Two Washington-based groups representing Google, Facebook and other tech giants filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court on May 13, seeking to block a Texas law that bars social media companies from removing posts based on a user’s political ideology. The Texas law took effect May 11 after the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans (LA) lifted a district court injunction that had barred it. The appeals court action shocked the industry, which has been largely successful in batting back Republican state leaders’ efforts to regulate social media companies’ content-moderation policies. In their filing to the Supreme Court, NetChoice and the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) argue that the law is unconstitutional and risks causing “irreparable harm” to the Internet and businesses. The application brings before the nation’s highest court a battle over the future of online speech that has been roiling policymakers in Washington (DC) and in statehouses. As lawmakers across the country increasingly call for regulation of Silicon Valley’s content-moderation policies, they’re colliding with the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from regulating speech. The application was filed with Justice Samuel Alito, who was nominated to the court by Republican President George W Bush.
Monday, May 16, 2022
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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The BEAD Program provides new federal funding for NTIA to grant to all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (States), as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands (Territories), and in certain circumstances political subdivisions of these States and Territories, for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. Funding is distributed primarily based on the relative number of “unserved” locations (i.e., broadband-serviceable locations that lack access to Reliable Broadband Service at speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream and latency levels low enough to support real-time, interactive applications) in each State and Territory. Each State is eligible to receive a minimum of $100,000,000 and each Territory is eligible to receive a minimum of $25,000,000.
Completed Letters of Intent must be received by NTIA through the application portal no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on July 18, 2022. Upon submission of the Letter of Intent, the Point of Contact for each Eligible Entity may request Initial Planning Funds through the application portal. The portal will provide additional information about submission requirements for funding, including but not limited to standard forms and a budget narrative. All supplemental information must be submitted by 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on August 15, 2022.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant (MMG) Program. The MMG Program provides funding for the construction, improvement, or acquisition of middle mile infrastructure. The purpose of the grant program is to expand and extend middle mile infrastructure to reduce the cost of connecting areas that are unserved or underserved to the internet backbone. To apply for the MMG Program, an entity must be a State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government, technology company, electric utility, utility cooperative, public utility district, telecommunications company, telecommunications cooperative, nonprofit foundation, nonprofit corporation, nonprofit institution, nonprofit association, regional planning council, Native entity, economic development authority, or any partnership of two (2) or more of these entities.
NTIA will make up to $980,000,000 available for federal assistance under the MMG Program ($1,000,000,000 minus two percent set aside to cover NTIA’s administrative costs). NTIA expects to make awards under this program within the following funding range: $5,000,000 to $100,000,000. The period of performance for grants issued pursuant to this program ends five years from the date on which the grant funds are made available to the eligible entity. Complete applications must be received by NTIA through the Application Portal no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on September 30, 2022. NTIA expects to complete its review, selection of successful applicants, and award processing by February 16, 2023. NTIA expects that the start date for awards under this NOFO will be no earlier than March 1, 2023.
The subject of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)—the $60 million State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program—is part of the Digital Equity Act’s larger State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, the purpose of which is to promote the achievement of digital equity, support digital inclusion activities, and build capacity for efforts by States relating to the adoption of broadband by residents of those States. The award period for the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program is one year, beginning on the date on which the grantee is awarded the grant funds; provided, however, that the award period may be extended by NTIA, in consultation with the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) Grants Officer, for up to 180 days based on a written request from a recipient. Funding amounts for States will be determined pursuant to a statutory formula.
Complete applications from States (including the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) must be received through the NTIA application portal no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on July 12, 2022. US territories (other than Puerto Rico), Indian Tribes, Alaska Native entities, and Native Hawaiian organizations that are interested in participating in this program need not submit applications at this time, but must submit Letters of Intent. Further application submission requirements and timelines for any US territory or possession (other than Puerto Rico), or from an Indian Tribe, Alaska Native entity, or Native Hawaiian organization that timely submits a Letter of Intent will be provided to such entities in a separate written communication.
This is the second in a four-part series about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) digital equity and broadband grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcements from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Sifting through the Digital Equity Act (DEA) NOFO, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) identified the following highlights:
- The NOFO opens up DEA planning dollars to Tribal organizations and territories;
- The NOFO explicitly encourages states to link their BEAD and DEA programs and planning processes;
- The NOFO provides more guidance on what should be in a “State Digital Equity Plan” (and it’s pretty good guidance at that); and
- The NOFO provides (tentative) dollar amounts that each state (the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington (DC)) can expect to receive for planning.
[Amy Huffman is Policy Director at NDIA.]
This is the third in a four-part series about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) digital equity and broadband grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcements from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has identified how the BEAD Program will intersect with the Digital Equity Act Program and how the two complement each other:
- BEAD Program five-year action plans must contain the state’s digital equity plan.
- The BEAD Program addresses broadband affordability through the requirement of low-cost plans and encouragement and a middle-class affordability plan.
- All Eligible Entities are required to ensure that services offered over any broadband network deployed and/or upgraded with BEAD Program funds allow subscribers to utilize the Affordable Connectivity Program.
- Robust stakeholder engagement is required throughout the entire BEAD Program.
- BEAD Funds can be used to extend access in multi-tenant buildings.
- NTIA interpreted Congress’ outline of the eligible use of funds as a prioritization of funds.
[Amy Huffman is policy director for NDIA.]
The State of Wyoming is preparing for a deluge of federal money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bill will send $1.2 trillion out to more than 375 federal programs, Gov Mark Gordon (R-WY)’s senior advisor Rob Creager said. Forty percent of that money will be distributed via competitive grants, Creager said. The legislative allocation included $100 million for infrastructure matches related to energy projects; $75 million for infrastructure program matches in general, with the caveat that the state match can’t exceed 25 percent of the entire grant; $10 million for wildlife crossing matches; and $25 million for broadband matches, Creager said. That last allocation is “really crucial,” he said, since notices for broadband funding opportunities are expected to come out next week – and “there’s a lot of money” available in that area. Combining funding totals from the Infrastructure Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, Creager said “we’re looking at upwards of $400 million in broadband infrastructure over the next four years, which is a very substantial amount.” His team has been working with federal officials to help them understand that it will cost more money to provide broadband infrastructure in rural states like Wyoming.
From a lobbying perspective, municipal broadband providers have never had a seat at the table. In any given state, a municipal broadband provider might get its voice heard through organizations like the League of Cities and Counties – or whatever that is called in a given state. But municipal broadband internet service providers (ISPs) have never had a national voice to push back against the hard lobbying that has been leveled against them for the last few decades. This changed with the formation of the American Association of Public Broadband (AAPB). This new group was announced at the Broadband Communities Summit and raised over $100,000 within a few days. The group was formed to make sure that municipal broadband has a voice in Washington (DC). In addition to a lobbying role, AAPB will also act to provide expert advice on broadband policy, and will start to track federal and state developments that affect municipalities. The organization already has some resources on the website, like a list of the restrictions in various states against municipal broadband. The new group obviously has a big challenge in front of them, but the success of other trade associations shows that smart advocacy can get positions heard and can sway decision-makers. I look forward to hearing about issues from the perspective of municipalities.
[Doug Dawson is president of CCG Consulting.]
Internet users have suffered collateral damage in tussles over paid peering between large internet service providers (ISPs) and large content providers. Paid peering is a relationship where two networks exchange traffic with payment, which provides direct access to each other’s customers without having to pay a third party to carry that traffic for them. The issue will arise again when the United States Federal Communications Commission considers a new net neutrality order. We first consider the effect of paid peering on broadband prices. Our result shows that paid peering fees reduce the premium plan price, increase the video streaming price and the total price for premium tier customers who subscribe to video streaming services; however, the ISP passes on to its customers only a portion of the revenue from paid peering. ISP profit increases but video streaming profit decreases as an ISP moves from settlement-free peering to paid peering price. We next consider the effect of paid peering on consumer surplus. We find that consumer surplus is a uni-modal function of the paid peering fee. Consumer surplus is maximized when paid peering fees are significantly lower than those that maximize ISP profit. However, it does not follow that settlement-free peering is always the policy that maximizes consumer surplus. The peering price depends critically on the incremental ISP cost per video streaming subscriber; at different costs, it can be negative, zero, or positive.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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