Monday, July 26, 2021
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Broadband in the Black Rural South
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Digital Divide
President Joe Biden wants to provide millions of Americans with high-speed internet. It won’t be easy.
Even before the pandemic, which largely confined most Americans to their homes for months, communities that lacked reliable high-speed internet began falling behind those that were well-connected. The pandemic exacerbated the nation’s "digital divide" – and those who suffered most were in low-income areas. Washington and some internet providers are trying to solve the problem by expanding access, but experts and lawmakers haven't settled on what specifically needs to be done, even as President Joe Biden and Republican lawmakers want to invest billions into a broadband-expansion effort. In America's 100 counties with the highest median income, about 95% of households have broadband access on average – while that number is 63% in the 100 poorest counties, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission, which tracks internet availability nationally. In terms of actual usage, Microsoft data paints an even bleaker picture. About 12% of those poorest counties’ residents use broadband on average, compared with 65% in America's wealthiest counties. A Pew study found 43% of adults in the USA earning less than $30,000 a year lack broadband compared with just 7% for those making $100,000 or more.
The mission to plug more people into high-speed networks is a question of what strategy is best – not to mention a big federal investment. There's a question over whether to prioritize areas of the country, mostly rural, where the physical infrastructure to support broadband hasn’t been built, or whether to focus first on urban and suburban areas where the larger problem is affordability. Then there's the question of how best to bring down the cost of high-speed internet: continue long-term with federal subsidies for low-income households or push for more competition.
New research from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Expanding Broadband in the Black Rural South, highlights the importance of addressing the digital divide—and doing it as soon as possible. The Joint Center examined the overlooked and unique plight of Black residents in rural counties with populations that are at least 35 percent Black (152 counties in 10 Southern states), which the Joint Center refers to as the “Black Rural South.” As Dr. Dominique Harrison, the Joint Center's technology policy director, writes, "More than almost any other group, Black communities in the Rural South lack affordable, highspeed, quality broadband—38 percent of African Americans there report they do not have access to home internet. This is driven by both the lack of affordability and availability of broadband services. Expanding broadband could help reduce the deep racial and economic inequalities in education, jobs, and health care in the region."
According to Federal Communications Commission data, which generally overstates broadband's reach, providers have failed to deploy broadband infrastructure offering service at speeds of at least 25/3 megabits per second to a greater share of residents in the Black Rural South than other regions. The deployment of faster, quality broadband infrastructure in concentrated higher-income areas, also known as “digital redlining," facilitates economic and racial disparities. The timing of the Joint Center's research—and its ten recommendations to ensure high-speed, quality broadband for the Black Rural South—should aid the deliberations in Congress about making broadband more available and affordable throughout the US. On July 28, Dr. Harrison will moderate an all-star panel discussing the challenges and solutions to expanding broadband in the Black Rural South.
Gayle Manchin, the wife of Sen Joe Manchin (D-WV) and federal co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, is planning to make broadband connectivity a central pillar of her remit and is already talking to many of the region’s governors about working as a bloc. “I would like to see the 13 governors that are a part of this region actually come together and work on this as a unit,” said Manchin. “There’s power in numbers.” She suggested these 13 governors would have leverage if they went right to cable providers to ask for better connectivity. Solutions to the region’s digital gap could include establishing cooperatives or having companies join forces, she added, noting she’s “begging” governors to come to an upcoming annual meeting in order to strategize on this. Her commission staff is also looking at holding regional meetings on issues including broadband. The region will need to effectively use the infusion of money from the pandemic relief bills, as well as, potentially, the infrastructure package that Joe Manchin is trying to negotiate, she said. But “the opportunity, I think, has never been better.”
Sen Chris Coons (D-DE), Reps Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), along with Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the bipartisan Rebuilding Economies and Creating Opportunities for More People Everywhere to Excel Act (RECOMPETE Act). The RECOMPETE Act (S.2464) would establish a new federal grant program at the Economic Development Agency (EDA) that would empower persistently distressed communities to develop, implement, and carry out 10-year economic development strategies and create jobs. The RECOMPETE Act would provide eligible local labor markets, local communities, and Tribal governments with flexible 10-year RECOMPETE Grants from the EDA in an effort to meet a variety of local economic development needs. Grants could be used for infrastructure investments, brownfield redevelopment, workforce development, small business assistance, resources to connect residents to opportunities, and other investments to help communities rebuild. The RECOMPETE Act is endorsed by the National League of Cities, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Third Way, the Progressive Policy Institute, and the Federal Issues Committee of the Washington State Association of Counties.
Negotiators of the Senate infrastructure bill have agreed to focus its broadband subsidies on areas lacking basic internet, easing concerns of cable providers such as Comcast and Charter Communications that they’d face widespread taxpayer-funded competition by faster services. The White House initially sought $100 billion to spread broadband to all US households, a figure that was later pared to $65 billion. Earlier proposals called for subsidies flowing to areas lacking the fastest speeds, a cohort that includes an estimated two-thirds of US households. They include many with cable service that relies on copper lines rather than faster fiber optic. The group of about a dozen senators decided that funding should go first to areas that lack service of 25 megabits per second for downloads, and 3 megabits per second for uploads; those speeds meet the current US benchmark for broadband. Under the draft Senate agreement, subsidies could go to areas where service exceeds the 25/3 benchmark after unserved areas are funded.
Broadband billing struggles are a symptom of a larger issue. Policy experts point to a lack of competition among broadband providers, which has led to higher prices, lower quality and unequal access. President Biden issued an executive order that calls for new protections for broadband subscribers. Among the proposals directed at the Federal Communications Commission are a standardized “nutrition label” format for explaining speeds and fees, a limit on early-termination fees and a restriction on carrier-landlord deals that leave tenants with one option. Unfortunately, there is no proposed curb on the popular “promotional pricing” technique that carriers use to lure many of us in. Still, encouraging increased market competition could mean lower prices overall. The companies deny their bills are opaque. One effective solution, says Yosef Getachew, media and democracy director at Common Cause, is municipal networks—publicly owned fiber-optic networks deployed by local governments. Additional tips: Call your broadband provider and ask for a more affordable rate; downgrade your speeds; buy your own modem and router; switch providers, if you can; beware of promotional pricing; file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
The Federal Communications Commission made additional mid-band spectrum available for 5G service in the United States. Specifically, the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced the grant of 5,676 licenses in the 3.7 GHz service (3.7 to 3.98 GHz, also referred to as the C-band) following completion of Auction 107 earlier in 2021. The action keeps the transition of this band to flexible use on track, paving the way for carriers to use this spectrum to provide 5G and other advanced wireless services.
SpaceX can keep launching broadband satellites despite a lawsuit filed by Viasat, a federal appeals court ruled June 20. Viasat sued the Federal Communications Commission in May 2021 and asked judges for a stay that would halt SpaceX's ongoing launches of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that power Starlink Internet service. To get a stay, Viasat had to show that it is likely to win its lawsuit alleging that the FCC improperly approved the satellite launches. A three-judge panel at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was not persuaded, saying in a short order that "Viasat has not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review." Viasat is worried that its slower Internet service delivered from geostationary satellites will lose customers once Starlink is out of beta and more widely available, and claimed that the "environmentally irresponsible" nature of SpaceX's constellation of satellites was not fully investigated by the FCC. The FCC responded by saying that halting the satellite launches would create harm "to SpaceX and to the public interest in advancing broadband satellite service to remote or underserved areas of the United States." Dish Network is also fighting SpaceX's FCC approval, and Dish's case was consolidated with Viasat's appeal.
Though about 12 million students in the United States still lack any internet access at all—a problem cast into relief during the pandemic—there is good news: That number is steadily shrinking. Yet, even as the number of unconnected students declines, there is another group that, for years, has made virtually no headway. That is students who are “under-connected.” Students and families who are considered under-connected are those who have internet access and devices in their home, but not at a caliber or quality sufficient for smooth and consistent online learning. “There are still a proportion of families who have no internet access, and that’s massively important,” says Vikki Katz, associate professor in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. “But there are many, many, many more kids who, if we’re just focused on ‘access,’ we’re ignoring. We’re going to miss this huge number—millions—of families.” Katz believes the term “digital divide” does a disservice to many under-connected families. “The phrase ‘digital divide’ frames this as binary—there is no access or there’s all access,” says Katz. “This study gives a powerful argument for why we need to reframe the definition of ‘access.’”
In schools with 1-to-1 device programs, students have access to a wider and deeper range of learning resources. Around the nation, virtual learning needs spurred rapid adoption of 1-to-1 policies across K-12 education. While the final numbers on device adoption aren’t in yet, “There’s clearly been a huge effort to secure more devices,” says Keith Krueger, CEO of the nonprofit Consortium for School Networking. Going forward, educators say, this broad availability of computers will change the way teachers interact with students, and it will change how kids learn.
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau announces the counties in which conditional forbearance from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice service applies, pursuant to the Commission’s 2016 Lifeline Order. This forbearance applies only to the Lifeline voice obligation of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are designated for purposes of receiving both high-cost and Lifeline support, and not to Lifeline-only ETCs. The Bureau identifies the counties in which certain competitive conditions are met. In particular, the FCC grants forbearance from high-cost/Lifeline ETCs’ obligation to offer and advertise Lifeline voice service in counties where 51 percent of Lifeline subscribers in the county are obtaining broadband Internet access service, there are at least three other providers of Lifeline broadband Internet access service that each serve at least five percent of Lifeline subscribers in that county, and the ETC does not receive federal high-cost universal service support. The FCC's conditional forbearance from high-cost/Lifeline ETCs’ Lifeline voice obligation will be effective on September 21, 2021.
Policymakers
FCC Re-Establishes the Technological Advisory Council and Solicits Nominations for Membership
The Federal Communications Commission is re-establishing the Technological Advisory Council on or before August 20, 2021 for a period of two years, with an expected first meeting in October of 2021.The FCC seeks nominations for membership and a chairperson. The TAC provides technical advice to the Commission and makes recommendations on the issues and questions presented to it. Among other issues, Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will ask the TAC to start looking beyond 5G and conceptualize 6G, to help set the stage for U.S. leadership. In addition, she will ask TAC to study advanced spectrum sharing techniques, implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the utilization and administration of spectrum, and other emerging technologies. In seeking nominations for the TAC, Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel will seek to diversify the group’s membership. Nominations for membership must be submitted to the FCC no later than August 20, 2021.
Stories From Abroad
Fibre to the countryside: A comparison of public and community initiatives tackling the rural digital divide in the UK
Although digitisation offers numerous opportunities for rural areas, they still lag behind cities in terms of access and adoption of Internet-based services. This divide is the result of multiple market failures in both the demand and supply of broadband access, which have been addressed through public, private and community-led initiatives. Based on interviews and ethnographic analysis, this paper explores how community networks and public-private partnerships have contributed to promoting the delivery and adoption of superfast broadband across the rural UK. The case study analysis compares the outcomes of each model, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Although expanding the coverage of superfast broadband across the county, the public-private partnership did not solve the access divide afflicting the hardest-to-reach areas. Some of the latter were served by the community network, which relied on volunteers and demand aggregation to reduce the cost of fibre rollout. The scalability of this approach, however, has yet to be demonstrated. On the demand side, both initiatives achieved a high take-up proving that the rural ‘adoption’ divide has decreased over the years. Nevertheless, more needs to be done to ensure that rural communities and businesses are able to leverage the benefits deriving from superfast broadband.
The demand for faster broadband access is a key driver of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) adoption and fixed broadband competition, and therefore of co-investment. This paper assesses the effects on FTTH adoption and competition of FTTH co-investment. Co-investment had indeed been endorsed in the European Electronic Communication Code as a relevant option for conciliating investment and competition. This paper contributes to evaluating this policy option by providing detailed empirical estimates of the influence of co-investment on FTTH adoption and competition in the French fixed broadband market. We combine several French municipality level datasets and use a two-stage control-function approach to correct for the endogeneity of investor entry. We show that the presence of co-investment leads to an increase of 7.9% in FTTH adoption in 2018. Co-investment offers also enhance competition. Co-investment by competitors causes a decrease in Orange, French incumbent operator, total retail broadband market penetration by 5.9% whereas no co-investment by competitors lets Orange’s total retail broadband market penetration unchanged. Our findings confirm that co-investment supports the policy objectives of adoption and competition and should be supported by regulation.
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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