The Federal Communications Commission has a program, known as the high-cost program, to promote broadband deployment in unserved areas. Although the performance goals for the high-cost program reflect principles in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, not all of the goals are expressed in a measurable or quantifiable manner and therefore do not align with leading practices. Furthermore, FCC’s measures for its performance goals do not always align with leading practices, which call for measures to have linkage with the goal they measure and clarity, objectivity, and measurable targets, among other key attributes. For example, as shown below for two of FCC’s five goals, GAO found that FCC’s measures met most, but not all, of the key attributes. By establishing goals and measures that align with leading practices, FCC can improve the performance information it uses in its decision-making processes about how to allocate the program’s finite resources. Leading practices also suggest that agencies publicly report on progress made toward performance goals. FCC does so, however, only in a limited fashion, which may lead to stakeholder uncertainty about the program’s effectiveness. The FCC faces three key challenges to accomplish its high-cost program performance goals: (1) accuracy of FCC’s broadband deployment data, (2) broadband availability on tribal lands, and (3) maintaining existing fixed-voice infrastructure and attaining universal mobile service. GAO is making four recommendations:

1. The Chairman of FCC should revise the high-cost performance goals so that they are measurable and quantifiable. 
2. The Chairman of FCC should ensure high-cost performance measures align with key attributes of successful performance measures, including ensuring that measures clearly link with performance goals and have specified targets. 
3. The Chairman of FCC should ensure the high-cost performance measure for the goal of minimizing the universal service contribution burden on consumers and businesses takes into account user-fee leading practices, such as equity and sustainability considerations.
4. The Chairman of FCC should publicly and periodically report on the progress it has made for its high-cost program’s performance goals, for example, by including relevant performance information in its Annual Broadband Deployment Report or the USF Monitoring Report.

Hundreds of thousands of families are challenged by modern economic, education, and health-care systems while living without internet access in rural Ohio. COVID-19 has exacerbated the issue, but the problem has been persistent in Appalachia for decades. In 2019 the Buckeye Hills Regional Council applied for a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to conduct an eight-county study — in Athens, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Noble, Perry and Washington counties — in partnership with Ohio University and the Athens County Economic Development Council. The results showed that 80% to 90% of households (in areas with 20 or fewer households per square mile) have no access to broadband. The council estimated that more than 340,000 households, approximately 1 million residents, in Ohio do not have any internet access.

The telecom industry turned out in force to oppose a recent Pentagon proposal to build a shared fifth-generation wireless network, with a familiar pot-stirrer making an exception: Dish Network. The satellite-TV company submitted a list of suggestions for the Department of Defense, which is exploring 5G technology for its own operations. The Colorado company said its under-construction cellular network could meet many of the criteria that the military is considering while also serving private-sector interests. “There is a precedent for how the DoD can take advantage of shared physical assets and network resources, while maintaining operational control and flexibility to support the DoD’s objectives,” Dish wrote in its filing, citing satellites that handle commercial and military clients and the FirstNet public-safety network run by AT&T. 

Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners said it is buying Astound Broadband, the sixth-largest US cable-TV provider, for $3.6 billion, in one of the biggest leveraged buyouts of 2020. Astound, owned by private-equity firm TPG and cable-management company Patriot Media Management, is the operator of RCN Telecom Services LLC, Grande Communications, Wave Broadband, and enTouch Systems. Based in Princeton (NJ), it provides high-speed-internet, broadband, digital-TV, and phone services to more than one million customers in markets around the country including New York City, Chicago, Northern California, Texas, and Washington (DC). Including its $4.5 billion of debt, the deal values Astound at $8.1 billion. Patriot, which manages Astound, will partner with Stonepeak and continue to run the company.