The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society previously highlighted the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Infrastructure Program awards given to 5 states and 1 US territory–Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Washington, and Guam. Here, we look at NTIA's seven awards given at the state commission and county level, offering a closer look at each grantee’s identified needs and broadband deployment objectives. What sets the Broadband Infrastructure Program apart from other federal funding initiatives is its focus on "covered partnerships" as recipients of its funding–that is, a public-private partnership between a state or subdivision(s) of a state and a provider of fixed broadband service.

Sufficient access to and utilization of broadband is an ongoing concern for rural economic development. Using a rural region in Northern New York (USA), we consider the investment and operational costs of a broadband cooperative and determine service prices for which it is financially viable. Service prices need to increase 75%–131%, depending on grant restrictions, relative to existing market prices for a new broadband cooperative to become financially feasible. Put differently, the cooperative would not cash flow at market prices unless there was at least 14 potential subscribers per mile at a 62% take rate. For a cooperative, the grant restriction that providers offer a minimum level of speed at a maximum price results in a high level of subsidization by high-speed to low-speed members to support the business. Given grant funding and member equity investments, financial infeasibility has little to do with construction costs, than with annual operational and maintenance costs required to sustain the system long term. More reasonable feasibility scenarios occur for existing utility cooperatives expanding services into broadband, particularly areas with a high proportion of high-speed, year-round users and strong take rates. Consideration of public benefits of broadband arguably needs to be added to the equation, particularly surrounding access to healthcare and educational purposes, and as a prerequisite to supporting taxpayer-funded public-private partnerships to expand broadband services. Policy levers to eliminate or subsidize property taxes and pole rental costs reduce cash flow prices considerably; however, feasibility is highly sensitive to assumed take rates. 

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced the state broadband map is now available for public comment. The map is available on the TNECD mapping site, and the public comment period closes on May 30, 2022. TNECD invites broadband providers, local leaders and community members to provide input on the map via TNECD’s broadband site. Under contract with TNECD, Connected Nation requested data from providers in Tennessee to create a statewide broadband map. The map includes information, searchable by address, for all 95 counties by covering broadband availability, speeds and technology types. Following the May 30, 2022, deadline, TNECD will work with Connected Nation to make any necessary validations and adjustments to the map. TNECD anticipates releasing an updated version of the map in late summer 2022.

The New Yorker recently published a piece about the work of the American Accountability Foundation (A.A.F.) — a dark-money group aiming to sabotage the Biden administration’s agenda by torpedoing the confirmation of nominees to fill critical roles across the government. The group brags about having stopped the confirmation of nominees like Saule Omarova, Biden’s pick to be comptroller of the currency, and Sarah Bloom Raskin, who the president nominated to serve as the vice-chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve Board. Possibly their most famous target was now-Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Also on their list? Gigi Sohn, Biden’s nominee for the fifth and tie-breaking seat at the Federal Communications Commission. As of this writing, she’s featured on the homepage of A.A.F.’s website targeting Biden nominees. The ones who benefit the most from delaying Sohn's confirmation are white-owned and -controlled internet service providers and broadcasters. This is preventing the FCC from adopting policies that would ensure that broadband access is affordable, accessible and reliable for all. It’s allowing runaway media consolidation to continue. And this is especially harming those who suffer the most when the government doesn’t work: low-income families, Black and Brown people and people in rural areas. 

Verizon was a pioneer in fiber broadband with its Fios product, having launched it well over 15 years ahead of the fiber frenzy we now find ourselves in. Fios was very much the heart of Verizon broadband, but that appears to be changing. Today, and from all indications, the future of Verizon broadband is very much centered on its emerging fixed wireless business. Out of the 229,000 net broadband adds Verizon gained in Q1 2022, roughly 85 percent came from fixed wireless. In 2021, fixed wireless only accounted for 20 percent of the company’s net broadband adds. Verizon added 3 times as many fixed wireless subscribers compared to Fios subscribers in Q1 2022. Verizon executives are quite bullish on fixed wireless (FWA) prospects. “Consumers continue to see the benefit of the speed, reliability, and simplicity of installation of the FWA product and businesses continue to recognize that FWA can be a primary broadband access solution for all of their needs,” said Verizon CFO Matt Ellis. Between business and consumer subscribers, Verizon broadband now counts 433,000 fixed wireless subscribers as of March 31, 2022. That’s still a far cry from total Fios subs of just shy of 7 million, but it’s now clear where the momentum is.

The information and communication technology, represented by the broadband Internet, has made a profound impact on Chinese urban labor market. However, the effect of broadband Internet on inter-city inequality is less well documented, especially concerning income inequality. This study aims to identify the impact of broadband Internet on income distribution between cities in China and further explore its underlying mechanisms. Based on nationally representative subsamples from the census in 2005, 2010 and 2015, we find broadband Internet is a blessing factor in explaining the inter-city income gap. The conclusion remains stable after overcoming the endogeneity issues with instrumental variables. Interestingly, broadband Internet appears to provide digital dividend for the low-income brackets. Notably, broadband Internet seems to be skill-biased, since it favors highly educated and professional workers, as well as China’s eastern and central regions. Market potential and manufacturing agglomeration are two mechanisms underlying the reducing effects of broadband Internet. These findings provide insights that are valuable for designing policies and strategies aimed at ensuring fairness and efficiency in broadband Internet development.