Daily Digest 6/16/2021 (FTC Chair Lina Khan)

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Table of Contents

Digital Inclusion

Emergency Connectivity Fund Application Window Opens June 29  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission
Final Rule for the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program  |  Read below  |  Public Notice  |  National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Smith Bagley Requests Lifeline Waiver Extension  |  Read below  |  David LaFuria, Steven Chernoff  |  Analysis  |  Smith Bagley

Broadband Infrastructure

Senators Announce Major Bipartisan Legislation to Bridge Digital Divide  |  Read below  |  Sen Michael Bennet (D-CO)  |  Press Release  |  US Senate
Benton Foundation
States Organize to Facilitate and Fund Local Broadband Efforts  |  Read below  |  Ryland Sherman, Joanne Hovis, Jacob Levin  |  Analysis  |  Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Democrats Vow to Push Their Own Infrastructure Plan as Talks Drag On  |  New York Times
Democratic Leaders Start Talks on Second Infrastructure Bill  |  Wall Street Journal

Platforms/Social Media

US warns EU against anti-American tech policy  |  Financial Times

Television

Network Affiliates Push FCC to Require Emergency Alerts on Streaming Services  |  Next TV

Security

Once, Superpower Summits Were About Nukes. Now, It’s Cyberweapons.  |  New York Times

Life As We Know It Now

Nudging our way to better remote work  |  Axios

Company News

AT&T puts cable companies on notice with fiber plan  |  Read below  |  Diana Goovaerts  |  Fierce
Starlink dishes go into “thermal shutdown” once they hit 122° Fahrenheit  |  Ars Technica
Apple Struggles in Push to Make Healthcare Its Greatest Legacy  |  Wall Street Journal

Policymakers

Senate confirms Lina Khan to Federal Trade Commission  |  Read below  |  Cat Zakrzewski  |  Washington Post, Vox, Federal Trade Commission

Stories From Abroad

Ethiopia, human rights, and the internet  |  Read below  |  Witney Schneidman  |  Analysis  |  Brookings
Unvaccinated in Pakistan? You might lose your cellphone service.  |  New York Times
Today's Top Stories

Digital Inclusion

Emergency Connectivity Fund Application Window Opens June 29

Press Release  |  Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced schools and libraries can begin to file applications on June 29 for the newly established $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund. During the 45-day application filing window, which will run from June 29 to August 13, eligible schools and libraries can submit requests for funding to purchase eligible equipment and services for the 2021-22 school year. Through the program, schools and libraries can apply for financial support to purchase laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connections for off-campus use by students, school staff, and library patrons. Visit the Emergency Connectivity Fund website for information about the program , as well as instructions on how to apply.

Final Rule for the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the Final Rule for the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, which will direct $268 million for expanding broadband to eligible historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and minority-serving institutions (MSIs). The Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program was established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Grants will be distributed to help HBCUs, TCUs and MSIs purchase broadband service or equipment, hire IT personnel, operate a minority business enterprise, and facilitate educational instruction. The Final Rule describes the programmatic scope and general guidelines for the program. As directed by the Act, the Final Rule also establishes a method to determine applicant eligibility and identify which eligible recipients have the greatest unmet financial needs.

Smith Bagley Requests Lifeline Waiver Extension

David LaFuria, Steven Chernoff  |  Analysis  |  Smith Bagley

Smith Bagley, commercial mobile wireless operator, has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a six-month extension of the Lifeline rule waivers (currently scheduled to expire June 30, 2021) through December 31, 2021. Smith Bagley provides Lifeline service in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah to over 60,000 people, more than 50,000 of whom live in low-income households on the Navajo, Hopi, White Mountain Apache, Zuni, and Ramah Navajo Tribal lands. Smith Bagley argues that: 1) The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Will Continue for Many More Months and 2) COVID-19 Has Continued to Severely Impact Lifeline Operations.

Broadband Infrastructure

Senators Announce Major Bipartisan Legislation to Bridge Digital Divide

Sen Michael Bennet (D-CO)  |  Press Release  |  US Senate

Sens Michael Bennet (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced major bipartisan legislation to provide $40 billion in flexible funding to states, Tribal governments, US territories, and the District of Columbia to bridge the digital divide. The Broadband Reform and Investment to Drive Growth in the Economy (BRIDGE) Act of 2021 would provide states with the resources and flexibility to deploy “future-proof” networks able to meet communities’ needs in the 21st century, and to support local initiatives to promote broadband affordability, adoption, and inclusion, among other efforts.

The BRIDGE Act would:

  • Provide $40 billion to States, Tribal Governments, and U.S. Territories to ensure all Americans have access to affordable, high-speed broadband.
  • Prioritize unserved, underserved, and high-cost areas with investments in “future proof” networks that will meet the long-term needs of communities while supporting efforts to promote broadband affordability, adoption, and digital inclusion.
  • Encourage gigabit-level internet wherever possible while raising the minimum speeds for new broadband networks to at least 100/100 Mbps, with flexibility for areas where this is technologically or financially impracticable.
  • Emphasize affordability and inclusion by requiring new broadband networks to provide at least one low-cost option for low-income families.
  • Increase choice and competition by empowering local and state decision-making, lifting bans against municipal broadband networks, and allowing more entities to compete for funding.

States Organize to Facilitate and Fund Local Broadband Efforts

Ryland Sherman, Joanne Hovis, Jacob Levin  |  Analysis  |  Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Over the past decade, a range of states have developed and executed strategies to methodically chip away at rural broadband challenges. These states have formed broadband task forces; they have brought stakeholders together to gauge needs; they have stood up state broadband offices to put sophisticated strategies into action; and they have provided information and resources to localities, community anchors, and the public. Some states have gone one step further: They have invested substantial public dollars, through grant programs, to fund broadband deployments in areas that lack adequate service. By providing state funding to match private investment and federal grants, these states have enabled deployment in areas that cannot attract sufficient private investment. Through financial incentives and accurate data, states such as Minnesota, Maryland, and Alabama have incented the private sector to collaborate with local communities in addressing broadband deficits.

[Putting State Broadband Funds to Work: Best Practices In State Rural Broadband Grant Programs is available now from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.]

Company News

AT&T puts cable companies on notice with fiber plan

Diana Goovaerts  |  Fierce

AT&T is looking to give cable companies a run for their money after years of lax competition, with CFO Pascal Desroches expressing confidence in its ability to steal share. The company is currently aiming to double its fiber footprint to 30 million customer locations by the end of 2025; Desroches reiterated that AT&T will primarily focus on filling in coverage within and adjacent to its existing footprint. In addition to targeting consumers, the CFO said AT&T will focus on serving the needs of small businesses, which he noted are increasingly run out of people’s homes. In the consumer wireline segment, Desroches said AT&T is “creating nice momentum” in terms of fiber additions. AT&T expects fiber-related revenues to grow faster than declines in legacy voice and copper for the second half of 2021.

Policymakers

Senate confirms Lina Khan to Federal Trade Commission

Cat Zakrzewski  |  Washington Post, Vox, Federal Trade Commission

The Senate confirmed Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission, elevating one of the tech industry’s most prominent antitrust critics to the government’s top Silicon Valley watchdog. The vote was 69-28 in a Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, signaling the growing bipartisan interest in reining in large tech companies’ power. It came just days after House lawmakers from both parties unveiled bills that could force Silicon Valley companies to change their business practices and in the most severe cases, break up the companies. Later in the day, Khan was sworn in as chair of the FTC.

Khan, who gives Democrats a 3-2 majority at the FTC, will be one of the youngest commissioners in FTC history at the age of 32. She is well-known for her 2017 paper “Amazon’s antitrust paradox,” which argued that decades-old antitrust laws aren’t equipped to deal with the e-commerce giant and the unique ways it exerts its dominance. During her confirmation hearing, Khan signaled she would take a tough line on regulating tech giants and said the FTC must be "much more vigilant" when it comes to large acquisitions in digital markets. Advocates for greater enforcement of antitrust law said Khan’s confirmation signals a turning point for the agency.

Stories From Abroad

Ethiopia, human rights, and the internet

Witney Schneidman  |  Analysis  |  Brookings

No African issue has absorbed as much time in the early months of the Biden administration as has the ongoing tragedy in Ethiopia’s Tigray province. President Biden was forceful and correct in calling for an end to the “large-scale human rights abuses” occurring in Tigray. Now, the administration is stuck in the tough position of considering sanctions that would cut off funding to the country, most prominently a $500 million investment by the US Development Finance Corporation (USDFC) which enabled the Vodafone Group Plc to win a new mobile phone license issued by the Ethiopian government. This could risk further delegitimizing and destabilizing the already fragile nation.

Even though Ethiopia is the second-most populous in Africa, its 110 million people are among the most digitally isolated on the continent. In addition to driving skills development and job creation among Ethiopia’s large youth population, the internet will be a vital tool for enhancing transparency and accountability, especially as it concerns elections and human rights. The recent instances where the Ethiopian government has tried to block internet usage, not only related to the violence in Tigray but in 2020 after the killing of the activist singer Hachalu Hundessa and in 2019 following an alleged coup attempt in the Amhara region, underscore the importance of having networks not controlled by the government. It would be a mistake for the Biden administration to cancel this financing. 

[Witney Schneidman is a Nonresident Fellow of the Global Economy and Development Program and the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings.]

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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 Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.


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