What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
The U.S.’s $42.5 Billion High-Speed Internet Plan Hits a Snag: A Worker Shortage
The federal government is missing a crucial link in its plan to greatly expand access to high-speed internet service in rural America: enough workers to get the job done. Fiber splicers—the workers who install, maintain and repair wired broadband networks—are in short supply. “We’re running around like chickens with our heads cut off,” says Jason Jolly, chief executive of Fiberscope LLC, a Sullivan (MO)-based company that does contracted fiber-splicing work.
Department of Defense may be causing the delay in FCC spectrum auction authority
Everybody in the wireless ecosystem is clamoring for Congress to reinstate the spectrum auction authority of the Federal Communications Commission. One former deputy at the FCC speculates that the delay may be related to the Department of Defense (DoD) wanting to wait for a spectrum report that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is working on. NTIA is doing an assessment of the use of the 3.1-3.45 GHz spectrum.
Will BEAD fund RDOF overbuilds? It’s complicated
Lingering concerns about whether money from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program will be used to fund overbuilds of other government-subsidized projects flared up again recently. Concerns seemed to center on what BEAD will mean for those receiving funding from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program.
The FirstNet Authority will post a detailed agenda for the Combined Board and Board Committees Meeting on FirstNet.gov prior to the meeting. The agenda topics are subject to change. Please note that the subjects discussed by the Board and Board Committees may involve commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, or other legal matters affecting the FirstNet Authority. As such, the Board may, by majority vote, close the meeting only for the time necessary to preserve the confidentiality of such information.
Recapping the NTCA 2023 Legislative & Policy Conference
Nearly 500 NTCA members gathered in Washington (DC) where NTCA members showcased the successes they have had in their local communities while also highlighting the need for continued support from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission, and other federal agencies. “There’s never been a better time to work in rural broadband,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. Attendees also heard from Sen.
House Hearing Examines Streamlining Broadband Permitting
What challenges exist at the federal, state, and local levels that delay or burden broadband deployment? How can Congress help expedite or streamline the process for broadband deployment? Is attaching telecommunications equipment on municipally or cooperatively-owned poles more difficult or expensive than on other poles?
Promise, Perils and the Big Switch Ahead for AI and BEAD
Today, government officials have new strategic decisions to make just as momentous as the ones the intersection of policy and technology dumped in our Federal Communications Commission laps back in the early 1990’s. As we look out on a future in which more and more of our economic and civic activity involves online communications, we should not forget there is an urgent and critical task: eliminating the digital divide.
This unique event brings together voices from across the rural ecosystem — communications, hospitals, libraries, schools, agriculture and more — to showcase the amazing things that can happen when community leaders work together to leverage broadband-enabled applications in creative ways.