The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is preparing to enter a crucial phase for the Internet for All initiative. Soon, it will notify states and territories of their BEAD program allocation amounts. Once those notifications are made, states and territories will have 180 days to submit their initial proposals. NTIA is confident it will have the data it needs to take that step when it makes the allocation announcement by June 30. NTIA has seen the work of states, territories, Tribes, municipalities, nonprofits, Internet service providers, individuals, and other stakeholders across the country who have engaged with the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map and provided input to ensure a better picture of Internet availability. To understand the impact of the challenge process and additional work that the FCC and its vendor CostQuest have been doing to improve the map, NTIA analyzed the change in broadband serviceable locations between version 1 and version 2 of the Broadband Fabric. The number of serviceable locations between version 1 and version 2 increased from 113 million locations to about 114 million locations, which accounts for a less than 1% net increase in the total number of broadband serviceable locations across the country.  Note that this net change reflected both additions and subtractions from the fabric—the FCC added nearly three million locations while removing nearly two million for reasons ranging from updated data to the use of more sophisticated tools to identify and remove structures like garages and sheds. This tells us three things: 

1. The changes between version 1 and version 2 of the Fabric were relatively modest, and we can expect that changes between future versions of the FCC map will likely continue to be modest. 

2. These modest changes go both ways. States, territories, and the District of Columbia (“Eligible Entities”) could gain or lose locations from version to version.  

3. If the changes to the total number of broadband-serviceable locations is modest—and at less than 1% they were—then it is likely that the impact on the allocation is modest, because the key variable in the BEAD allocation formula is the number of unserved locations in a state or territory relative to the total number of unserved locations nationwide. 

This plan outlines Louisiana’s first coordinated effort to assess the state’s digital divide and move Louisiana toward digital equity. Louisiana’s vision is that digital equity will be achieved for all residents and communities. Digital equity for Louisiana means that all residents will have access to affordable broadband, opportunities to obtain the appropriate devices, accessible applications, and support to acquire the digital skills needed to improve their quality of life. By 2029, the necessary structures will be in place to sustain Louisiana’s work toward digital equity for all Louisianians.

Some counties have a bigger cellular coverage problem than they do a broadband problem. There are often a much larger number of homes in a county that don’t have adequate cellular coverage than those that can’t buy broadband. I always knew that the cellular coverage maps published by the big cellular carriers were overstated; now I know that they are pure garbage. Before the pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission came up with a plan to spend $9 billion from the Universal Service Fund to build and equip new rural cellular towers—using a reverse auction method. This process derailed quickly when the biggest cellular companies produced bogus maps that showed decent coverage in rural areas that were close to some of the smaller cellular carriers. The FCC was so disgusted by the lousy maps that it tabled the subsidy plan. The big cellular companies have clearly not invested in many new rural cell towers over the last decade because they’d rather have the FCC fork out the funding. I haven’t the slightest idea if $9 billion is enough money to solve the problem or even put a dent in it. No doubt, the FCC will saddle the program with rules that will add to the cost and result in fewer towers being built. But whatever is going to happen, it needs to start happening soon.

Viasat will likely be able to move forward with its acquisition of Inmarsat after the Federal Communications Commission signed off on the deal. The transaction was first agreed upon by California-based Viasat and London-based Inmarsat more than 18 months ago, but has been deferred by review processes in both the U.S. and U.K. The FCC’s investigation was notably prompted by Viasat rival SpaceX after the latter was granted $886 million in broadband funding from the government's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Viasat campaigned against the SpaceX funding with a series of public objections saying the company’s Starlink satellites did not have the capacity and speed to meet FCC requirements. But the FCC issued “unconditional” clearance for Viasat and Inmarsat, and with that blessing the satellite service providers will just have to wait for the European Commission’s (EC) competition review before their union is finalized.

AT&T CEO John Stankey specified the main factors that AT&T considers for a fiber build. For about three years, AT&T has been clearly communicating its two main focuses—5G and fiber. In terms of fiber, it set a goal to pass 30 million locations with fiber by 2025. It closed 2022 with a total of 24 million passings. Stankey said the fiber build and the consumer response to it have been going well. “If it was not performing well we wouldn't have had the conviction to start the Gigapower venture with BlackRock.” Stankey said that AT&T was so impressed by the response to its fiber build within its wired footprint that it decided to extend fiber outside of its footprint with the joint venture with BlackRock. He said that AT&T’s rate of penetration in the first year after a fiber build “is twice as much as what we expected when we did the original business case on this stuff to get to the 30 million customer passes….twice is a lot. He also said that average revenue per user (ARPU) was better than expected. “We're operating right now at what we assumed to be the terminal ARPU. Where we stand in the business right now, we're actually at what would have been the terminal ARPU out at year 10.”