Broadband offers an economic lifeline for residents on Tribal lands, but face time with local officials is required just as much as funding and technological flexibility to make it a reality, according to Muralnet CEO Mariel Triggs. Muralnet was founded in 2017 to help bring internet service to Tribal lands by working with indigenous communities to design, build and develop sustainable plans to operate local fixed and wireless networks. It’s no secret that delivering broadband on Tribal lands presents a number of unique challenges. According to the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Deployment Report released in 2021, the “remote, isolated nature of these areas, combined with challenging terrain and lower incomes, increase the cost of network deployment and entry, thereby reducing the profitability of providing service.” That’s a problem for tribes in trying to attract outside investment. But Triggs and Muralnet COO Jose Matanane noted there’s one other element that’s often overlooked by the ISPs and vendors: trust. “You have to build that trust relationship” with Tribal governments and councils, Matanane explained. “Their [ISP/vendor] Tribal engagement is a letter by the VP or somebody like that” but what they should be doing is meeting face-to-face with Tribal leaders. This is especially important for communities which have a history of being on the receiving end of broken promises from the government and other large entities. Triggs continued it’s critical for vendors and other partners to really understand what the tribes are trying to achieve before they try to pitch a solution as a “win-win.” “If you don’t understand what the goals are of the tribe then you can’t make that call,” she said.

When we’ll be able to file for grants from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program? The short answer to the question is that we can’t know yet. But we know all of the steps that must be taken by a state before it can start offering grants. We have a date for the first step of the process. On May 15, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will release a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the BEAD program. This document will flesh out the NTIAs understanding of how the grant process will work. Then states will have to file a letter of intent (LOI) with the NTIA to describe the current state of broadband in the state and must describe the state’s plan for using and administering the BEAD funding. States are allowed to request up to $5 million at the time that they submit the LOI. This funding is provided to help states reach out to citizens, communities, and businesses. The funds can be used for a variety of planning purposes like data collection, developing a budget for operating the State grant program, materials for outreach to the public, etc. States that accept the $5 million of funding must file a 5-Year Action Plan to the NTIA. The whole process is then on hold until the FCC releases updated broadband maps. I will be surprised if the first maps from the new process are not a messy disaster – and I’m not sure what happens if they are. It’s hard to think that the FCC will be ready to release the new mapping data before the end of this year, although the agency will be under huge pressure to get this done sooner.

The St Louis (MO) Community Foundation released a report on the digital divide in St Louis and the steps necessary to bridge the gap. This report provides a detailed and actionable assessment of the digital landscape in St Louis City and County. The digital divide impacts broad swaths of the St Louis population, and is most acutely felt by low-income and minority communities. This assessment positions St Louis to understand the breadth and depth of the digital divide, and establishes the necessary framework to catapult the city as a national leader in digital equity. In order to fully participate in our economic, educational, and healthcare systems, residents need:

• Consistent, reliable, and affordable access to high-speed broadband (HSBB)
• Affordable devices capable of maintaining HSBB connection
• Training and support to participate in this new virtual landscape

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s response to a question about the 12 GHz band during an FCC oversight hearing March 31 is giving hope to the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition. The 5G for 12 GHz Coalition (which includes the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society) has been urging the commission to change the rules for the 12 GHz band so it can be used for two-way 5G communications. Engineering studies showing the band could be safely used by both satellite and 5G service providers were submitted to the FCC for its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) to evaluate. Asked about the status of the 12 GHz technical review at the commission, Chairwoman Rosenworcel said it’s one of the most complex dockets at the commission. She noted that the 12 GHz band historically hosted fixed satellite systems. It also has had direct broadcast satellite and multi-channel video data distribution systems. “Now we might want to add mobile broadband to the mix,” she said. “As you might imagine, that's going to take a lot of technical work to make sure that the airwaves can accommodate all those different uses without harmful interference,” she said, adding that some of the data in the record points to different interference-to-noise ratios that are copied from the International Telecommunications Union that are 30 years old. “We have satellite policies we're going to have to update,” she said. “And once we identify harmful interference, we'll have to model what it looks like and try to come up with standards for where satellite terminals can be compared to 5G systems. These issues, to be candid, will take time, but they take time because they're really important and we need to do them well.”

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is continuing to build out its senior leadership team as it prepares to launch the grant programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act:

• Herb Tyson is joining NTIA as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Herb will build a team to support NTIA’s extensive engagement with state and local governments around our broadband programs.
• Evan Feinman has been named Deputy Associate Administrator for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). Feinman will lead the $42.45 billion BEAD Program.
• Grace Abuhamad is returning to NTIA, where she served in 2016 as a policy analyst in the Office of International Affairs. She has been named a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary.
• Sarah Morris has also been named Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary.