from conservative members of Congress who saw it as giving away taxpayer dollars to many households that don’t actually need help affording their internet bill. The question going forward is not if the government will subsidize broadband service for Americans, but how. This paper attempts to inform that debate by examining four specific critiques of the ACP:
- The program’s income-based eligibility criteria are overly broad and allow subsidies to flow to families who do not need them.
- The program’s eligibility criteria related to a household’s participation in subsidized school meals are overly broad and allow subsidies to flow to families who do not need them.
- Certain methods for validating households’ eligibility for the ACP are not reliable.
- The program’s funding for internet-connected devices has paid for devices that households did not need.
Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten believes that federal broadband programs have mostly thrown key economic principles out the window. “And a persistent digital divide is partly the result of that,” he said. Rather than just focusing on the cost of capital or the cost of laying fiber, he said broadband programs should apply economic concepts to "maximize total net benefits" for consumers and also balance trade-offs between supply, different deployment technologies and what consumers want. For example, he said a consumer could consider moving from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps “a huge value” because it gives them more options on what they can do online. But they may not find switching from a 100 Mbps service to gigabit speeds as valuable if they’re not doing as many bandwidth-intensive activities. One aspect of cost-benefit analysis that’s “glaringly absent” from broadband subsidy programs is reality that "a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow," Wallsten added. This concept is commonly known as the "time value" of money. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) calculates the future value of money using discount rates, which account for factors like risk, inflation and other considerations that can affect the value of an asset. Calculating the time value of broadband funding can affect how we view different technologies and deployment strategies, Wallsten explained. Delivering some level of broadband to unserved areas quickly “may be more valuable than waiting years for a perfect solution.”
The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital equity in Maine, announced the launch of the Working Internet ASAP (WIA) Program to connect the hardest-to-reach places across the state. This program is one way that MCA is fulfilling the commitment to provide all people in Maine with an option to connect to the internet by the end of 2024. Only 1.5 percent of Maine’s most rural and remote homes and businesses (approximately 9,000) have no access to any type of internet service or technology to connect. To provide these locations with an option to connect, MCA will coordinate the bulk purchase of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite hardware and service reservations from Starlink. Starting this November, eligible homes and businesses can use MCA’s enrollment portal to apply for subsidized LEO satellite hardware, installation support, and information about developing digital skills that will improve the use of their new connection. MCA will conduct outreach to all eligible locations through a marketing campaign, targeted advertising, direct mail, and coordination with local and regional organizations like Regional & Wabanaki Broadband Partners. Enrollment for this program will remain open on a rolling basis.
In July 2024, the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) released its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume II. This plan—in tandem with Volume I and OBAE's Digital Equity Plan—maps the state's progress in working towards sustainable broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion in New Mexico. Here we look at how New Mexico's plans to make broadband affordable for all in the state. The State of New Mexico is committed to providing residents with the opportunity to receive low-cost broadband service, while simultaneously recognizing that internet service providers (ISPs) have a variety of different plans and may be unable to alter their pricing structure on a large scale. OBAE believes ISPs are highly unlikely to implement different pricing structures for BEAD-funded areas only, while maintaining other pricing in areas that are not BEAD-funded. That said, a proposed $50 monthly service offering aligns with many current ISP low-cost offerings (in the state of New Mexico and nationwide) and represents a sensible benchmark price for a low-cost service option to be offered by subgrantees.
Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) unveiled his ticket's plans to improve the lives of rural voters, as Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) looks to cut into Donald Trump's (R-FL) support. The Harris-Walz plan calls on Congress to permanently extend telemedicine coverage under Medicare, a pandemic-era benefit that helped millions access care that is set to expire at the end of 2024. The plan also urges Congress to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program, a program launched by President Joe Biden that expired in June that provided up to $30 off home internet bills, and for lawmakers to require equipment manufacturers to grant farmers the right to repair their products.
SpaceX is seeking approval for changes to Starlink that the company says will enable gigabit-per-second broadband service. In an application submitted to the Federal Communications Commission on October 11, SpaceX claims the requested "modification and its companion amendment will enable the Gen2 system to deliver gigabit-speed, truly low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity to all Americans and the billions of people globally who still lack access to adequate broadband." SpaceX said it is seeking "several small-but-meaningful updates to the orbital configuration and operational parameters for its Gen2 space station authorization to improve space sustainability, better respond to evolving demand, and more efficiently share spectrum with other spectrum users." SpaceX wants to lower the altitudes of satellites "at 525 km, 530 km, and 535 km to 480 km, 485 km, and 475 km altitude, respectively." The reconfiguration will increase the "potential maximum number of orbital planes and satellites per plane" while keeping the planned total number of second-generation satellites at 29,988 or less. The FCC has so far approved 7,500 Gen2 satellites.
The Federal Communications Commission approved rules that will require all U.S. wireless carriers to implement georouting for calls to the 988 Lifeline. These rules will facilitate access to the 988 Lifeline’s critical local intervention services by requiring wireless providers to implement georouting solutions for 988 calls to route wireless calls to local crisis centers based on the geographic area associated with the origin of a 988 call rather than by area code and exchange, while protecting the privacy needs of the caller. The FCC also approved a proposal to require covered text providers to provide georouting data for 988 text messages. The FCC's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes rules requiring covered text providers, including wireless providers, to support georouting to ensure that the 988 Lifeline may route covered 988 text messages to the appropriate local crisis center to enhance the support and resources available to text users in crisis. In addition, it proposes to require covered text providers to send georouting data to the 988 Lifeline to the same extent that they are required to send covered 988 texts to the Lifeline. Lastly, this proposal suggests an implementation deadline of six months from the effective date of final rules for covered text providers to comply with the proposed text-to-988 georouting requirements.
The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules establishing that 100% of all mobile handsets—such as smartphones—must be compatible with hearing aids. With this change, 48 million Americans with hearing loss will be able to choose among the same mobile phone models that are available to all consumers. Under the new rules, after a transition period, Americans with hearing loss will no longer be limited in their choice of technologies, features, and prices available in the mobile handset marketplace. The FCC also established a Bluetooth coupling requirement that will benefit consumers by ensuring more universal connectivity between mobile handsets and hearing aids, including over-the-counter hearing aids, by encouraging handset manufacturers to move away from proprietary Bluetooth coupling standards. The Report and Order also requires that all new mobile handsets available in the U.S. must meet volume control benchmarks that ensure clear audio for the listener by allowing them to increase a mobile handset’s audio volume without introducing distortion. Such requirements accommodate consumers with hearing loss who do not use hearing aids as well as those who rely on hearing aids or cochlear implants. The new rules also revise labeling and website posting requirements to ensure consumers have access to the information that they need to make informed handset purchasing decisions. Point-of-sale labeling requirements will clarify if the handset is certified as hearing aid compatible, whether or not the handset meets telecoil or Bluetooth coupling requirements, and provide the handset’s conversational gain (i.e., how high the handset’s audio volume can be raised while still meeting volume control requirements).
The United States has the highest level of maternal mortality of any industrialized country. And deaths from pregnancy-related causes strike women of color and those who live in rural communities especially hard. This is a crisis. It requires everyone to identify how they can help because so many studies show that most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.... We used authority under the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act to update the agency’s Mapping Broadband Health in America platform to include maternal health data. It is a tool that can help us better understand the intersection of broadband access and maternal care—and the possibilities that telemedicine presents. Then we opened an inquiry to engage policymakers, healthcare professionals, and groups advocating for better improved care to understand the ways this data can assist efforts to address the maternal health crisis. So many stakeholders responded to our inquiry with thoughtful ideas. We took a cue from them and that is why today we are sharing that we are updating our platform with new data. Next month, we will be adding information proxies to the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform that we developed with the assistance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration to help close gaps in reportable maternal mortality and morbidity data. We are also adding facts about infant health outcomes, breast cancer, and social determinants of health data like food insecurity. On top of this, we have refined our own broadband mapping data, so that it is more accurate and reflects new and higher broadband speed standards. These improvements are meaningful and over time I expect they will yield new insights into our maternal health crisis—one as a Nation we have to fix.
Hurricane Hellene arrived in Asheville (NC) on the evening of September 26. However, there was a big precursor to the storm, and we had over 15 inches of rain in September before the storm got here. That means the ground was fully saturated, the streams were already running at near-flood conditions, and lakes and reservoirs were already full. Practically everybody in the county lost power during the night—mostly due to downed power lines, but a few electric substations were badly damaged, and one was obliterated by floods. Without power, broadband, and cellular, we were cut off from the outside world. Cellphones stayed in SOS mode for three days. AT&T cellphones, which I have, were the first to come back, but with only one bar. I was able to sporadically text, but I couldn’t open emails or websites. A few calls made it out, but it seemed nobody could call me. It was several more days for Verizon cellphones, and a few more after that for T-Mobile phones. I got a nice text from AT&T that said, “If you are impacted by the hurricane, don’t worry about going over your talk, text, and data limits on this line. To help you stay safe, we won’t charge you for overages for 30 days.” We heard nothing from my ISP Charter during this time. When we were finally able to reach the web, the Charter site would only concur that our address was out of service – nothing else. We got the first communications from Charter on the 17th day after the hurricane when we got an automated voicemail that said that every Charter customer with power would get broadband by October 19. I am fully sympathetic of the time needed to repair the network—Charter couldn’t get to wires until after the electric company. But I am not happy about the total lack of communication with customers.
Writing a manifesto predicting a glorious AI-driven future has become a mandatory ritual for artificial intelligence (AI) leaders. The compulsion to share utopian AI roadmaps might mean that these CEOs and investors see breakthroughs right around the corner in their lab—and they want to make sure the world knows just how close we are to nirvana. But, it could instead mean that they know the industry has been slow to deliver on its promises, and an impatient public still isn't fully sold on the value of AI, so they'd better do a happy tap-dance. Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic, published an essay titled "Machines of Loving Grace." Amodei outlines AI's promise to transform five key areas: "Biology and physical health, neuroscience and mental health, economic development and poverty, peace and governance, and work and meaning."
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), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and Zoe Walker (zwalker AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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