The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the $42.2 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants has been released by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Here are some issues I’ll be exploring in more detail:

• The grants draw a firm technology line, using ‘reliable broadband service’ to mean existing technologies that are considered to be broadband.
• The grants include complicated new requirements such as: a cybersecurity plan, a climate resiliency plan, a supply chain risk management plan, a middle-class affordability plan, and a project workforce continuity plan if not using union labor.
• The grants layer on a lot of costs onto broadband projects that would not be there for an internet service provider building a rural project on its own.
• The grants are clearly stacked against new internet service providers in a dozen places.
• While grants can be as high as 75 percent, the NTIA expects States to award grants to applicants that ask for the lowest amount of grant funding.
• There are some "gotcha" financial requirements that are going to stop a lot of entities from requesting the grants.
• The complexity of the grant rules will likely overwhelm most state grant offices, which are often newly staffed.
• The grants seem to have some teeth for non-performance, something that’s been lacking in grants in the past.

[Doug Dawson is president of CCG Consulting.]

As the pandemic continues for a third year, addressing the digital divide is critical for local governments and communities to prosper. The solution is fiber and wireless broadband investment and ownership by municipalities, utilities, electrical co-ops, and Tribal governments. With access to fiber broadband, everyone from residents and tourists to government entities can benefit from telework, access online education, offer and access online services, use telehealth, take advantage of economic opportunities and stay connected. Municipal broadband keeps taxpayer money local, promotes future-proof infrastructure by creating the flexibility to deliver additional services and keep up with customer demand, reduces the cost of internet to residents and businesses, and creates faster internet speeds with greater bandwidth and simultaneous upload and download speeds. Establishing a municipal fiber internet infrastructure is no small feat. Still, the federal government has passed several acts that offer local governments funding, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Through these, local governments can access competitive grants for broadband infrastructure; adoption and deployment; and data, maps and plans. Grant monies are prioritized for unserved and underserved areas; anchor institutions such as schools, universities, libraries, medical providers and public safety entities; and other community support organizations and agencies.

[John Honker is the president and CEO of Magellan Advisors.]

Federal, state and local leaders gathered May 16 to discuss improving digital equity in Detroit (MI), where a large portion of the population remains offline. The roundtable discussion held at Detroit's Cass Technical High School included Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, Michigan Lt Gov Garlin Gilchrist (D-MI), Detroit's Director of Digital Inclusion Joshua Edmonds, and Detroit Public School Community District educators and students. Their discussion focused on affordable internet access and the Affordable Connectivity Program. The Affordable Connectivity Program builds off the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which kicked off last year by providing a $50 a month subsidy that 82,000 Detroit households took advantage of, said Edmonds. Edmonds added Detroit is looking at the Hope Village neighborhood to build and deploy an open-access fiber network after 6,700 residents suffered a 45-day internet outage in 2021. Rosenworcel said to solve the digital divide, they must create affordability and ensure Michigan's infrastructure is able to deliver to city residents to rural residents. Gilchrist said of Michigan's $250 million infrastructure plan, a fraction of it is committed to building out more connectivity in targeted areas to support internet access. It includes a $5.2 million mapping project to determine where to deploy recourses.

The MOBILE NOW Act directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to coordinate with the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the General Services Administration (GSA) to develop recommendations for streamlining processes when considering applications to locate broadband facilities on federal property within two years from the date of enactment (March 23, 2020), and to report to Congress on the status of their implementation and any process improvements resulting from such recommendations. In 2020, NTIA delivered the first report to Congress, as directed, which outlined measures being taken to streamline Federal permitting of broadband projects. This report follows up on the measures described in the NTIA 2020 report to Congress and the progress made to implement the provisions found in the MOBILE NOW Act.

Verizon will raise prices on its wireless bills for the first time in two years as the largest US wireless carrier grapples with higher costs. Millions of consumers will see a $1.35 increase in administrative charges for each voice line starting in their June 2022 phone bill. And business customers will see a new “economic adjustment charge” beginning June 16, with mobile phone data plans increasing by $2.20 a month and basic service plans going up by 98 cents. Like many businesses, Verizon has been weighing options on how to adjust to inflation pressure. Rival AT&T earlier in May 2022 raised its rates on older consumer plans by $6 on single lines and $12 for families in order to catch up with rising costs and higher wages. Recent Labor Department data has signaled that elevated consumer inflation could persist for longer than expected. “We’re all feeling the pressure and we’ve been in the process of deciding how much of that pressure we can share with our clients,” said Tami Erwin, head of Verizon Business. Verizon is trying to balance higher prices with better service, like switching customers from outdated plans to new 5G offers, Erwin said.