Daily Digest 9/30/2021 (Can we get a vote?)

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Table of Contents

Digital Inclusion

ACA Connects Alerts FCC to Problem in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program  |  Read below  |  Brian Hurley  |  Letter  |  ACA Connects
Free broadband service is available to many Californians. Here’s how to apply  |  Read below  |  Jon Healey  |  Los Angeles Times
New York Digital Inclusion Fund Opens Requests for Proposals  |  Read below  |  Gina Cooper Benjamin  |  National Digital Inclusion Alliance

Broadband Infrastructure

Infrastructure Bill in Peril as Democrats Strain to Unite Party  |  Wall Street Journal
Republicans at Odds Over Infrastructure Bill as Vote Approaches  |  New York Times
America’s Infrastructure and the Current Proposed Bill have been Hijacked by Big Telecom  |  Bruce Kushnick
Technology Neutrality: A Policy Failure  |  Read below  |  Doug Dawson  |  Analysis  |  CCG Consulting
SiFi to Launch Open Access Fiber Networks in 30 US Cities by the End of 2022  |  Read below  |  Press Release  |  SiFi Networks

Spectrum/Wireless

Reps Matsui and Doyle Introduce the Spectrum Innovation Act  |  Read below  |  Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA)  |  Press Release  |  House of Representatives
T-Mobile and Dish take CDMA network showdown to California Public Utilities Commission  |  Read below  |  Monica Alleven  |  Fierce
3G networks are shutting down next year. Here’s what you should know  |  Washington Post
Paul Wolfowitz: The Real Winner of the Next FCC 5G Auction? Huawei  |  Wall Street Journal
Virginia company connects mobile phones directly to satellites  |  Read below  |  Eric Berger  |  Ars Technica

Platforms/Social Media

Facebook’s latest scandal is putting the spotlight on children’s safety online  |  Washington Post
Facebook’s Documents About Instagram and Teens, Published  |  Wall Street Journal
This is Facebook’s internal research on the mental health effects of Instagram  |  Vox
YouTube to Remove Videos Containing Vaccine Misinformation  |  Wall Street Journal
Google, Battling Amazon, Tries an E-Commerce Makeover to Win Back Advertisers  |  Wall Street Journal
Google search's next phase: context is king  |  Vox
How to block Facebook from snooping on you  |  Washington Post
Geoffrey Fowler: How Big Tech monopolies interefere with your smart home  |  Washington Post
How Battleground Voters View Big Tech  |  Progressive Policy Institute

Telecom

Phone companies must now block carriers that didn’t meet FCC robocall deadline  |  Ars Technica

Privacy/Security

In US v Wilson, the Ninth Circuit Reaffirms Fourth Amendment Protection for Electronic Communications  |  Electronic Frontier Foundation
The fight to get tech giants to reveal their data is coming to a head in Congress  |  Washington Post
Federal Trade Commission Weighs New Online Privacy Rules  |  Wall Street Journal

Television

NBC demanded that YouTube TV bundle Peacock or lose access to NBC channels  |  Ars Technica

Policymakers

President Biden Hasn't Named Picks For Posts To The FCC, Frustrating Democrats  |  Read below  |  Brian Naylor  |  NPR
FCC is laser-focused on erasing the digital divide  |  Read below  |  Marguerite Reardon  |  C|Net
FCC Commissioner Simington sounds off on the future of broadband and Universal Service Fund  |  Read below  |  Diana Goovaerts  |  Fierce

International

US, Europe Team Up to Address Chip Shortage, Tech Issues  |  Wall Street Journal
CityFibre extends Bechtel partnership on heels of new funding for fiber rollout in UK  |  Fierce
‘The Big Delete:’ Inside Facebook’s crackdown in Germany  |  Associated Press
Today's Top Stories

Digital Inclusion

ACA Connects Alerts FCC to Problem in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

Brian Hurley  |  Letter  |  ACA Connects

ACA Connects alerted the Federal Communications Commission of potential misconduct among some Emergency Broadband Benefit Program providers. ACA Connects says some participating providers are performing a large and growing number of benefit transfers without the household’s apparent knowledge or intent. "The best explanation for this trend is that the providers in question are attempting to game the reimbursement process by adding households shortly before the 'snapshot date.' When these providers are successful, they receive the full benefit for that month, while the ACA Connects member or other provider that had been serving the household for virtually the entire month loses any right to claim any reimbursement," ACA Connects told the FCC.

ACA Connects is asking the FCC to investigate this matter. Moreover, ACA Connects suggests that the FCC consider modifications to the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program including 1) promoting a more seamless “handoff” from one provider to another when a benefit transfer occurs and 2) reconsider denying reimbursements for months of service when a customer de-enrolls before end of the month.

Free broadband service is available to many Californians. Here’s how to apply

Jon Healey  |  Los Angeles Times

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted just how important it is to have a broadband internet connection at home — for remote school or work, virtual doctor’s exams and meetings and many other pursuits. But broadband can be costly, so the federal government offered new subsidies to help low-income households afford a high-speed line and a device with which to use it. Dozens of internet service providers all across California have signed up for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which covers up to $50 of the monthly cost of an internet connection (or up to $75 on Tribal lands). The EBB also authorizes a one-time $100 discount on a computer or other device. According to Sunne Wright McPeak, Chief Executive of the California Emerging Technology Fund, the bulk of the Californians who have signed up appear to be people who already had broadband through the internet service providers’ discount programs for low-income residents — not people with no access to the internet. The problem, McPeak said, is that eligible Californians don’t know about the program, “and nobody is telling them.” John Horrigan, a senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said a new survey of low-and lower-moderate-income households found that only 25 percent had heard of the EBB. One reason, he said, is that the government provided no funding to publicize the program and reach out to prospective users. If you would like a broadband connection but can’t afford one, this is a guide on how to apply for the EBB.

New York Digital Inclusion Fund Opens Requests for Proposals

Gina Cooper Benjamin  |  National Digital Inclusion Alliance

The New York Digital Inclusion Fund launched with exciting new grant opportunities for New York-based digital inclusion work. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) is proud to partner with Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt and managed by NDIA, on the launch of the New York Digital Inclusion Fund and to provide guidance and technical expertise to grantees as they carry out their digital inclusion activities to advance digital equity in their communities and regions. The Fund creates opportunities in two categories – Digital Inclusion Coalition Planning Grants and Digital Inclusion Innovation Grants; the first will support regional digital inclusion coalition building and the second will support innovative partnerships to increase the number of people connected to broadband and equipped with devices. The Fund will also provide digital literacy resources and technical support across communities throughout New York state. The combination of these two grants will help organizations build innovative partnership models that accelerate digital inclusion across New York. Projects can be based on a variety of digital inclusion efforts, including work on affordable, high-speed internet, devices, and digital skills. NDIA is accepting proposals for both the Coalition Planning Grants and the Digital Inclusion Innovation grants through October 15, 2021. Visit the website for more information on the grants.

Broadband Infrastructure

Technology Neutrality: A Policy Failure

Doug Dawson  |  Analysis  |  CCG Consulting

Christopher Ali, a professor at the University of Virginia, says in his upcoming book Farm Fresh Broadband that technology neutrality is one of the biggest policy failures of our time. Technology neutrality is a code word for allowing all internet service providers (ISPs) and technologies to be eligible for grant funding. It has been argued, mostly by ISPs that use slower technologies, that the Federal Communications Commission should not be in the game of picking winners and losers. As the Senate was crafting legislation for the major infrastructure program, the original draft language included a requirement that any technologies built with the money should be able to immediately deliver speeds of 100/100 Mbps. That requirement would have locked out fixed wireless and cable companies from the funding – and likely also satellite companies. In backroom wrangling (meaning pressure from the big ISPs), the final legislation lowered that threshold to 100/20 Mbps. The reason that Ali says that this is a policy failure is that the broadband policymakers are refusing to acknowledge the well-known fact that the need for broadband speeds continues to increase year after year. We just went through a miserable pandemic year where millions of homes struggled with inadequate upload broadband speeds, and yet the technology neutrality canard was rolled out yet again to justify building technologies that will be inadequate almost as soon as they are built. I would argue that the FCC has an obligation to choose technology winners and losers and shouldn’t waste federal broadband money on technologies that have no long-term legs. The decision by regulators and legislators to allow grant funding for slower technology means that the speed that current ISPs can deliver is being given priority over the speed people need.

[Doug Dawson is the President of CCG Consulting.]

SiFi to Launch Open Access Fiber Networks in 30 US Cities by the End of 2022

Press Release  |  SiFi Networks

SiFi Networks CEO Ben Bawtree-Jobson announced his company’s aggressive plans to launch Open Access FiberCities in 30 US communities by the end of 2022. SiFi will be committing $2 billion from private investors and will begin deploying fiber in 30 cities by the end of next year at no cost to taxpayers, and is working actively with nearly 100 cities total. To help close the digital divide, SiFi Networks will ramp up FiberCity Aid, a groundbreaking digital inclusion program that subsidizes gigabit-speed broadband for low-income residents in SiFi FiberCities. Because the company uses Open Access network architecture, multiple internet service providers (ISPs) will share space on SiFi’s fiber infrastructure. The model instantly infuses the market with competition, giving communities a much-needed choice against existing cable monopolies and duopolies whose networks have fallen far behind new technologies and skyrocketing consumer demand. In addition to gigabit-speed internet, SiFi’s FiberCities will run Smart City applications to create municipal efficiencies like public WiFi, traffic management, public safety enhancements, more efficient street lighting, and better access to government services.

Spectrum/Wireless

Reps Matsui and Doyle Introduce the Spectrum Innovation Act

Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA)  |  Press Release  |  House of Representatives

Reps Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Mike Doyle (D-PA) introduced the Spectrum Innovation Act to free up new airwaves for wireless broadband use by the public. The Spectrum Innovation Act would ensure faster speeds and more responsive networks for consumers. In addition to up to 200 megahertz of spectrum auctioned for mobile broadband, this bill would help usher in new, innovative wireless uses through opportunistic and other flexible spectrum uses. “For the United States to remain the pacesetter in wireless broadband, we must continue to ensure innovators have a reliable spectrum pipeline,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “We stand at a pivotal moment in the development and deployment of next generation networks; the Spectrum Innovation Act will unleash the economic potential of this valuable mid-band spectrum and give us the tools necessary to meet the communications challenges of tomorrow.” Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute stated in support of the bill, "The Spectrum Innovation Act of 2021 will greatly benefit consumers by making a very large band of prime spectrum available to help fuel the world’s most robust 5G wireless ecosystem. We commend Chairman Doyle and Representative Matsui for taking a holistic approach that recognizes the value of making spectrum available both by auction and through shared use by smaller broadband providers, schools, critical infrastructure and literally thousands of individual enterprises on a local basis."

T-Mobile and Dish take CDMA network showdown to California Public Utilities Commission

Monica Alleven  |  Fierce

To get an idea of how the Dish/T-Mobile case went in front of the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), this one bit of testimony might shed some light: They literally started to shut off the lights in the building before all was said and done. The purpose of the hearing was to determine if the CPUC should penalize T-Mobile for lying to the Commission about its obligations in the merger with Sprint. The CPUC approved the transaction in April 2020 with conditions. Prior to the approval, T-Mobile had pledged that no former Sprint customer would suffer any service degradation as a result of the merger. Dish points out that Boost Mobile customers are often low-income, rural and transient customers who are difficult to get ahold of because they don’t use traditional snail mail addresses. Plus, Dish was under the impression they had more time to complete the transition. A good share of questioning focused on what would happen “within three years of the merger’s closing,” and where exactly the "three years" applied. T-Mobile said it was to have three years to complete its work, but it was never under an obligation to maintain the CDMA network for three years "no matter what." T-Mobile has a deadline of October 15 to submit a post-hearing brief, and Dish was given a deadline of October 29 to submit its reply. Based on the timeline that T-Mobile is operating under, Dish has about 95 days to convert Boost customers, or they’ll be without service on January 1, 2022.

Virginia company connects mobile phones directly to satellites

Eric Berger  |  Ars Technica

Space startup Lynk says it has successfully demonstrated the ability to use ordinary, unmodified mobile telephones to connect to satellite Internet services. The Virginia-based company sent its "Shannon" satellite into orbit as part of a rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket. After some initial tests, the company said "hundreds" of mobile phones in the United States, United Kingdom, and the Bahamas were able to connect with the satellite as it passed overhead, as if it were a virtual cell phone tower in space. Satellite Internet is all the rage in the space and telecommunications industry, with companies such as SpaceX, OneWeb, Amazon, Telesat, and more launching or planning large constellations of satellites to deliver broadband Internet. But all of these services will require a terminal of sorts, perhaps akin to a DirecTV satellite dish, to send and receive signals to low Earth orbit. The difference with Lynk, according to Co-Founder and CEO Charles Miller, is that with its satellite there is no terminal needed, nor even software to download. The service is intended to serve remote areas where a customer's mobile provider, such as T-Mobile or Verizon in the US, does not have coverage. With limited bandwidth, the service will initially only offer text messages. Eventually, there will be enough satellites to serve broadband Internet, Miller said.

Policymakers

President Biden Hasn't Named Picks For Posts To The FCC, Frustrating Democrats

Brian Naylor  |  NPR

President Biden has yet to nominate anyone to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Communications Commission. What's more, the term of current Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is set to expire when Congress adjourns at the end of 2021. It adds up to a possible Republican majority on the FCC under a Democratic administration, which could stymie the party's efforts on a number of policies including net neutrality standards. Currently, the FCCis deadlocked with two Democratic commissioners, Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, and two Republicans, Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington. Biden has the opportunity to nominate two people to the five-member commission: one for the vacant seat and one either to replace Rosenworcel or renew her term. But the White House hasn't put forward any names. "It's executive branch malpractice coming from an administration that has thus far been distinguished by extraordinary competence," says Andrew Jay Schwartzman, senior counselor at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, which advocates for broadband access. More than two dozen senators have sent a letter to the White House urging Biden to nominate Rosenworcel to another term, arguing she would face few obstacles to confirmation since the Senate has approved her earlier. For Democrats, the top priority for the FCC is returning to the net neutrality standards set during the Obama administration and reversed under the Trump-era FCC.

FCC is laser-focused on erasing the digital divide

Marguerite Reardon  |  C|Net

For Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the moment is now to get the US on the right track toward ending the digital divide. That's what she's been trying to do with an influx of federal funding aimed at getting Americans connected to the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis, which has hit low-income Americans and people of color especially hard, has brought attention to the digital divide and has spurred Congress to act, Rosenworcel said. The $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending package that the House of Representatives is expected to vote on this week will put $65 billion toward broadband. It will fund the deployment of broadband where it doesn't yet exist, and where broadband is available the funding will create permanent subsidy programs to help low-income Americans afford service. Additionally, the $50 monthly Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) subsidy program has helped more than 6 million Americans fund their internet access since mid-May 2021. According to a study by the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute, the US has the highest average monthly internet prices when compared to other countries in North America, Europe and Asia. "What's become clear is that affordability is a really big issue in the digital divide," Rosenworcel said. "And we're going to need programs like the EBB to help solve it."

FCC Commissioner Simington sounds off on the future of broadband and Universal Service Fund

Diana Goovaerts  |  Fierce

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington argued wireline technology might not be the best broadband solution for every use case. Commissioner Simington discussed the question of whether fiber should be rolled out to every American, explaining some have argued that the US should pursue universal fiber deployments in the same way the country went about electrification. The commissioner stated “obviously fiber is a very robust technology” but it’s not necessarily one that everyone wants or needs. He pointed out approximately 20 percent of all broadband users in the country are “device-only” consumers, meaning the only use they’d have for fiber would be to connect a hotspot device, and decentralized business operations that instead might prioritize options that can provide connectivity across a wide area. “I think we can pushback on fiber to the home universally at least in noting that there are edge cases and adoption issues there, and that some degree of wireless is going to have to be part of the broadband future,” he said. Commissioner Simington also addressed potential options to reform the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF), noting one approach would be to “say that broadband is essentially the equivalent of telephone service back in the day and therefore we’re going to put it everyone’s broadband bill.” While he acknowledged this path would raise questions around differential payments for different kinds of users, “it would smooth things out somewhat” and broaden the base of USF contributors substantially.

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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 Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.


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