Monday, April 3, 2023
Headlines Daily Digest
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FCC Announces Over $2.8 Million in Emergency Connectivity Funding
Achieving Universal Broadband in California
US Department of the Treasury Proposes Important New Guidance for Broadband Projects
Broadband Funding
Digital Inclusion
State and Local
Consumer Protection
Wireless
Platforms/Social Media
How We Live Now
Company News
Broadband Funding
The Federal Communications Commission announced it is committing over $2.8 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country. The funding commitment supports applications from the program’s third application window, benefiting approximately 7,000 students across the country, including students in Arizona, California, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, and Missouri. The funding can be used to support off-campus learning, such as nightly homework, to ensure students across the country have the necessary support to keep up with their education.
On March 28, 2023, the Treasury Department issued and invited comments on proposed compliance guidance applicable to broadband projects funded through Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) or Capital Projects Fund (CPF) awards. The Proposed Guidance addresses a variety of important questions relating to the use of SLFRF and CPF funds for broadband projects, including:
- The crucial distinction between ISPs acting as “contractors” vs. “subrecipients”;
- The proper treatment of ISP revenue as “program income”;
- How ISPs can obtain title to grant-funded infrastructure;
- The scope of the Federal Interest in grant-funded property;
- Requirements for transfer of grant-funded property to a third party;
- Procurement requirements (must a contract be put out for bid?); and
- Audits and monitoring requirements.
If Treasury adopts the Guidance generally as proposed, it could have significant ramifications for grant-funded broadband projects around the country. Comments are due by April 11.
Each year, the Schools Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition issues a policy roadmap to shape its advocacy for community anchor institution broadband. While the priorities outlined in the 2023 roadmap serve as guide posts, SHLB remains flexible in its advocacy efforts and adapts to the dynamic policy landscape. To continue their efforts, all community anchor institutions need robust, multi-gigabit internet connectivity. Read more here about SHLB's 2023 policy roadmap.
While most Californians have access to broadband, at least two million households (15 percent) still do not—a gap known as the digital divide. In 2021, California invested $6 billion through Senate Bill (SB) 156 to expand broadband infrastructure, address affordability, and promote digital literacy. The Public Policy Institute of California presents findings from the first year of implementation, drawing on statewide broadband data and interviews with 41 community partners, spread across 54 of California’s 58 counties. The Institute finds that:
- Low-income, rural, and tribal communities are on the wrong side of the digital divide.
- Local communities are pursuing funding from federal, state, local, and private sources.
- Natural disasters pose serious threats to broadband networks.
- State and federal maps overstate how many households have access to broadband.
- Affordability and digital literacy are major barriers to broadband adoption.
Consumer Protection
Chairwoman Rosenworcel Responds to Senators Regarding Broadband Information Labels
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to a letter from a group of senators regarding broadband consumer labels and pricing transparency. Specifically, Sens Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) urged the FCC to independently collect pricing data as the Commission fulfills its requirement of providing internet service provider (ISP) broadband consumer labels. In her response, Chairwoman Rosenworcel highlighted two actions taken by the Commission in late 2022. In November 2022, the FCC adopted rules that require broadband providers to display easy-to-understand Broadband Labels to allow consumers to comparison shop for broadband services. Also in that November, the FCC adopted rules establishing the Affordable
Connectivity Program (ACP) Transparency Data Collection, an annual mandatory collection of the plan characteristic, price, and subscription rate information of the internet service offerings received by households enrolled in the ACP.
Low-income students in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont (CO) will soon have access to free broadband services thanks to a private LTE network deployed by the City’s municipal fiber provider, NextLight. In 2014 NextLight built a municipal fiber network in Longmont that currently covers 44,000 locations and provides service to around 26,000 customers. NextLight also provides fiber connectivity for the St. Vrain Valley School District so Longmont and school district officials decided to use funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to build a private wireless network to provide free broadband service to the 4,000 low-income students in the district. Students that qualify for the service are on the St. Vrain Valley School District’s free and reduced lunch program. NextLight used the CARES funding to blanket the city with 38 cell sites using Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) General Authorized Access (GAA) spectrum and gear from Baicells. The network now includes 38 sites, and it covers about 50 to 60 percent of the 4,000 students that qualify for the free broadband program.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and David L. Clay II (dclay AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
© Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2023. Redistribution of this email publication — both internally and externally — is encouraged if it includes this message. For subscribe/unsubscribe info email: headlines AT benton DOT org
Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
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