Two states recently made moves on broadband funding. Funding bills were passed by legislatures and signed into law by governors in Alabama and Idaho. Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) signed legislation to make $260 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) available for broadband deployments. The funding represents a portion of $1.06 billion that was released to the state in its final ARPA allotment. The Alabama legislature convened a special session to confirm how the state would use the new allotment. Governor Brad Little (R-ID) signed a bill into law that will add $125 million to the funding available for broadband deployments in the state. An additional $100 million is nearing legislative approval. The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board will oversee the distribution of funds. More than $600 million worth of shovel-ready projects are awaiting funding in Idaho. 

Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) reintroduced the Simplifying Management, Access, Reallocation, and Transfer of Spectrum Act, or SMART Spectrum Act with Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) to establish a tool to improve the coordination of shared spectrum and mitigate harmful interference for commercial and federal users. Spectrum is a fixed, finite resource used for telecommunication and managed by the federal government. The federal government sets aside spectrum for public services and then auctions other spectrum frequencies to commercial users. As wireless technologies continue to develop, the federal government needs to become more efficient with the spectrum set aside for public services. The SMART Spectrum Act increases opportunities for commercial and federal users to operate underutilized spectrum licensed to the federal government by establishing an Incumbent Informing Capability system at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This system would facilitate spectrum sharing between federal entities and between federal and non-federal users operating in the federal spectrum. Users can use this system to share what time, where geographically, and in which band of the electromagnetic spectrum the users are operating. This exchange of information allows federal and non-federal users to share a spectrum that is not being fully utilized by the federal government and helps mitigate harmful interference.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) entered a new partnership with Ashland University (OH) to help approximately 140 incarcerated individuals, who are eligible for release within 12 months, prepare for careers in broadband and 5G this spring and summer. With expanded funding from the Ohio Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation’s Individual Microcredential Assistance Program (IMAP), Ashland University (AU) will offer the first credential of WIA’s four-part 5G Readiness Certification. WIA’s 5G Readiness Certification consists of four stackable credentials focused on wireless broadband infrastructure, 5G ecosystems, in-building wireless solutions, and 5G and broadband deployment. Through the program, AU will offer the first two credentials to incarcerated individuals, and upon release, they will be able to take the third and fourth credentials to earn the certification. This training will prepare participants to interview for jobs in occupations such as Small Cell Technician, Wireless Technician, Fiber Optic Technician, Drive Test Technician, and several others.

AT&T says that it spent more than $140 billion between 2018 and 2022, mostly on its domestic wired and wireless network. Much of the spending was in capital investments—including the FirstNet first responder network – and wireless spectrum acquisition. The carrier provided the figure in a wide-ranging update of its following operations:

• Resiliency: In an effort to build reliability and resilience into its network and maintain service during extreme weather, climate events, and increasing instabilities in the commercial power infrastructure, AT&T has deployed what it calls an “emergency” third pathway to each mobility network hub. 
• Wireless: AT&T added 100,000 square miles of coverage and now reaches more than 2.91 million square miles. Its 5G network is available to 290 million people in almost 24,000 cities and towns. At the end of last year, more than 150 million people had access to AT&T’s mid-band 5G spectrum. 
• Tribal Lands: During the past two years, AT&T says its own investments, public-private partnerships such as FirstNet, and initiatives through the American Rescue Plan Act have increased coverage on Tribal lands by more than 40%.
• FirstNet: The first responders’ network now covers more than 99% of the U.S. population and has surpassed 99%+ of its Band 14 coverage target with the FirstNet Authority. The carrier continues to work with federal, state, tribal, territorial, urban, and rural first responders.'