Universal Broadband

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure approved the E-BRIDGE Act (H.R. 3193). Introduced by Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO) and Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), the bill amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (P.L. 89−136) to create a high-speed broadband initiative and authorizes the Economic Development Administration to award grants for public-private partnerships and consortiums to carry out broadband projects.

Windstream CEO Tony Thomas revealed he’s no fan of the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program implementation and he is among many now calling for USF reform. “It was a mess, why was it a mess?” said Thomas. “There’s lessons hear that we should learn.” Thomas says the auction didn’t properly vet bidders at the beginning of the process, as the FCC does with wireless spectrum auctions.

The Biden Administration and the U.S. Congress are contemplating spending tens of billions of dollars on policy interventions to increase the deployment of broadband networks with the objective of increasing broadband adoption.

Washington seems poised, yet again, to try to address broadband infrastructure by throwing billions of dollars at it to be managed at the national level, and already there is a chorus of voices demanding that access to broadband be “free.” All this will ensure the effort fails. What’s needed is a recognition that the only approach that can succeed is a novel combination of public-private partnerships at the local level. The important recognition is that cities are not monolithic. Broadband is a neighborhood issue, driven by different socioeconomic factors that must be addressed.

President Joe Biden and the bipartisan group of lawmakers announced agreement on the details of a once-in-a-generation investment in US infrastructure, which will be taken up in the Senate for consideration. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal includes a total $550 billion in new federal infrastructure investment.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Supporting Foundation and David and Inez Myers Foundation are donating $20 million to DigitalC, a non-profit internet service provider (ISP) focused on bridging the digital divide in Cleveland, Ohio. The foundations feel that DigitalC provides the best avenue toward connecting Cleveland, according to Jim Kenny, spokesperson for the nonprofit ISP; DigitalC also says the foundations’ money serves as a challenge to organizations in the private sector and government to also contribute.

I have a deep appreciation for TDI, not just because of your expertise, but because I have a long history of working with you on the issues you care about. Before I came to the Federal Communications Commission, I served as legal counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee. I’m particularly proud to say that one of the highlights of my tenure is that I worked on the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. This law is terrific, but I also know we can’t rest on our laurels. Because the events of the past year and a half have changed our relationship with technology.

Cisco released the US Municipal Infrastructure Index, a nationwide survey of city, county, town and tribal government leaders. The findings are clear: an overwhelming majority agree that broadband is “critical infrastructure” and placed essential upgrades in the top tier of their must-do projects in their locales. We found:

One might think this is the moment for community broadband networks. The truth is, locally-directed networks have been serving their communities for a long, long time. In discussing his administration’s plans for broadband, President Joe Biden noted that municipal and cooperative networks should be favored because these providers face less pressure to turn profits and are more committed to serving entire communities.

"Billions for broadband" are about to pour out of Washington. That sounds good, but it is not aligned with the reality faced by many individual states, counties and towns. In rural – as well as some poor urban – areas, the "business model" for private ISPs “prevents” them from offering service. That is to say, they can’t make the minimum profit margins that they require. And they're right. They can't. For these areas (like mine in Maine, one of America's most rural, least wealthy and oldest-in-average-age states), the result is no choice of ISP.