Level of Government

I’d like to focus on the future of 5G as a technology that I think could revolutionize private networking in the US and allow this country to strengthen its international position in manufacturing. Apart from its benefits to consumers, I know that many policymakers are counting on the 5G revolution to create new application frameworks and new industrial possibilities. Non-phone, non-consumer cellular devices are a product category that goes from niche to viability at scale through 5G’s capacities in latency, density, multiple planes, and network edge intelligence.

With Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment picking up, we’ll need to address the longevity of the program’s funding before too long. We’re much better off addressing the issue quickly and with certainty—and there are three basic reasons why that is so. First, we must keep the millions of Americans who have signed up for the program secure in their access to broadband. Second, there are millions more who are eligible, and we need to get them signed up.

President Biden’s pick to serve as a telecommunications regulator is withdrawing her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission, following a bitter 16-month lobbying battle that blocked her appointment and opened her up to relentless personal attacks. Gigi Sohn, a longtime public interest advocate and former Democratic FCC official who was first nominated by the White House in October 2021, said her decision to withdraw follows “unrelenti

The US Department of the Treasury announced the approval of broadband projects in South Carolina under the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The state estimates it will use its funding to connect over 31,000 homes and businesses to affordable, high-speed internet—representing 23% of locations still lacking high-speed internet access..

The Texas Comptroller's Office intent to solicit an initial round of grant applications totaling $120 million for broadband infrastructure projects as part of the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) program. The BOOT program will support broadband infrastructure projects in eligible areas that bring reliable, affordable internet service to communities in need.

In a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) expressed concerns about the Federal Communications Commission's new National Broadband Map and urged the NTIA to provide states with flexibility in determining locations and areas eligible for funding in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

One of the most interesting aspects of the upcoming Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants is that the Infrastructure Ivestment and Jobs Acy requires states to solicit feedback from the public. I can’t recall that ever happening with any grants in the past—normally the rules are handed down from on-high, and that’s that. States have to solicit feedback on two grant programs. First will be each state’s share of the $42.5 billion of BEAD broadband infrastructure grants. Second is the state’s portion of $1.44 billion in digital equity grants.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is still working to provide additional guidance on the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is expected to kick off in earnest when the NTIA issues funding allocations for each state and territory on June 30. Among the unresolved questions include what flexibility there will be around the "Buy America" requirement on the BEAD program, which the NTIA recently recommitted to after President Joe Biden raised the topic in his State of the Union speech. Other remaining concerns amongst service provide

In August 2022,  we launched the first version of our Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) dashboard. The goal was to take the confusing and inaccessible federal data on program penetration, signups, and use, and create a tool useful for local governments, policymakers, and broadband advocates working to bring the benefit to as many households as possible. Now, we're back with a 2.0 version of the dashboard.

The math suggests that Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding will be depleted sometime in early 2024. That means the clock is ticking for the US government to move the needle in the coming months. "I think the biggest issue for the second half of this year is how that gets resolved," said Grant Spellmeyer, CEO of ACA Connects. He said the clock is running out when governors will be lavishing more attention on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. But few have their eye on the ball. "The silence [about the ACP funding issue] has been notable," he said.