Recommendations for how the U.S. can leverage digital infrastructure to further its economic competitiveness:

• Prioritize investment in digital infrastructure by recognizing the relative importance of digital infrastructure as it seeks to modernize U.S. infrastructure more broadly.
• Connect unserved and underserved communities by allocating $80 billion to extend technology neutral, secure, resilient, and modern broadband connectivity.
• Supercharge American 5G and 6G leadership through federal funding for 5G deployment in rural areas and investments in next generation R&D.
• Incentivize foundational technology development critical for connectivity, including by fully funding the CHIPS for America Act and using investment tax credits to increase and modernize semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the United States.
• Expand federal cybersecurity grants to ensure secure and resilient networks to protect critical national infrastructure such as the electrical grid and water supply.
• Accelerate IT and data modernization to ensure federal, state, and local governments can safely, securely, and efficiently accomplish their missions of service.
• Promote digital inclusion by allocating $9.5 billion to ensure all Americans, including students and low-income groups, have the means and skills to access digital infrastructure.
• Expand workforce development to help close the workforce shortage in the telecommunications industry specifically and more broadly focusing training on underserved communities and minority-serving institutions like HBCUs, with a particular focus on STEM skills.
• Reduce regulatory barriers to deployment, through reforms such as the Nationwide Dig Once Act and further efforts to accelerate and streamline 5G buildout.
• Better leverage technology in the design and deployment of infrastructure to accelerate timelines, reduce cost, improve worker safety, and mitigate negative environmental impacts.

The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology is upgrading its state-run education network, the Illinois Century Network (ICN), from Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) to software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN). The state consulted with Fujitsu Network Communications on the project and Fujitsu designed an SD-WAN solution using equipment from Silver Peak. The ICN project includes Silver Peak appliances that are deployed at each location with a centralized orchestrator. The remote appliance includes zero-touch provisioning so it is easy for Illinois officials to install and maintain. The five-year ICN SD-WAN project started in July 2019 and turned on 100 locations in the first four months. Currently, there are 130 locations outfitted with SD-WAN, but that number could grow to 800 if the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology decides to upgrade all the schools and locations in its network, which is the largest state-run education network in the US.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr is urging Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to publicly release the draft text of a forthcoming proposal allocating $7.1 billion in pandemic relief subsidies for distance learning. Commissioner Carr says she should publish it before commissioners vote on the item to make it easier to coordinate with the Departments of Education and Treasury on broadband spending, which he sees as a matter of good governance with taxpayer money. “The most important thing when it comes to this new $7.1 billion program for connecting schookids is we publicize our draft decision before we vote,” Commissioner Carr said. “I think it’s going to help with the coordination across different agencies, and it’ll inform the vote of myself and my colleagues.”

Elon Musk’s SpaceX rolled out its Starlink early access program to the public six months ago, with the satellite internet service growing to more than 10,000 users in the first few months. CNBC spoke to more than 50 people who have been using Starlink. Those surveyed included households in Canada and 13 states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The majority of these Starlink users are in rural or remote areas, such as farmland or wilderness, with limited access to terrestrial broadband options — and a few with no access altogether. SpaceX launched the “Better than Nothing Beta” program for the public in October, and the majority of users CNBC surveyed received invitations to join between November and February. The service is priced at $99 a month in the U.S. under the beta, with a $499 upfront cost for the equipment customers need to connect to the satellites — plus taxes, shipping and any accessories needed to mount the antenna.

• Most users found the service’s monthly price of $99 to be fair, and often a discount to other satellite broadband services and terrestrial options.
• Users were largely impressed with quality of the equipment, especially the antenna. A handful of users were disappointed in the quality of SpaceX’s supplied Wi-Fi router, with several choosing to go with third-party router options.
• The installation process delivered the widest range of user opinions, as some — mostly those who have performed rooftop equipment installations before — found it a very easy process while others had to spend hours to get the antenna working.
• Users reported download speeds ranging between 60 Mbps and 150 Mbps — with some even reporting peak speeds near 200 Mbps. Latency also matched expectations, as most users reported latency of about 30 milliseconds — with some in the low 20 milliseconds.
• The biggest concern voiced by those surveyed centered around the possibility of SpaceX introducing data restrictions in the future. A few expect restrictions to be inevitable, and one user said they “will immediately be cancelling service without hesitation if there are any data caps.”