Wednesday, November 30, 2022
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A Year One Update on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Making Broadband More Affordable
Washington DC's low-income households are routinely offered slower internet plans
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $13 Billion To Modernize And Expand America's Power Grid
Affordability
Funding
Digital Equity
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Affordability
U.S. households pay a lot for broadband internet access service, more than consumers in the European Union pay for similar service. U.S. households pay anywhere from $50 to $70 to nearly $85 per month for internet access. Consumer Reports examined 22,000 broadband bills and found that the median cost of high-speed internet service was $74.99 per month. Approximately half of the households were paying between $60 and $90 per month. The research also found that bills are hard to understand and make it difficult for consumers to budget and compare prices with alternative service options. One major aim of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's broadband provisions is to make internet access service more affordable so more people can subscribe and use it. A year ago, the law's over $14 billion set aside for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which subsidizes service for low-income households, grabbed most of the headlines. But Congress also required broadband service providers to reveal more service information, including pricing, to consumers as they compare plans. And Congress took unprecedented action against digital redlining which has led to unequal broadband access due to income, race, and ethnicity. A year on, let's see how all these efforts are going.
Digital inclusion and equity challenges will likely not go away until a large number of people demand change in the marketplace—and in policymaking—to make essential information and communication technologies not only available, affordable and usable, but also safe. What seems to be lacking is support for a visible social movement that complements these types of education, advocacy and networking efforts. Social movement funding is now needed to leverage this “movement moment.” The work involves building, mobilizing and sustaining community-led efforts that go beyond charitable programs such as distributing laptops to schools or providing necessary financial support for the costs of broadband. The New World Foundation identified four stages in a movement-building cycle. The first is to build infrastructure for the social movement; then build the movement’s identity and intention. That’s followed by leveraging the movement’s moment, and finally, supporting the movement’s expansion or its decision to discontinue once its goals are achieved. Examples of funders with this expertise include the Media Democracy Fund, Justice Funders, and Funders for Justice.
[Becky Lentz, PhD, is an adjunct associate professor with the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Ford Foundation program officer who led the creation of the Media Justice Fund.]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $13 billion in new financing opportunities for the expansion and modernization of the nation’s electric grid. Funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Grid Resilience Innovative Partnership (GRIP) program and the Transmission Facilitation Program together represent the largest single direct federal investment in critical transmission and distribution infrastructure and one of the first down payments on an over $20 billion investment under the Administration’s Building a Better Grid Initiative. These federal investments will unlock billions of dollars of state and private sector capital to build transformative projects that increase the reliability of the power grid and modernize it so that more American communities and businesses have access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity – helping deliver on the President’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035.
Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $7.4 Million to Florida in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Florida received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Florida is receiving $7,407,200.56 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. For the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Florida will receive $4,999,976.99 to fund various activities including:
- Identification of unserved and underserved locations;
- Creation of a five-year action plan;
- Capacity-building and employee training of the Florida's broadband office;
- Asset mapping across Florida to catalog high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment;
- Surveys of unserved, underserved and underrepresented communities to better understand barriers to high-speed Internet service adoption;
- Conducting research from the established Local Technology Planning Teams into a comprehensive list.
For Digital Equity Act planning efforts, Florida will receive $2,407,223.57 to fund various activities including:
- Creation of a digital equity plan for Florida;
- Outreach to underrepresented communities;
- Conducting a needs assessment.
Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.8 Million to Mississippi in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Mississippi received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Mississippi is receiving $5,875,585.61 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. For the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Mississippi will receive $5 million to fund various activities including:
- Development of a 5-year action plan to close the broadband availability gap;
- Identification of unserved and underserved locations;
- Efforts to support local coordination including outreach across the state to stakeholders;
- Planning and capacity building of the state’s broadband office;
- Asset mapping across Mississippi to catalog high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment;
- Conducting surveys of communities to better understand barriers to Internet service adoption;
- Developing a precise assessment of the actual barriers state residents face that block them from Internet service adoption;
- Creating easily understandable written and digital material to engage with those who are unserved or underserved.
For Digital Equity Act planning efforts, Mississippi will receive $875,585.61 to fund various activities including:
- Development of a statewide digital equity plan to close the digital equity gap;
- Development of the digital skills and accessibility team;
- Engage with local community members and stakeholders;
- Award subgrants for conducting digital inclusion asset mapping.
Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $5.6 Million to Utah in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Utah received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. Utah is receiving $5,676,684.53 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. For the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Utah will receive $5 million to fund various activities including:
- Identification of unserved and underserved locations;
- Training employees of Utah’s broadband program and increasing office capacity;
- Asset mapping across Utah to catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment;
- Development of “All Utah, All Online” project, a 5-year action plan supported by the precise assessment of current Internet service speeds and a better understanding of barriers.
For Digital Equity Act planning efforts, Utah will receive $676,684.53 to fund various activities including:
- Development of a statewide digital equity plan;
- Building digital access program capacity;
- Provision of funding to create local digital equity plans.
Biden-Harris Administration Awards More Than $3.1 Million to South Dakota in ‘Internet for All’ Planning Grants
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that South Dakota received its first “Internet for All” grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative. South Dakota is receiving $3,131,269.95 in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed by President Biden, to plan for the deployment and adoption of affordable, equitable, and reliable high-speed Internet service throughout the state. For the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, South Dakota will receive $2,604,218.30 to fund various activities including:
- Development of a comprehensive Five-Year Action Plan that ensures all residents of South Dakota have access to reliable, affordable, and high-speed internet service;
- Providing technical assistance to potential subgrantees, including through workshops and events;
- Establishing, operating, or increasing capacity of a broadband office that oversees broadband programs and broadband deployment.
For the Digital Equity Act's planning efforts, South Dakota will receive $527,051.65 to fund various activities including:
- Community and stakeholder engagement;
Development of a robust State Digital Equity Plan.
An investigation by The Markup reveals rampant disparities when it comes to internet service for marginalized communities in major U.S. cities, including Washington DC. People in lower-income, historically redlined neighborhoods are routinely paying the same price for slower internet service as what residents in higher-income areas pay for higher-speed internet, the analysis found. Digital discrimination harms populations that already face systemic inequalities, particularly when it comes to accessing remote learning and job opportunities, Axios' Alayna Alvarez reports. In DC — where The Markup analyzed internet service by Verizon — nearly twice as many households in low-income neighborhoods are offered slower internet packages than those in wealthier communities, the investigation shows. Thirty-two percent of lower-income neighborhoods in DC were given slow internet plans, compared to 13 percent of higher-income areas.
While students around the country are back in school in person this year, the connection between education and high-speed internet hasn’t been severed. Students still turn in assignments online and interact with class material through learning management systems, and they may even stream their lessons. The support services that are becoming critical for education—from health screenings to tutoring sessions—are also often delivered online. And that means, more than ever, getting an education requires access to fast, reliable internet. But while the infrastructure to make sure that everyone can use the internet has improved in the last couple of years, the process isn’t complete. If we want to keep the digital divide from growing, experts say, it’ll mean districts thinking about themselves as just one part of the larger community composed of families, nonprofits, businesses—all of them potential partners in expanding internet access for students.
Digital equity ecosystems are interactions between individuals, populations, communities, and their larger environments that all play a role in shaping the work in local communities to advance more equitable access to technology and social, economic, and racial justice. The Digital Equity Ecosystems Measurement (DEEM) framework assumes that local coalitions play a key role in this work. Through local coordination of digital inclusion services, information and resource sharing, networking, data collection, and advocacy, local coalitions have mobilized individuals and organizations across their communities to take action. While these local coalitions continue to address their communities’ digital equity challenges, many lack the conceptual frameworks and measurement tools needed to gather data for planning, improvement, and argumentation purposes. This report introduces a measurement framework to assist local coalitions in their efforts to grow and sustain healthy digital equity ecosystems.
On November 18, the Federal Communications Commission unveiled an update of its map showing broadband availability in communities throughout the U.S. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is required to use this map to identify unserved locations eligible for extra funding, based on both service availability and the number of locations in any given area. Pew Charitable Trusts, Next Century Cities and others have worked hard to help communities fill gaps in the FCC map, but it’s an enormous task to create a truly granular picture of broadband coverage. Early responses to the FCC release from groups focused on broadband access suggest that there’s still potential for jurisdictions to miss out on upcoming Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding because of incomplete or inaccurate data.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, more than 95 percent of Vermont households have broadband internet access. That’s the main takeaway from a newly updated map created by the FCC that tracks internet speeds and provider availability down to individual addresses. But officials at the Vermont Community Broadband Board said that the database overestimates the percent of households with broadband — and that federal funding is at stake. “I think a lot of Vermonters will be really curious to see what the FCC claims is available versus what is available in their own reality,” said Robert Fish, deputy director of the board. The near-100 percent figure includes satellite internet providers such as Starlink, which the FCC claims is available throughout the entire state. Fish said sure, satellite is available — “if you are north facing and cut down all of the trees and maybe blast the top of a hill to get the good coverage.” But even just comparing the most common forms of broadband access — wired connections such as cable and fiber, and licensed wireless providers — the Vermont board disagreed with the FCC's assessment of availability at multiple levels.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Statewide Broadband Plan focuses on four challenge areas and opportunities for universal broadband access in the state: broadband service infrastructure and availability; digital equity and affordability; device and technology access; and digital literacy and technical support. The state's broadband plan prioritizes these objectives:
- To foster economic growth and innovation, accessing high-speed broadband is imperative for businesses looking to remain regionally and globally competitive.
- To provide the critical infrastructure for the future, reliable broadband built is the foundation for delivering highspeed broadband, smart grid modernization, public safety, mobile wireless, and services such as 5G.
- To grow workforce development and educational achievement opportunities, high-speed broadband is integral to students, teachers, and employees.
- To provide adequate, reliable emergency services, first responders require high-speed connectivity to ensure effective communication with patients and hospitals.
- To enhance community health, well-being, access to health care services, and quality of life, communities increasingly look toward telemedicine to address their medical needs.
Read the full broadband plan here.
Escambia County (FL) is looking back to Escambia River Electric Cooperative's (EREC) proposal to build a rural broadband network, but the unusual path the county has taken drew the objection of cable and internet provider Cox Communications on November 29. The Escambia County Commission voted November 28 4-1 to negotiate an agreement between the county and EREC to back the co-op's effort to seek a state grant to build a $24 million rural broadband network with $6 million in Escambia County American Rescue Plan Act funds. The move comes after the county sought official proposals from internet providers through its procurement office for a broadband network north of Nine Mile Road with an offer of up to $10 million in county ARPA funds. The county received four responses from Cox, NextCity, CSpire, and EREC. Escambia County has set aside $22 million from its ARPA funds to dedicate to broadband infrastructure, with $10 million for the northern half of the county and $12 million for the southern half. The commission held a special meeting to provide the county and EREC enough time to meet an early December deadline to apply for a state grant from the Department of Economic Opportunity to fund the rest of the project.
Broadband investment has been a focus for county officials since first receiving American Rescue Plan Act funding. What that might look like is coming into focus. Warren County's (PA) first foray into broadband was a solicitation for proposals for a $1 million Appalachian Regional Commission grant that would have expanded service with several volunteer fire stations as hubs. Two entities applied to work with the county on that project. However, one failed to meet the required number of households that would gain service while the other proposed owning the assets themselves which the grant wouldn’t permit. But the federal infrastructure bill has changed the game. Commissioner Tricia Durbin said there is a “very large swath of funds at the national level” available. “Instead of taking those (Rescue Plan) dollars and using (them) to expand broadband to expand (to a) very small group of people” the county is now considering using those Rescue Plan dollars as a match for bigger, federal grants. To that end, Durbin said the county will be putting out a request for proposals for broadband consulting services.
Social Media/Platforms
Twitter’s Former Trust and Safety Chief Says He Left When System of Governance Went Away
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, said several factors led to his decision to leave the platform after almost eight years, including the disruptions created by rapid-fire changes from the company’s new owner. He said he left the company following the botched launch of the upgraded Twitter Blue subscription program after Chief Executive Elon Musk ignored his team’s warnings about possible issues tied to the rollout. Roth said he felt his role wasn’t needed if the new Twitter leadership wasn’t going to listen to his team’s guidance. “We had a system of governance. It was rules-based. We enforced our rules as written,” said Roth. “We did it transparently, and when that system of governance went away, you don’t need a head of trust and safety anymore.”
A decade after voice assistant technology captured the world's imagination, Alexa and Siri appear to be on the wane. Alexa's rise and fall show that for every winner in the tech industry's neverending game of "dominate the next platform," there are multiple money-incinerating losers. Amid tech’s biggest slump in two decades, companies are tightening their belts and decreasing investments in secondary devices and voice assistants. Though voice assistants have become a literal fixture in millions of homes, they have not delivered on their creators' revenue targets. Voice assistants have also faced growing concerns over consumer privacy. A 2020 survey from DataGrail found that over 82 percent of respondents had concerns about monitoring or data collection from phone microphones, laptop webcams, home devices like Amazon Echo, or devices with location tracking.
The Comcast "Broadcast TV" fee that isn't included in the company's advertised prices is rising again, tacking as much as $27 onto the monthly bills of cable TV users. Comcast's Broadcast TV and Regional Sports Network fees combined could add nearly $40 to a customer's monthly TV bill after next month's price hikes, all while Comcast advertises much lower prices than people actually pay. "Comcast has started notifying customers and municipalities that it plans to raise video and Internet prices next month, including a whopping $7.35 a month increase for the Broadcast TV fee in one town," a TV Answer Man article said November 26. The $7.35-per-month increase is in Taunton (MA), where Comcast said the Broadcast TV fee will rise from $18.65 to $26. The Broadcast TV fee is rising from $24.95 a month to $27.25 a month starting on December 20 in Sandown (NH), a letter from Comcast to town government officials said. In Sandown, the Regional Sports Network fee is rising from $11.85 to $12. The TV Answer Man report also said several towns in Michigan were "alerted that the Broadcast Fee will rise from $14.80 to $20.70 a month while the monthly Regional Sports fee will go from $9.50 to $10.15." These are just a few examples as Comcast is raising prices nationwide.
Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D-VA) died Nov 28, just weeks after winning reelection to Congress, his office announced. He was 61. Rep. McEachin had represented Virginia’s 4th District, which stretches from Richmond to the North Carolina line, since 2017. Before that, he had served nine years as a state senator and eight as a delegate. A minister and lawyer, Rep. McEachin was the Democratic nominee for state attorney general in 2001, losing to Republican Jerry Kilgore. State Sen. L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) recalled “watching him make history as the first ever African American nominee” for that position. He was only the third African American to represent Virginia in the U.S. House. In Congress, Rep. McEachin was known as an impassioned champion for environmental justice and for policies to mitigate climate change, with keen attention to its uneven impact on disadvantaged or minority communities. In keeping with those priorities, Rep. McEachin had co-founded the United for Climate and Environmental Justice Task Force, while also serving on the House Commerce Committee, Natural Resources Committee and Select Committee on Climate Crisis. He fought as well for preserving historic land and natural beauty, such as the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia.
The list prices of Starlink communications devices have nearly doubled in Ukraine, as mobile networks have started failing under Russia’s assault on the country’s electricity grid and increased demand for the SpaceX-manufactured satellite communication device. Starlink terminals, which are made by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, will increase in price to $700 for new Ukrainian consumers, according to the company’s website. This represents a rise from about $385 earlier in 2022. The consumer cost of the monthly subscription to Starlink has fluctuated recently, dropping from about $100 to $60 on Ukraine’s Independence day on August 24 to “reflect local market conditions”, and will now rise to $75. Prices have also soared in neighbouring Poland, where many Ukrainians source Starlink to avoid problems with domestic mail delivery, but remained the same in Slovakia and most other European countries.
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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