The NTIA Reauthorization Act of 2023 (H.R. 4510) would authorize the appropriation of $62 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to carry out its operations. The bill would codify some existing responsibilities and programs of the NTIA, such as the Office of Public Safety Communications and the Office of International Affairs. H.R. 4510 also would require the NTIA to carry out other responsibilities including a cybersecurity literacy campaign and studying the cybersecurity of mobile service networks. In addition, the bill would require NTIA and the Federal Communications Commission to publish certain information if the FCC proposes actions or issues final rules about the reallocation of radio spectrum that could affect how the federal government uses that spectrum. H.R. 4510 would establish two interagency groups related to spectrum policy in the federal government. Finally, the bill would require the NTIA and several other federal agencies, including the FCC and Department of Agriculture (USDA), to establish a national strategy to close the digital divide. CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4510 would cost $129 million over 2024-2028. The bill would authorize the appropriation of $62 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 for the administration of the NTIA. The Congress provided $62 million for the NTIA in 2023. Based on the historical spending patterns for those activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $124 million over the 2024-2028 period. Using information from the agency, CBO expects that the NTIA would require more than $62 million each of those two years to maintain its current operations and fully implement the additional responsibilities in the bill.

In October 2023, the Biden Administration called on the Federal Communications Commission to implement provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The FCC will vote on Nov 15 on new rules; I oppose the plan for several reasons:

• President Biden’s plan hands the Administrative State effective control of all Internet services and infrastructure in the country.
• President Biden’s plan sweeps entire industries within the FCC’s jurisdiction for the first time in the agency’s 90-year history.
• President Biden’s plan allows the FCC to impose unfunded build mandates on ISPs and unlimited monetary fines on every covered entity.
• President Biden’s plan includes price controls.
• President Biden’s plan adopts an expansive and disfavored theory of liability that Congress neither directed nor authorized the FCC to adopt.

One of Consolidated Communications’ institutional investors is encouraging other shareholders not to vote in favor of the proposed Consolidated sale to Searchlight Capital Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. The investor, Wildcat Capital Management, owns about 3 million shares of Consolidated stock, or between 2 and 3 percent of the company. That makes Wildcat the fifth largest independent stockholder, according to Wildcat. In an open letter to the Consolidated board of directors, Wildcat argued that Consolidated is worth substantially more than the $3.1 billion that the potential acquirers have offered to pay. According to Wildcat, Consolidated is worth more like $4 billion.

Altafiber, formerly known as Cincinnati Bell, has been busy in 2023 with its fiber buildout—both within its incumbent territory and in expansion markets. Outside its footprint, the operator plans to reach 400,000 locations with fiber across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Mark Fahner, altafiber’s VP of corporate development, didn’t provide a timeline for the 400,000 out-of-footprint target, just noting altafiber will reach that goal “over the course of our business plan.” As for which markets it’s eyeing, he said the company is looking at “a mix” of rural and suburban communities. “It’s really opportunistic as much as anything, where you know the environment’s right and we like to build tight relationships with the communities,” he said. Many (but not all) of those relationships are public-private partnerships.