Wireless internet service providers (WISPs) hit a homerun when federal officials clarified that areas covered by broadband running on Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum could be marked as served for purposes of BEAD. Many folks in the fiber broadband community are not familiar with wireless internet service and the rules regarding wireless spectrum.
The Michigan High Speed Internet Office kicked off its BEAD challenge process this week, and it’s doing everything in its power to scrub the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) map of locations where providers are overstating their coverage. The state is receiving a historic $1.56 billion BEAD funding allocation—the fourth highest in the nation.
Blink and it’s easy to miss Google Fiber news. In March, the company offered progress reports on multiple GFiber markets, including some that hadn’t been previously announced. On March 11, the company said it was working in Pocatello and Chubbuck, Idaho. On March 18, the company noted that service was available in an apartment and condo building in Hillsborough, North Carolina, which is near Duke University.
For rural operators, fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies have served well to "edge-out" and deliver services to areas that can't be reached by cable and fiber networks cost-effectively.
The Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) issued an Order awarding nearly $21 million to winning bids for broadband buildout to more than 1,100 unserved Nebraska households as a result of its 2024 Reverse Auction.
As states move through the final planning stages of their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment efforts, it is paramount that they effectively use the $42 billion in taxpayer dollars funding the program. Past subsidy efforts to connect Americans to the internet failed due to ineffective competitive processes, insufficient accountability, and a lack of transparency. AEI’s Broadband Barometer Project seeks to provide resources and information to help states ensure their new efforts succeed in bringing broadband to those lacking access or sufficient capacity.
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