With the broadband gap laid bare by the events of 2020, 2021 saw a renewed focus on meeting the challenge once and for all. Verizon and T-Mobile began leveraging their mobile infrastructure to provide 5G home internet service in a growing list of select cities, while Elon Musk's Starlink took to the skies with the goal of offering next-gen satellite internet connections across the globe. Meanwhile, the number of fiber internet providers continues to rise, with AT&T, CenturyLink, Windstream, and Ziply Fiber all registering double-digit increases in their respective shares of customers with access to fiber-optic connections over the last five years. But the most important development is November's bipartisan passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes $65 billion in broadband funding. All of that sets the table for a very busy year of broadband developments in 2022, but whether we see true progress or unrealized potential remains to be seen. For now, here's a look at what to expect and what to pay attention to in the months ahead.

Service providers who plan to participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) could submit election notices to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) starting on December 27, 2021. Service providers who already participate in the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program do not need to file an ACP election notice unless they wish to add service areas or connected devices to their EBB offerings. Service providers who do not participate in the EBB Program but wish to participate in the ACP should complete the ACP election form and submit it, with all necessary documentation, to ACProgram@usac.org. Non-Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) that want to participate in the ACP and did not participate in the EBB Program must receive Federal Communications Commission approval before filing an election notice. Service providers should visit the FCC's website and click on Provider Application Approvals for detailed application requirements and instructions.

Eighty-seven percent of US households get an Internet service at home, compared to 83% in 2016 and 69% in 2006.  Broadband accounts for 98% of households with an Internet service at home, and 85% of all households get a broadband Internet service – an increase from 81% in 2016 and 42% in 2006. Overall, 60% of broadband subscribers are very satisfied (8-10 on a 1-10 scale) with their Internet service at home, while 7% are not satisfied (1-3).  Similarly, 68% of broadband subscribers agree (8-10) that their Internet service meets the needs of their household, while 4% disagree (1-3). Other related findings include:

• 63% of broadband subscribers rate the speed of their Internet connection 8-10 (with 10 being excellent), while 7% rate it 1-3 (with 1 being poor)
• 45% of broadband subscribers do not know the download speed of their service – compared to 59% in 2016
• 69% reporting Internet speeds of 100+ Mbps are very satisfied with their service, compared to 53% with speeds <50 Mbps, and 58% that don’t know their speed
• 60% of adults with an Internet service at home watch video online daily – compared to 50% in 2019, 41% in 2016, and 5% in 2006
• 87% of households use at least one laptop or desktop computer – 95% of this group get an Internet service at home
• 68% of those that do not use a laptop or desktop computer are not online at home – accounting for 67% of all that do not have an Internet service at home

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) now includes 38 states, two US territories, and five federal agencies: US Department of Agriculture (USDA), US Department of the Treasury, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The NBAM is a geographic information system platform which allows for the visualization and analysis of federal, state, and commercially available data sets. This includes data from the Federal Communications Commission, US Census Bureau, Universal Service Administrative Company, USDA, Ookla, Measurement Lab, BroadbandNow, White Star, and the state governments. The mapping platform provides users, including administrators from the 40 participating states and territories, with access to the NBAM and its data to better inform broadband projects and funding decisions in their states. In June 2021, the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also released a publicly available digital map that displays key indicators of broadband needs across the country. With more states joining NBAM, NTIA is another step closer to creating a national platform that can help inform policymakers and expand Internet coverage across the United States.

Several large telecom companies have announced big plans to expand fiber coverage, and I assume that also means heavily participating in the infrastructure law's $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant program that is aimed primarily at bringing better broadband to rural areas. It’s likely that companies want to benefit from the huge upcoming federal grants. The easiest way for them to take advantage of the federal grant is to plan to overlash fiber onto existing telco copper where the companies are already the incumbent. But if the grants are lucrative enough, they might seek grants in other areas as well. Big telecom companies have always done well with subsidies coming directly from the federal government, but will they do as well with funding being decided at the state level? State regulators and state governments across the country have been unhappy with the way that the big telecom companies abandoned rural telephone networks. Most states have been able to make an easy comparison between smaller companies and cooperatives that have invested in rural fiber and the big ones that have done as little as possible to keep rural networks operating. It’s going to be nearly impossible to follow grant policies and trends everywhere when all fifty states will be embarking on a giant grant program at the same time. One thing is for sure – the next few years are going to be interesting.

[Doug Dawson is President of CCG Consulting.]

As he campaigns in rural Texas, Beto O’Rourke is accusing Gov Greg Abbott (R-TX) of stifling efforts to improve broadband internet access there, even after Abbott prioritized the issue in the regular legislative session earlier in 2021. O’Rourke, a Democrat who announced in November he is running for governor, has started criticizing the Republican governor for vetoing a bill in June that would have helped replenish the Universal Service Fund, which supports telecommunications and internet services for more than 1 million rural Texas households. Abbott argued the bill “would have imposed a new fee on millions of Texans.” The bipartisan supporters of the legislation say it was badly needed to help shore up revenue for the fund, which relies on a surcharge on in-state voice calls and has been bleeding money for years. The less revenue the fund has, the less money it has to reimburse providers, making service harder to maintain and more costly to provide in far-flung areas of the state. On December 21, O'Rourke published an op-ed on the issue, saying it is "part of a broader trend of state leaders turning their backs on rural communities."

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the Federal Communications Commission in its decision to designate a large swath of the 6 GHz band to unlicensed users, including Wi-Fi. AT&T had challenged the FCC’s decision, saying it posed potential interference with existing fixed microwave users. “Petitioners have failed to provide a basis for questioning the Commission’s conclusion that the Order will protect against a significant risk of harmful interference,” the court wrote in its December 28 decision. “We therefore deny the petitions for review in all respects save one.” The exception relates to the petition brought by licensed radio and television broadcasters using the 6 GHz band. Because the FCC failed to respond to their request that it reserve a sliver of that band exclusively for mobile licensees, the court wants the agency to provide further explanation on that point – one that backers of the FCC think they can easily address.

“Today’s decision is an important step in clearing the way for next generation Wi-Fi access at a time when it is needed most," said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel following the ruling. "In this pandemic so much of modern life has migrated online. 6 GHz Wi-Fi will help us address this challenge by offering more access in more places, faster speeds, and better performance from our Wi-Fi networks.” FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the court’s decision underscores the FCC’s role as the nation’s lead spectrum regulator. "US leadership in wireless depends on stakeholders continuing to abide by Congress’s long-standing decision to place these determinations squarely within the FCC’s expertise,” Carr stated.

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan submitted comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) concerning their inquiry into Big Tech payment platforms. Khan identified three areas of concern that she hopes can help to inform the CFPB's inquiry:

1. Big Tech companies’ participation in payments and financial services could enable them to entrench and extend their market positions and privileged access to data and AI techniques in potentially anti-competitive and exploitative ways.
2. Big Tech companies’ use of algorithmic decision-making in financial services amplifies concerns of discrimination, bias, and opacity.
3. Big Tech companies’ increasingly commingled roles as payment and authentication providers could concentrate risk and create single points of failure.

House Republican Leaders sent a series of letters to federal agencies asking about steps they are taking to close the digital divide. The letters were sent by Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Oversight and Reform Republican Leader James Comer (R-KY), Appropriations Committee Republican Leader Kay Granger (R-TX), Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Agriculture Committee Republican Leader Glenn Thompson (R-PA). The representatives sent letters to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of the Treasury, the US Department of Education (ED), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 2021, Congress provided historic levels of funding for broadband deployment to make sure all Americans are connected. According to the lawmakers, these letters are an effort to pursue aggressive oversight and make sure these billions of dollars are directed toward unserved Americans rather than wasted on serving areas that already have broadband access. The committees ask each agency to “provide a detailed accounting of any CARES Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, or ARPA funds that you have awarded or allocated to support broadband connectivity.”