The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)'s definition of reliable broadband service in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grant rules says that any grant cannot be used to overbuild a reliable broadband technology that meets or exceeds the 100/20 Mbps speed threshold of the grants. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) said that the grants can’t be used where speeds are adequate for the following technologies: (i) fiber-optic technology; (ii) Cable Modem/ Hybrid fiber-coaxial technology; (iii) digital subscriber line (DSL) technology; or (iv) terrestrial fixed wireless technology utilizing entirely licensed spectrum or using a hybrid of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. The policy behind this makes sense – the NTIA doesn’t think that valuable federal grant dollars should be used where adequate broadband technology is already in use. But this particular definition is going to cause some complications the NTIA might not have considered. Internet service providers interested in BEAD awards are now going to have to wait until the new broadband maps come out to know what this might do to their grant plans. I’m thinking that, at least in some cases, this will be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back and convinces an ISPs to walk away and not even try.

[Doug Dawson is president of CCG Consulting.]

Hundreds of thousands of Michigan households in rural and urban communities don’t have access to high-speed internet. According to federal data, the average percentage of households in the state’s 83 counties without high-speed internet access is 17.5 percent. Around 13.5 percent of those households don’t have smartphones, computers or tablets that can connect to high-speed internet. Scott Stevenson, president of the Michigan Telecommunications Association, said it often comes down to the ability of broadband providers to make a business case for network investments when talking about why some communities, whether large or small, have greater broadband access than others. “If Michigan wants to be a national leader in broadband access, it needs to make sure federal funding flows to networks that serve families and businesses and not to governments,” he said. “Michigan policymakers need to enact laws that make us the least costly state for broadband providers to invest in so our residents have the best possible access.” In more urban areas, the lack of internet access can be attributed to affordability. The population density yields infrastructure buildout, but there is a low rate of subscription due to socioeconomic inequality. In rural areas, there have been affordability issues but also a lack of population density and challenging terrain that could hinder an internet provider’s ability to increase access.