Broadband Breakfast
Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program Shutdown Silent on Broadband Labels
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an order on winding down the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), but the FCC was silent on a key issue: What’s going to happen to the agency’s rules that legally require internet service providers (ISPs) to display broadband “nutrition” labels that promote the ACP? In late 2022, the FCC adopted label rules that require broadband ISPs to “display at the point-of-sale c
State Broadband Officials Gear Up for Map Challenges as Some Still Concerned About Resources
As US states and territories put the final touches on Initial Proposals outlining how they will utilize funding for broadband expansion through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, state broadband offices are gearing up for what is expected to be a months-long challenge process ahead, said panelists at the Digital Infrastructure Investment Summit 2023.
What Happens to BEAD Without the Affordable Connectivity Program?
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program will fail if Congress doesn’t renew the Affordable Connectivity Program that states are relying on to connect low-income Americans. National Telecommunications and Information Agency Administrator Alan Davidson explained to Congress that the BEAD Program will be
House Communications Subcommittee Witnesses Disagree on AI for Broadband Maps
Experts disagreed on the potential for artificial intelligence to aid broadband mapping efforts at a House Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing. Courtney Lang, a vice president at tech industry trade group ITI, said AI could be used to improve the quality of current broadband maps. A machine learning model could do that by using past data to identify buildings that are likely to be accurately marked as having adequate broadband, according to Lang. But Nicol Turner Lee, director of the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation, urged caution.
How the FCC’s CAF II Program Became a Money Sink
In the months before President Joe Biden signed the historic infrastructure law on November 15, 2021, Republicans and Democrats wrangled over how much to spend on broadband. Democratic lawmakers sought $100 billion, while their Republican counterparts countered with $65 billion. The final score was $65 billion, with $42.5 billion of that earmarked for infrastructure in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
NTIA OKs Virginia’s Broadband Plan, Commonwealth Launches BEAD Challenge Process
Virginia became the second state in the nation to begin its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program challenge process, kicking off the process one week after approval of its plan by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Virginia’s challenge process is being carried out through a partnership with Virginia Tech Center for Geospatial Information Technology—to provide the challenge process portal—and Ready, which is supporting Virginia’s challenge effort with its public map and speed test portal. Virginia has identified 134,221 unserved and 27,806 unders
Illinois's Director of the Office of Broadband Matt Schmit is empowering local governments and communities ahead of BEAD projects
Director of the Illinois Office of Broadband, Matt Schmit, has been working for over 20 years in economic development, and began his public interest career as a grad student at University of Minnesota. There, he spent his spare time doing consulting work with local communities to take stock of their connectivity needs and make use of federal broadband funding programs.
Co-Ops Can Look to Counties for BEAD Match Requirement
Partnering with counties is an asset for electric co-operatives seeking capital for the matching requirement in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, said an expert. Darren Farnan, chief operating officer of rural electric co-op United Fiber. He said that Missouri counties used Capital Project Fund (CPF) and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) money to help with the co-op’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) application. Counties have the same goal as co-ops to connect every address to high-speed internet, said Farnan.
After BEAD Allocation, Gigi Sohn Advocates Municipal Broadband to Close Coverage Gaps
Municipal broadband providers, which play a vital role in bridging the digital divide, should have equitable access to federal funding regardless of state regulatory roadblocks, said Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband.