The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau authorizes 186 rate-of-return companies that elected 242 revised offers to receive additional Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) support in exchange for extending broadband service to additional locations. A report shows the revised authorization amount and deployment obligations for each carrier that elected a revised offer. These carriers are among the rate-of-return carriers nationwide that previously had been authorized to receive A-CAM support. The revised authorizations provide support to the electing companies for a ten-year period beginning January 1, 2019. Collectively, these companies are committing to provide at least 25/3 Mbps service to 106,000 locations in addition to those locations for which they were previously obligated. Eligible companies elected more than 92% of the revised offers.

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) was meeting with farmers about disaster relief when one Chester County resident shared a story about a different kind of disaster unfolding in rural South Carolina. The man told Rep Clyburn that schoolchildren in his small town are driven to the library after hours so they can connect to the Wi-Fi signal in the parking lot. For many of them, it’s the only way they can get online to finish their homework. 

Now Rep Clyburn hopes to change that. When House Democrats complete an infrastructure package later in 2019, Rep Clyburn wants rural broadband to be at the top of the list. He said he’s spoken to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) about the issue and plans to bring it up when House leaders meet to hammer out a plan for infrastructure April 29. “We’re not going to be able to get an adequate education to our children without broadband,” he said. “I am going to become as strong an advocate for broadband in infrastructure as I have been for anything in my life.”

I know firsthand what it’s like living on the wrong side of the digital divide because my local community in rural Minnesota has been experiencing it for far too long. That is one of the reasons why I founded A Better Wireless, a wireless ISP that is seeking to connect rural Minnesotans who lack affordable broadband access. 

Otter Tail County approached commercial providers asking to help solve our digital divide. Incumbent telephone companies told the county it would take $49 million to expand fiber along roadways in just the southern third of the county. This plan would require rural residents to pay to bury fiber from the road down their driveways—some of which are half a mile long or longer. A Better Wireless submitted a proposal to connect these same households with fixed wireless for a fraction of that cost. For just $8.6 million, we would upgrade capacity for county schools -- which currently pay $2,300 per month for 200 Mbps service -- to gigabit access for just $750-$1000 per month. For students who ride the bus up to an hour one way to and from school—a journey that takes even longer when we receive 30 inches of snow—we plan to equip school buses with internet access to turn travel time into homework time. And families with enrolled students that qualify for free and reduced lunch plans would get 25/10 Mbps service for just $15/month. Our plan also includes offering fixed wireless broadband access to every resident in the county for just $45 per month. In addition, we will offer our public safety officials access to a mobile, public safety network.

But our plan hinges on the Federal Communications Commission making currently unused Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum available to educational entities. 

[Mitchell Koep is CEO of A Better Wireless]