Infrastructure

One of the provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a directive that states should take steps to reduce costs and barriers to fiber deployment.

At the Department of Commerce, we are laser-focused on building a 21^st century economy, and that starts with high-speed internet. For too long, tribal communities have been cut off from reliable, affordable internet. But that’s changing. Through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, we have awarded over $1.8 billion to more than 220 tribal entities to expand high-speed internet network deployment and digital skills training.

The US broadband industry is protesting a Federal Communications Commission plan to measure the affordability of Internet service. The FCC has been evaluating US-wide broadband deployment progress on a near-annual basis for almost three decades but hasn't factored affordability into these regular reviews.

Since my last appearance before the House Commerce Committee in May 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has made considerable progress toward the bipartisan initiatives that Congress tasked to NTIA. These include:

Buffalo (IN)-based LightStream has agreed to purchase Monon Telephone Company for an undisclosed price. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, which are expected to be final in the first half of 2024. The Monon acquisition would add to LightStream’s existing fiber network in White and Pulaski Counties. Customers added through the potential acquisition can add managed Wi-Fi service to their home or business, in addition to internet and phone services, Lightstream noted in an announcement of the deal.

Windstream Wholesale said that its 145-mile dark fiber route between Little Rock (AK) and Memphis (TN) is operational. The route extends the 310-mile “T-Rock Express,” which connects Little Rock and Tulsa (OK). That network went into operation in August 2022. This means that Windstream Wholesale now connects Tulsa to Memphis. The entire 455 fiber-mile route between Tulsa and Memphis offers 432-count high capacity fiber. Windstream Wholesale defines its Intelligent Converged Optical Network (ICON) as an open and disaggregated networking infrastructure.

'Tis the season for the House Commerce Committee to hold oversight hearings of federal telecommunications agencies. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Alan Davidson took the hot seat, answering questions on implementation of the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, spectrum policy and more. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was a recurring topic of discussion throughout the hearing, and one Assistant Secretary Davidson raised in his opening statement.

The Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law devotes $65 billion to a moon shot mission, involving all 50 states and U.S. territories, to bridge the digital divide once and for all.

In November 2023, the Empire State Development’s ConnectALL Office released the draft New York State Digital Equity Plan and sought public comment on how New York will bridge the digital divide in the state.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included $42.45 billion for broadband funding across the country, made available through the National Technology and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) sent comments to the NTIA prior to the release of the agency’s guidance for the BEAD program, urging the agency to “take a vendor and technology neutral approach to issuing grant funding,” and avoid supporting government owned networks, among other recommendations. After these recommendations were