There is one nuance of the Federal Communications Commission maps that doesn’t seem to be talked about. Internet service providers (ISPs) are only supposed to show coverage on the FCC maps for locations where they are able to serve within ten business days of a customer’s request for service. Any ISP that is claiming areas it won’t serve that quickly is exaggerating its coverage on the FCC maps. That can have real-life consequences. Consider the pockets of unserved areas inside cities. We worked with an urban area recently where we identified nearly 200 such unserved pockets. If those pockets were identified correctly on the FCC maps, then an ISP could ask for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) or other grant funding to extend a network into these small areas. But if they are claimed as served, then it would be an uphill battle to get grant funding. In rural areas, any ISP that claims to offer speeds greater than 100/20 Mbps is effectively stopping grant money from funding unserved areas. I can’t imagine any easy way to estimate the overall impact of areas that are overclaimed because of ISPs ignoring the 10-day rule—but it’s not hard to imagine that this could represent an additional 5%-10% of unserved places in rural areas that are incorrectly identified as served. It’s hard to even imagine the extent of the problem in urban areas.

The city of Bountiful, Utah, with a population of around 45,000, plans to begin construction of a new municipal broadband network in August 2023. Bountiful has partnered with Utopia Fiber to install and operate the open-access network. The city-owned fiber network will provide gigabit speeds to residents and businesses who elect to participate. Participating in Bountiful Fiber is totally voluntary. The project was temporarily waylaid by a group called the Utah Taxpayers Association, which financed a petition effort to force a vote on project funding. Hired signature gatherers ultimately failed to collect enough signatures from registered voters to advance the opposition campaign. To finance the project, Bountiful City will issue about $43 million in revenue bonds. Sales tax will be pledged as security for the bonds to ensure the lowest possible interest rate, but taxpayer dollars will not be used the build or manage the project. Subscriber revenue will cover the cost of the service. Utopia uses the open access model to promote competition by leasing the network to different internet service providers. And customers can choose the provider they want.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the leadership team of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB). The WTB plays a key role in promoting the deployment of innovative spectrum-based services across the country, as it develops, recommends, and administers the policy and licensing programs relating to terrestrial wireless communications, including mobile broadband, fixed access, private wireless, and personal radio services. Chief Taubenblatt announced the Bureau leadership team, which is made up of both long-time WTB staff members and new additions. The team includes:

• Barbara Esbin, Kari Hicks, and Susan Mort as Deputy Bureau Chiefs;
• Amy Brett as Chief of Staff;
• Jessica Greffenius and Jessica Quinley as Assistant Bureau Chiefs;
• Arpan Sura as Senior Counsel to the Chief;
• Janet Young as Chief Engineer; and
• Cameron Duncan and John Lockwood as Legal and Policy Advisors.

These appointees join Jean Kiddoo, WTB Deputy Chief and Chair of the Broadband Data Task Force and the Incentive Auction Task Force, Ed Mozee, Assistant Bureau Chief (Management and Resources), and Connie Diaz, Assistant to the Chief, in the WTB front office.