Infrastructure

Applications are open for the Main Connectivity Authority's "Connect the Ready Program." The competitive grants program will allocate $70 million to public & private partners such as governmental entities, broadband utility districts, and internet service providers (ISP). This initiative will support partners’ efforts to proactively and collaboratively design, fund, and build broadband infrastructure projects in eligible areas.

We’ve all been told to put more fiber in our diets. But we also know what happens with too much fiber in your diet. It isn’t pretty. The same is true for broadband policy. As US policymakers at every level of government look to spend tens of billions of dollars to connect Americans to high-speed internet, aka broadband, they are far too focused on using a single technology to get the job done: fiber optic cable.

Frontier is launching its first-ever social impact program, Broadband for Good. The new program will use Frontier’s fiber technology to advance digital inclusion and strengthen the communities it serves.  Frontier is Building Gigabit America, the digital infrastructure that enables high-speed, reliable connectivity.

Los Altos Hills Community Fiber (LAHCF) is a cooperative (co-op) broadband provider that gives multi-gigabit fiber Internet to dozens of homes and has a plan to serve hundreds more. Town residents were able to form the provider with the help of Next Level Networks, which isn't a traditional consumer broadband provider but a company that builds and manages networks for local groups. This was done to overcome frustrations residents have been having with providers like Comcast.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) conducted an annual broadband survey in 2021. The survey asked folks who didn’t have home broadband what they would be willing to pay, with the question, “At what monthly price, if any, would your household buy home Internet service?” The purpose of the survey was to understand the kind of price points that might be needed to get broadband to more of these households. Three-quarters of respondents said they would only get broadband if it was free. I find this result to be troubling for several reasons:

Frontier revealed it has built 500,000 fiber locations in Connecticut and is aiming to add another 300,000 by the end of 2025. The operator is planning to invest $800 million to cover 800,000 locations in the state. That figure is consistent with previous statements from the company that its cost per passing falls between $900 and $1,000. Frontier has already covered portions of more than 70 towns across Connecticut, including Hartford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, West Hartford, North Haven, Glastonbury, Union, and Stafford Springs.

On the heels of Gov Gavin Newsom (D-CA)’s $6.5 billion investment to expand broadband infrastructure and enhance internet access for unserved and underserved communities, the Governor announces construction began in rural San Diego County (CA) on the first leg of the 10,000-mile broadband network aimed at bringing high-speed internet services to all Californians. Construction began October 13 on State Route 67 near Poway in San Diego County.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Ohio received its first planning grants for deploying high-speed Internet networks and developing digital skills training programs under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All initiative.

DigitalBridge is an investment company, whose US assets include about 368,000 miles of fiber, about 250,000 macro cell sites and about 48,000 small cells. Globally, it owns nearly 450 data centers. It owns 29 companies around the world with a total of about 29,000 employees. CEO Marc Ganzi recently commented on the telecommunications labor shortage. “Our biggest problem, I can't get people back to work,” Ganzi said. “I can't get people to micro-trench ditches. I can't get people to climb poles. I can't get people to build cell towers fast enough. We have a massive labor shortage issue.

The Biden-Harris Action Plan for Accelerating Infrastructure Projects describes federal actions to address these challenges accelerate the planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects across all sectors, including transportation, broadband, resiliency, and others. Organized by the themes of On Time, On Task and On Budget, the actions support more efficient processes, collaboration, sharing of best practices, targeted support to new recipients of federal funding, and focused efforts to root out the causes of delays and overruns.