In spite of all the public broadband haters, municipalities will be allowed to vie for money from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Whether they'll win BEAD grants or even bother trying, however, is still anyone's guess. Public networks have seen opposition from incumbent providers and political adversaries. According to Broadband Now, 16 states have legislation that either restricts municipal broadband or bars it entirely. While the BEAD program requires states to allow local governments and utilities to apply for grants, that doesn’t mean they will actually win any BEAD money, American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB) Executive Director Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] told Fierce Telecom. Although state officials have encouraged municipalities to apply for BEAD funds, restrictions could still get in the way. Sohn said even though municipalities may be welcome to apply, there likely won’t be a lot winning BEAD grants. That's in part because many public networks are in in suburbs or small cities that are already considered served with internet, and the BEAD program is targeted at underserved and unserved locations.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has proven to be a digital lifeline for its 23 million beneficiaries. However, although lawmakers have known for over a year that the fund would be bankrupt by this spring, GOP congressional leaders have not budged on even bipartisan attempts to save the ACP, prompting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to announce in January the wind down the popular program. It’s a major setback for the “Internet for All” effort, especially in light of a recent FCC survey that found 29 percent of ACP beneficiaries would be left without any home internet service whatsoever without the benefit. One city that’s well prepared to deal with the demise of the ACP is Chattanooga (TN). Thanks to the foresight of the city’s electric utility, EPB, Chattanooga built a citywide fiber-to-the-home network over a decade ago. The municipally financed project came with a $220 million price tag, but has reaped a $2.7 billion return on investment for the city over its first ten years of operation. When the COVID pandemic hit and students needed internet in order to learn, the city started the HCS EdConnect program, which provides free fiber service to all households with students on free and reduced lunch. The bottom-up, community-centered approach taken Chattanooga and other cities with municipal broadband allows cities and towns to do something the private monopoly providers won’t: treat high-speed internet access more like a utility that seeds transformative economic development, rather than a profit-maximizing business venture primarily concerned with lining shareholder pockets.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called on the FCC to move ahead with plans to make targeted investments in the deployment of wireless broadband services in rural communities. The proposed rules shared with her fellow Commissioners would, if adopted by a vote of the full Commission, relaunch the 5G Fund for Rural America. The FCC’s new and improved broadband coverage map, which the 5G Fund will use, shows that over 14 million homes and businesses lack mobile 5G coverage. The 5G Fund Phase I multi-round reverse auction would distribute up to $9 billion to bring voice and 5G mobile broadband service to rural areas of the country unlikely to otherwise see unsubsidized deployment of 5G-capable networks. Additionally, to promote the deployment of Open Radio Access Network technology (Open RAN) and its benefits for competition, national security, and supply chain reliability, the 5G Fund would include up to $900 million in incentives for incorporating Open RAN in 5G Fund-supported networks. The auctions will be based on the mobile coverage data obtained in the Broadband Data Collection and reflected on the FCC’s National Broadband Map. To ensure that the Phase I auction reflects the most accurate data possible regarding areas in need of 5G service, parties are encouraged to promptly file challenges through the Broadband Data Collection mechanism where appropriate.

CoBank's report reviews why the wireless and cable industries consolidated, and assesses what could happen in the rural broadband market. Findings include:

• The cable and wireless industries have consolidated over the last 20-30 years to create scale and gain access to valuable nationwide spectrum. Observers are watching to see if history will repeat itself in a similar tech provider industry: the rural broadband market.
• While scale will be important for the future of rural broadband delivery, the industry’s unique aspects may prevent massive consolidation.
• The industry is fragmented, which typically leads to consolidation when growth begins to slow. However, not all operators will be merger and acquisition (M&A) targets, especially cooperatively owned companies committed to their deep-rooted mission to serve their local communities.
• Infrastructure funds and private equity sponsors will continue to play an important role in industry M&As, but recent headwinds from inflation, higher interest rates and labor shortages could cast a cloud over near-term activity.
• Some level of consolidation is expected over the next 5-10 years, but it’s a question of when and how much.