The Federal Communications Commission announced that Wavelength's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) long-form application has defaulted. Wavelength’s defaulted bids are identified here. The FCC also announced the dismissal of a waiver request by LTD Broadband that is moot as it relates to a prior default of a different applicant. As Wavelength has been unable to obtain an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) designation covering its winning bid areas in California, Wavelength cannot be authorized to receive RDOF support in those areas. Therefore, the FCC considers Wavelength to be in default on these bids and subject to forfeiture. The FCC will refer these defaults to the Enforcement Bureau for further consideration. Additionally, the FCC dismisses as moot LTD’s request to waive the deadline to submit documentation of its ETC designation in South Dakota. Although LTD is challenging this application denial, subsequent events in South Dakota further compel the dismissal of the waiver request.

New broadband funding programs necessitate dramatic reforms to old programs. In its report, the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) recommends reversing the status quo and sustaining the Affordable Connectivity Program by shrinking the redundant hodgepodge of federal broadband programs. With so much at stake, it is more important than ever to ensure that broadband funding helps those who need it, and the right programs are sustainable. ITIF says that as things now stand, federal broadband programs are dangerously out of balance. The report includes the following recommendations for Congress:

1. Discontinue the High-Cost, Lifeline, ReConnect, and all other (nontribal) federal programs targeting broadband deployment or individual broadband affordability.
2. Appropriate funding equivalent to those programs’ average annual spending to sustain the ACP.
3. Modify the size of and eligibility for the ACP benefit to make up for any remaining shortfall.

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grant rules established by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) are going to be a difficult hurdle for many internet service providers to cross. If you are thinking of applying to BEAD, read these rules carefully. The rules start on page 56 of the NOFO. Without trying to sound too critical, the labor requirements sound like something written by bureaucrats who are designing a hypothetically perfect labor system instead of written by folks who have ever built a broadband network and have dealt with broadband contractors. Like many of the BEAD requirements suggested by NTIA, these labor requirements greatly favor large ISPs over small ones. I think most smaller ISPs will be unable to identify contractors and subcontractors ahead of time and convince contractors to provide their history of adherence to federal law, have all certified employees, and jump through a mountain of paperwork. If I was a contractor, I wouldn’t touch a BEAD grant project with a 10-foot pole – there is plenty of other work available. I hope that State Broadband Offices push back hard on these requirements to make them realistic. That won’t be easy because some of these rules seem mandatory – but not all.  I strongly urge State Broadband Offices to sit and talk with local ISPs and construction contractors about the hurdles created by these rules – because these requirements will stop quality ISPs from pursuing the BEAD grants.

The Arkansas State Broadband Office (ASBO) recently launched its Digital Skills and Opportunity Survey as part of the state’s larger planning process to better understand the complexities of the digital divide. As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Congress passed in 2021, Arkansas received more than $840,000 to study the state’s digital divide, create a plan to address its digital skills gap, and learn more about the unique challenges that stand in the way of various segments of the state’s population affording and using high-speed internet. This comes on top of an additional $5 million investment to create a five-year action plan for internet access. The ASBO is overseeing all work related to the development of both plans and is committed to expanding access to affordable, high-speed internet to all Arkansans. To ensure the agency engages with all segments of the population, the office has contracted with Heartland Forward, a Bentonville-based nonprofit organization, to coordinate engagement with Arkansas counties, mayors, community members, and other key stakeholders across the state – such as members of the Arkansas Connectivity Coalition including the University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, Winrock International, Communities Unlimited and the Arkansas Black Mayors Association. These partners are working with the ASBO to conduct focus groups, along with other information-gathering efforts, that will inform the state’s final plan.