KentuckyWired, the much-heralded plan to improve internet connectivity across KY, promised to create financial opportunities through reliable, high-speed internet access for rural communities that have repeatedly been hammered by the loss of jobs in the coal and tobacco industries. But the project is stalled and its future looks increasingly bleak because of a number of missteps by state officials and Macquarie Capital, the Australian investment bank managing the ambitious plan. In the next few months, the new Gov Andy Beshear (D-KY) will have to make key decisions on the direction of KentuckyWired, which is already two years behind schedule and could cost $1.5 billion over the next 30 years.

KentuckyWired’s new proposed completion date is nine months away. Even if the state meets that deadline, many rural residents won’t have immediate access to broadband. The project is installing fiber-optic cable that will bring broadband to state agencies across Kentucky, but in order for individual homes and businesses to tap into the new network, third-party providers still need to hang the so-called last mile. And many of those providers are reluctant to make plans without first knowing how much the state’s private-sector partner, Macquarie, will charge for access to the network. “That might be another 10 years or 20 years while all that last mile stuff gets built,” said Doug Dawson, a telecommunications consultant. Uncertainty over the plan for KentuckyWired has lawmakers clamoring for action from the governor as they field questions from frustrated rural residents.

14 Native American tribes in Southern CA are now directly connected to the state-of-the-art International Internet Exchange, Pacific Wave, and its peering, high-performance scientific networks, and ever-expanding global connectivity. Six more tribes are also expected to join in the coming months. This new connection enables tribal libraries, scientific research facilities, and cultural preservation institutions to collaborate with partners across the state, the nation, and the world. Tribal Digital Village, a tribal consortium-owned Internet service provider in San Diego County, has connected to Pacific Wave’s infrastructure on the West Coast. A joint project of CENIC and the Pacific Northwest Gigapop (PNWGP), Pacific Wave interconnects most international Asia-Pacific research and education networks, key US Western regional research and education networks, leading national-scale research networks, and major commercial research cloud services.

“Native Americans in Tribal Areas are among the least connected people in America,” said Google Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf. “This new interconnection and the incontrovertible logic behind it, is a dramatic way to draw tribal communities into a rapidly digitizing world.”

A bipartisan group of leading national security senators introduced legislation to encourage and support US innovation in the race for 5G, providing over $1 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE. The Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act would reassert US and Western leadership by encouraging competition with Huawei that capitalizes on US software advantages, accelerating development of an open-architecture model (known as O-RAN) that would allow for alternative vendors to enter the market for specific network components, rather than having to compete with Huawei end-to-end. The USA Telecommunications Act would:

• Require the Federal Communications Commission to direct at least $750 million, or up to 5 percent of annual auction proceeds, from new auctioned spectrum licenses to create an O-RAN R&D Fund to spur movement towards open-architecture, software-based wireless technologies, funding innovative, ‘leap-ahead’ technologies in the US mobile broadband market. The fund would be managed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), with input from the FCC, Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), among others;
• Create a $500 million Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund, working with our foreign partners, available for 10 years to accelerate the adoption of trusted and secure equipment globally and to encourage multilateral participation, and require reports for Congress on use of proceeds and progress against goals to ensure ample oversight;
• Create a transition plan for the purchase of new equipment by carriers that will be forward-compatible with forthcoming O-RAN equipment so small and rural carriers are not left behind;
• Increase US leadership in International Standards Setting Bodies (ISSBs) by encouraging greater US participation in global and regional telecommunications standards forums and requiring the FCC write a report to Congress with specific recommendations;
• Expand market opportunities for suppliers and promote economies of scale for equipment and devices by encouraging the FCC to harmonize new commercial spectrum allocations with partners where possible, thus promoting greater alignment with allies and driving down the cost of Huawei alternatives.

The House Communications Subcommittee was in agreement that more needed to be done to boost minority media ownership, but Republican members focused more on what they said broadcasters and cable operators were already doing to address the issue. The hearing, "Lifting Voices: Legislation to Promote Media Marketplace Diversity", looked at various bipartisan bills to promote more diversity data collection and analysis at the Federal Communications Commission and provide more access to capital. 

Subcommittee Ranking Member Bob Latta (R-OH) suggested that he might have preferred an informational hearing first before one on specific legislation. But he said both sides share the same goal and he was happy to discuss ideas on how to promote diversity, including saying it was crucial for the FCC to periodically look at the impact of its rules. He applauded existing broadcasting and cable programs to promote diverse executives, saying both industries are taking "big strides" in ensuring diversity, though more work needs to be done.

Full Commerce Committee Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR) said he understood "the efforts the broadcast industry – and the media industry as a whole – takes to ensure diversity of ownership, viewpoint, and employment." He pointed out he had programmed local Spanish-language programming on his radio station to serve that growing market. "I appreciate the many steps that industry has taken to not only recognize and take responsibility for the problem, but also the many programs and initiatives they have put in place to promote opportunities for women, minorities, and veterans," he said.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), said the ownership numbers are alarming and that ownership opportunities for minorities and women, while not impossible, are still very limited. He did not mention any industry efforts, but did say it didn't help that the FCC had failed to collect some key diversity data for over 20 years. "Women and people of color can still face discrimination when it comes to accessing capital, and, as a result, we are far more likely to see consolidation than diversity when an outlet is sold," he said.