Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai shared draft procedures for the upcoming $16 billion Phase I Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction (Auction 904). With financial support from the auction, service providers will expand broadband service to millions of unserved homes and businesses in rural areas. At the FCC’s June 9 open meeting, the FCC will vote on finalizing these draft procedures. Auction 904 is the first phase of the FCC’s $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund initiative, which is modeled on the FCC’s successful Connect America Fund Phase II auction in 2018. Bidding in Auction 904 is scheduled to begin on October 29, 2020.

The draft auction procedures attempt to strike a balance between building sustainable networks that will meet the needs of the future while maximizing the number of locations that receive service. The auction targets census blocks that current data show are wholly unserved. Funds will be allocated through a multi-round reverse auction format similar to that used in the Connect America Fund Phase II auction. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction more than doubles the minimum speeds that providers must deliver to 25/3 Mbps. It also prioritizes bids offering to provide even faster speeds (up to a gigabit) and lower latency by giving those bids greater weight in the auction and awarding support to the bidder offering the best combination of speed and latency in each area once the aggregate price of all bids drops below the auction’s budget. These bidding procedures will enable providers to start planning for the start of the auction in October by determining the amount of support they will need to provide a specified level of service to a specified set of eligible areas.

The draft timetable for availability of materials and deadlines for the auction:

• Online auction application tutorial would be available by June 15
• Short-form application (FCC Form 183) filing window would open July 1
• Short-form application (FCC Form 183) filing window would close July 15
• Auction bidding tutorial would be available online by October 14
• Mock auction would begin October 26
• Auction would begin October 29

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr announced that the FCC will vote on his plan to promote the build out of Broadcast Internet services. These are a range of innovative offerings that can be delivered over the same, powerful broadcast television spectrum that blankets US communities today. These Broadcast Internet services are enabled by a new broadcast transmission standard known as ATSC 3.0 and delivered over an efficient one-to-many architecture. The FCC will vote on the item—a Declaratory Ruling and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking—at its June Open Meeting. The Declaratory Ruling would ensure that Broadcast Internet services are not weighed down by legacy media regulations by clarifying that the FCC’s broadcast television station ownership rules do not apply to leasing arrangements between broadcasters and third parties for the provision of Broadcast Internet services. This will help ensure that market forces determine the highest and best use of Broadcast Internet services and allow innovators to generate the geographic footprint that may be needed to deliver competitive offerings. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would seek comment on whether to clarify or modify the FCC’s existing rules to further promote the deployment of Broadcast Internet services.

At the Federal Communications Commission’s request, nearly 800 communications companies and trade groups signed the “Keep Americans Connected” pledge. The signatories agreed not to terminate service to any residential or small business customer, and to waive any late fees incurred, due to economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many providers went even farther, increasing speeds and capacity and giving new low-income customers free service for two months. The pledge, initially made for March 15 through May 15, was subsequently expanded to June 30. But the hardships caused by the pandemic crisis will last far longer, especially for at-risk populations. So how do we keep Americans connected after—perhaps long after—the pledge expires? The need for a longer-term solution is critical. After June 30, there are three possible paths we can take.

• One is to extend the pledge. But many communications companies, already saddled with millions of dollars in bad debt, will be unwilling or unable to do that.
• Another option is to simply let the commitments expire. Many customers will likely be disconnected in the process.
• The third and best option is federal government support, similar to what has been seen in other sectors. During the emergency, the federal government must underwrite some of the cost of Internet access, using a voucher program similar to existing Lifeline services, that would directly assist struggling consumers. That way, they can stay online without undue hardship or damage to their credit.

We served together on the Federal Communications Commission for nearly four years as commissioners: a Democrat from South Carolina and a Republican from Virginia. While we sometimes disagreed, we worked hard with our colleagues to expand broadband deployment and adoption to all Americans — especially the unserved and underserved. And the need to do so is made more acute by the current pandemic. In the midst of this scourge, the importance of broadband to help save lives, jobs and the economy has never been clearer. But too many people affected by the COVID crisis are at risk of not being able to pay for their broadband connections, thus threatening their ability to find a new job, further their children’s education, communicate with a doctor who could save their lives and maintain critical connectivity to friends and family. Thankfully, Congress can pass legislation that will help Americans stay connected with a simple program that uses competitive market forces and that will last only as long as the COVID crisis. Bipartisan and fiscally responsible legislation could be passed to include a temporary monthly broadband connectivity voucher to help for those in need.

[Mignon Clyburn served as a commissioner of the FCC from 2009 to 2018 serving as Acting Chair from May 2013 to October 2013.  Robert McDowell served as a commissioner of the FCC from 2006 to 2013 and is a partner at Cooley LLP, where he is co-leader of its global communications practice.]

If California is really the global tech capital, why is it so hard for small towns there to get the internet service they need? One answer to that question is in Gonzales, a Salinas Valley settlement of 9,000. While California’s biggest cities now struggle to provide internet access for people to work and study from home, Gonzales solved that problem a few months ago. Before the pandemic hit, the town offered broadband service, free of charge, to all its residents. The story behind this rare achievement — Gonzales is the first Central Coast city to do this — offers lessons about power and how communities can beat the odds. 

[Joe Mathews is Connecting California columnist and California editor at Zócalo Public Square, an Ideas Exchange that is a project of New America and Arizona State University.]

Change is in the air for the telecommunications sector as vendors and service providers grapple with the fallout from COVID-19. While it may be too soon to carve all of the changes into granite, it does seem as though the industry is headed towards the dawning of a new era.  Adding more capacity going forward is top of mind for most service providers. But now that service providers, businesses and other organizations know that their employees can work from home (WFH) how many will return to the office space once the coronavirus restrictions loosen up across the board? World Wide Technology's Neil Anderson, senior director of network solutions, expects a hybrid-working environment to emerge. Anderson sees a swing towards corporate-managed access points, more robust routers, and corporate provided phones as part of an increased focus on standardized home office infrastructure that can be managed by a business or service provider.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stunned Oakland schools and city leaders with a $10 million donation to a campaign aimed at providing computers and internet access to all students in the Oakland Unified School District. Dorsey's donation came after a group of city officials including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and district Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel held an online news conference announcing the effort. Schaaf posted a clip of the meeting on her Twitter page, prompting the response from Dorsey. The city, district, Oakland Public Education Fund and the nonprofit organization Tech Exchange launched the campaign to raise $12.5 million, which Schaaf has said would ensure all of the district's 50,000 students have internet access for online classes and studying.