Gov performance

Have you read Senator Cruz’s Red Light Report on broadband funding that came recently? The report accomplished several things:

The goal of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) $40+ billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program is to ensure that everyone in the United States has access to reliable, high-speed, and affordable broadband. Part of the challenge is how to treat areas where funding already has been awarded for broadband deployment. Will all awardees perform as expected?

The Federal Communication Commission invites the general public to comment on the Commission’s rules to be reviewed pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980. The purpose of the review is to determine whether rules that the FCC adopted in calendar years 2007–2012 should be continued without change, amended, or rescinded in order to minimize any significant impact the rule(s) may have on a substantial number of small entities.

According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 8.3 million households lack access to high-speed broadband. Providing universal access to communications service—initially voice service and now broadband—has always been a challenge in the United States. Although connecting urban, populated areas is relatively easy, serving sparsely populated rural areas is difficult due to differences in terrain and population density.

In June, the Biden administration allocated $42.45 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding among states—the largest single pot of federal broadband spending in our country’s history. Biden officials at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) made these allocations despite repeated requests from lawmakers and communities across the country to first improve the data underlying NTIA’s funding decisions.

In comments filed with the Senate Working Group on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF), many organizations underscored the issue of redundant government expenditure in their submissions, with a notable focus on whether the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) should be integrated into the USF framework. The USF includes four programs targeting different vulnerable portions of the broadband market: the Connect America Fund, Lifeline, Schools and Libraries (E-Rate) and Rural Health Care.

The Federal Communications Commission and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) formalized a partnership to promote awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) among federal housing assistance recipients. The partnership agreement reflects HUD’s commitment to increase outreach activities, alongside the work both agencies are doing to decrease the time it takes for recipients of HUD assistance to sign up for the program.

On July 27, 2023, the U.S. Senate's Universal Service Fund (USF) Working Group invited public comment on the future of the USF with the stated goal of creating a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policymaking on the USF. The opportunity to weigh in with the senators has had me thinking about the importance of the USF for bringing affordable broadband infrastructure and services to millions of people around the country. So I'm taking this opportunity to share my thoughts on one of the most important tools in our national effort to reach truly universal broadband.

Permitting has long been the bane of broadband deployments across the country, but a little-known federal council is working to change that.