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New Hampshire Pursues Affordable Broadband With BEAD

Grace Tepper — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Friday, October 25, 2024

Weekly Digest

New Hampshire Pursues Affordable Broadband With BEAD

You’re reading the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s Weekly Digest, a recap of the biggest (or most overlooked) broadband stories of the week. The digest is delivered via e-mail each Friday.

Round-Up for the Week of October 21-25, 2024

Tepper

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, New Hampshire will receive $196.5 million and will be given the opportunity to finally close the digital divide for the entire state, finishing the task undertaken with previous state and federal programs. BEAD will bring unparalleled investment in broadband infrastructure over the next five years and has tasked the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) Office of Broadband with bringing affordable broadband to all New Hampshire residents. In its BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 2, BEA delineates its plan to do so.

How Affordable is Broadband in New Hampshire?

For those who are unable to adopt broadband in New Hampshire, the cost of service is the number one reason for non-adoption per the New Hampshire State Digital Equity Plan. The U.S. Census’ American Community Survey finds that 8 percent of New Hampshire residents have no internet access, 6.5 percent only have a cell phone plan for internet access, and only 15 percent of households with annual incomes between $50,000 to $74,999/year have broadband internet service.

BEA conducted a statewide public survey and asked residents to indicate how much they can pay for internet service at home each month. Only 32 percent of residents indicated that they are able to pay over $100 each month for internet service, a common price point for service in the state.

Rural constituents expressed concern over how broadband providers can sustain affordable pricing plans after federal funds expire.

Access to devices and reliable and affordable internet was universally identified as a significant barrier to broadband adoption by a number of vulnerable populations in New Hampshire. Rural populations identified a lack of access to affordable, high-speed internet as a barrier. Additionally, 68 percent of individuals over 60 years old in New Hampshire indicated that they were unable to pay more than $75 a month.

New Hampshire's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option for BEAD Networks

BEA proposes the following definition for the statutorily-required low-cost service option after full consideration of how to best advance the deployment and affordability aims of the BEAD Program. BEA’s priority is to increase awareness of and enrollment in available broadband subsidy programs—like the now-ended Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—while maintaining a price and performance tier option for low-income households served by new BEAD projects that meets the FCC’s definition of affordable broadband.

A low-cost service option is especially important for the more than 175,000 households that were eligible for ACP assistance in New Hampshire. Also important is the sustainability of small local providers that participate in BEAD. Assuring affordability and sustainability requires balancing the goals of mandating affordability and investing in financially sustainable infrastructure.

Therefore, New Hampshire believes that it is critical that the mandated low-cost BEAD service option be carefully tailored to address the actual affordability policy objective of the low-cost service option – specifically, that households otherwise unable to afford a connection on new BEAD-funded infrastructure will be able to do so – and not to function as a barrier to the long-term sustainability of newly deployed infrastructure by locking subgrantees into rate structures that unnecessarily harm the long-term financial viability of BEAD-funded projects and therefore deter participation by the widest range of providers.

New Hampshire adopts the low-cost broadband service option of $30, with possible exceptions of up to $50, for households enrolled in ACP or any successor or equivalent programs. The $50 "not-to-exceed rate" was determined following an analysis of small service provider rates throughout the state. Smaller providers typically experience different cost structures, which should not serve as a barrier to small providers applying to participate. Therefore, based upon a review of rates throughout the state, providers will be permitted to demonstrate a need for a higher rate, as explained further below.

In no case may the offered rate exceed $50 as adjusted for annual inflation as described below.
Modifications to rates may be granted based on evidence supporting the newly proposed rate:
- Per-subscriber costs in an area indicating that the target effective rate above would be financially unsustainable; and/or
- The impact on average revenue per user (ARPU) and total project revenue of the target effective rate above would be financially unsustainable given actual or projected subscriber adoption patterns.

If a modification request is granted, the new modified level shall remain the maximum low-cost rate for the provider for the duration of the federal interest.

This low-cost service option must be available to households enrolled in ACP (or any successor or equivalent programs) for BEAD-funded broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) in accordance with the requirements herein. BEA also strongly encourages that the same low-cost broadband service option be made available to all ACP-enrolled prospective customers across the subgrantee’s service territory, regardless of whether the location is covered by BEAD funding.

BEA will require all subgrantees to offer a low-cost broadband service option to households at BSL’s included in a subgrant project area that are eligible for or enrolled in ACP or any successor or equivalent program as follows:

A service offering of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) downstream, 20 Mbps upstream, and a minimum latency of 100 milliseconds.
Is available to all BEAD-funded households eligible for and enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program or a successor program as modified by Congress.
The rate specified or subsequently modified, as well as the other provisions identified in this section, for this service option will be a contractual requirement of awardees for the duration of the federal interest, as specified by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
In the event that the FCC during the period of this obligation revises the federal definition of broadband to a performance level that is higher than the 100/20 standard required currently for BEAD, that new federal definition shall become the required performance standard.
Allows the end user to apply the ACP or successor program(s) benefit to the service price and encourages customers to participate in the ACP or successor program(s).
Is not subject to data caps, installation or other non-recurring charges, surcharges, or usage-based performance reductions, and is subject only to the same acceptable use policies to which subscribers to all other broadband internet access service plans offered to home subscribers by the participating subgrantee must adhere.
In the event the provider later offers a low-cost plan with higher speeds downstream and/or upstream, permits Eligible Subscribers that are subscribed to a low-cost broadband service option to upgrade to the new low-cost offering at no cost.
To make households within subgrant service areas aware of the availability of the low-cost plan via public awareness campaign activities.

Subgrantees are required to participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program or any successor program, and Eligible Subscribers who are eligible for a broadband service subsidy can apply the subsidy to the proposed service option.

Middle-Class Affordability Plans for New Hampshire's BEAD Networks

BEA is committed to ensuring that BSLs served by BEAD-funded networks have access to high-quality broadband service that is affordable to middle-class households. There is no one standard for defining either “middle class” or what broadband rate(s) should be considered “affordable,” as local costs, the size of households, and a myriad of other factors impede the development of simple definitions.

While not offered as a standard definition for affordability, a widely utilized benchmark to measure changes in broadband pricing is two percent of monthly household income. The Federal Communications Commission has used this figure as a “yardstick for charting changes,” based upon earlier research from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU’s Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development later adopted a target of two percent or less of monthly income for broadband service, a goal shared by the Alliance for Affordable Internet.

Subsequently, the Pew Charitable Trusts published an analysis using the two percent standard to demonstrate variations of “reasonable prices” across or within states. Pew used data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to ascertain middle-class income levels to then derive a baseline of what might constitute “reasonable” prices for broadband access across U.S. regions, states, and counties.

Based on 2021 data, Pew determined that the affordable standard monthly pricing for broadband in New Hampshire stood at $123.99. The FCC’s 2023 Urban Rate Benchmark shows that fiber-based broadband services of 250 Mbps symmetrical (which exceeds BEAD’s speed threshold) typically cost $80 total in New Hampshire, including all mandatory charges and surcharges, and with no data caps. Comparatively, a slower DSL-based service of 100/40 Mbps costs $121.96. Even slower DSL speeds that do not meet BEAD’s speed thresholds, while relatively more expensive, usually do not exceed the $123.99 baseline established by Pew. By way of further comparison, one-gigabit symmetrical service over fiber typically costs $90.

Based on the Pew analysis and FCC benchmark data, it appears that most available pricing in New Hampshire may currently be considered “affordable” for middle-class households. Providers routinely offer multiple tiers of service at various pricing levels in order to meet households’ different budgetary needs.

Accordingly, rather than set a dollar figure target at this stage regarding Middle-Class Affordability, New Hampshire intends to require any subrecipient of BEAD funding to offer (at least throughout the life of the program) the same level of services, at rates, terms, and conditions to BSLs served by BEAD funding that match those offered to non-BEAD BSLs in the same market. As part of the subrecipient scoring process, New Hampshire will encourage providers to offer multiple plans, including more affordable options, to households served by BEAD networks. Subrecipients will be required to outline these plans as part of the BEAD scoring rubric to demonstrate affordability for middle-class households. Lower-cost plans will accordingly be weighted favorably as part of the scoring process.

BEA will monitor providers’ pricing plans as part of the normal reporting process through the program’s term to ensure the continued availability of affordable plans. Verification mechanisms, including review of data and the opportunity for public input so that consumers may refute any inaccurate pricing data that may be reported, shall be included in order to ensure that affordable options remain available for middle-class households for the program’s duration.

Affordability Scoring Criteria

BEAD applicants in New Hampshire should demonstrate their commitment to providing the most affordable total price to the customer for 1 Gbps/1 Gbps service in a project area. BEA will award points based on an applicant’s proposed total price, including all taxes and fees. The most affordable total price will receive the full 20 points under this criterion. Other applications will receive fewer points based on the percentage difference from the most affordable application; that is, an application that commits to a price that is 10 percent higher than that offered by the lowest-priced application will receive 10 percent fewer points (18 points, rather than 20).

Conclusion

New Hampshire's vision of digital equity is to empower New Hampshire residents to thrive by enabling access to resources, skills, and other supports needed to participate in today’s digital world. BEA's BEAD Initial Proposal, together with New Hampshire's Digital Equity Plan, offer strategies to achieve this vision and enable opportunities for all New Hampshire residents through accessible, affordable broadband.

Additional Coverage on New Hampshire's Broadband Priorities

Equitable Participation in Today's Digital World: New Hampshire's Plan
New Hampshire is All-In for Broadband
New Hampshire State Digital Equity Plan
New Hampshire Five-Year Broadband Action Plan
New Hampshire BEAD Office of Broadband Initial Proposal Volume 1 and Volume 2

See the latest New Hampshire broadband news

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

Oct 29––BEAD 2.0: Maximizing Connectivity with Non-Deployment Dollars (Wireless Infrastructure Association)

Nov 12––Veterans and Digital Equity: Planning for Success (Bention Institute for Broadband & Society)

Feb 11––State of the Net Conference 2025 (Internet Education Foundation)

Feb 25––The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online (FTC)

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

For subscribe/unsubscribe info, please email headlinesATbentonDOTorg

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

State Profiles

Arizona’s Competitive Congressional Races and the 6th C

benton — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 15:30:10 +0000

Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Digital Beat

Arizona’s Competitive Congressional Races and the 6th C

Sharkey

The race between Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat is among the more competitive races in the country. Races in the state’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts are also toss-ups. Winning Congressional candidates will have a say in the country’s broadband future.

Arizona recognizes the 22 Tribal governments within the state, the sovereignty of these Tribal governments, and their jurisdiction over their lands. Arizona is home to more Tribal lands than any other state in the United States. Tribal lands make up approximately 28 percent of the total land area of Arizona, including the largest Tribal Nation in the U.S., the Navajo Nation. Arizona’s tribes are disproportionately affected by the digital divide.

Arizona Broadband

Arizona has a unique set of broadband access and adoption challenges. In terms of broadband infrastructure, only a limited number of Arizonans are on the wrong side of the "digital divide." However, most of Arizona's territory falls outside the coverage area of these broadband networks.

The majority of Arizona's population resides within a limited number of urban areas, specifically 64 percent in Maricopa County, metro Phoenix, and metro Tucson. These areas generally have access to high-speed internet speeds surpassing the 100/20 Mbps speeds that the BEAD program targets. While only a small portion of the population in Arizona has access to gigabit speeds, almost 90 percent have access to 250 Mbps.

Broadband coverage quality in Arizona varies significantly by region. North of Flagstaff and Kingman, in northern Arizona, there is almost no 100/20 Mbps broadband coverage offered through reliable technologies, leaving that portion of the state predominantly unserved or underserved. That being said, many parts of northeast Arizona have 25/3 Mbps coverage based on licensed fixed wireless technology. Even though some towns, such as Pinon, Round Rock, Cottonwood, and Cow Springs, have some form of broadband under the current definition of the FCC, they are still considered underserved. Many residents who live between these towns lack access to any form of broadband coverage.

Towards the southern part of the state, there exist pockets of high-quality broadband coverage amidst large gaps. Some of these gaps are either uninhabited or have serviceable locations with no available providers. Wireline broadband services are offered in and around Phoenix, Prescott, Flagstaff, Snowflake, Safford, Tucson, Yuma, Sells, Clifton, Miami, and other smaller towns and suburbs. In some areas, fixed wireless networks are designed to cover locations where the wireline service is unavailable. Nevertheless, many of these larger areas lack broadband coverage. These regions are sparsely populated but still have a significant number of households lacking proper internet service.

In general, the main challenge Arizona faces is the task of extending broadband networks from highly developed urban centers to the sparsely populated areas across the state. Most of these areas present high deployment costs per location, making the task even more challenging.

Broadband adoption varies widely across the state, ranging from a high of 90.2 percent of households in Maricopa County to a low of 42.9 percent of households in Apache County. Possible reasons include subscriptions are not affordable. Over 1.1 million households in Arizona were eligible for the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program; over 500,000 of those households were enrolled at the end of the program in June of this year.

Senate Candidates’ Broadband Positions

Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has a record on broadband access and affordability issues. During his House tenure he has been involved in a number of broadband efforts.

Earlier this year, he voiced support for universal broadband access.
In 2024, he introduced a House version of a bicameral bill to extend the Affordable Connectivity Program.
In September 2023, Gallego cosponsored a bill to ease the tax burden on BEAD and other federal broadband grant program recipients.
In 2021, Gallego announced that Arizona’s schools and libraries would be eligible for assistance through the American Rescue Plan to purchase hotspots and devices.

As a former chair and member of the House Subcommittee for Indian and Insular Affairs, Rep. Gallego advocated for the inclusion of funds for robust broadband deployment for Indian Country in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. He also sponsored the Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act of 2020 which, if passed would:

Establish an interagency coordination program for tribal access to broadband service and further expand broadband access on tribal land, including by setting aside certain funds for its deployment and establishing a pilot program for tribes to grant rights-of-way for the construction, maintenance, and facilitation of broadband service on their land.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers endorsed Gallego’s 2024 Senate bid due, in part, to his support for the BEAD program and its labor requirements and union coordination standards.

Kari Lake’s positions on broadband and digital equity are not well-defined. Perhaps her most notable statement on broadband access was in response to a tweet from Rep. Gallego’s account, which highlighted the need for universal broadband access. In her response, Lake cited a Washington Times article that criticizes the BEAD program for its perceived lengthy timeline and inclusion of climate resiliency standards and “DEI mandates.”

Aside from this exchange, broadband access, affordability, and adoption issues are not a part of Lake’s platform.

Competitive House of Representatives Races

There are two toss-up elections in Arizona’s Congressional districts this cycle.

In the 1st Congressional District, the Republican incumbent, Representative David Schweikert, is facing a challenge from former Arizona House of Representatives Member Dr. Amish Shah (D-Scottsdale).

In May 2024, Schweikert introduced bipartisan legislation to expand telehealth services to Medicare patients. Despite this advocacy for equitable telehealth access, he voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which established the BEAD and Digital Equity Act programs.

During his time in the Arizona Legislature, Shah voted for state funding for broadband infrastructure grants as well as for the establishment of a committee to study broadband and fiber optic services.

In Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, the race is a rematch of the 2022 race between the incumbent, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), and the challenger, Kirsten Engel (D-AZ).

In 2023, Ciscomani introduced bipartisan legislation in the House to reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program to make it easier for small providers, local governments, nonprofits, and cooperatives to apply to this program and to shorten required permitting deadlines, expediting funding for projects in rural communities. In 2022, Engel’s campaign highlighted the need for continued investments in infrastructure, including broadband.

As November approaches, Arizonans who find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide should consider which Congressional candidates will advocate for its closure.

The 6th C

Arizona's economic and cultural identity has long been anchored by the "5 C's": Copper, Cattle, Cotton, Citrus, and Climate. The next chapter of Arizona’s story adds a "6th C"—Connectivity. This new cornerstone represents the state's commitment to expand universal broadband internet access for all Arizonans.

Arizona's vision is to provide dependable and affordable high-speed internet services to every community and access to the necessary digital skills, so every resident can fully participate in a digital world. The state’s BEAD Five-Year Action Plan serves as a guide to achieving the following:

Provide universal connectivity to unserved and underserved areas and ensure high speed internet access is available to every household, business, anchor institution, Tribal Nation, and community in Arizona.
Promote digital equity and inclusion through increased digital skills and access to devices for all Arizona residents including Tribal Nations and their members.
Create a 21st century workforce so Arizonans and Tribal Nations can succeed in the rapidly evolving job market where the state creates, grows, and attracts high wage businesses to increase economic development.
Coordinate broadband infrastructure investments with investments in healthcare, education, public safety, workforce and economic development statewide and on tribal lands.
Promote broadband service pricing that is affordable to all Arizonans including Tribal Nations and their members.

As Arizonans go to the polls in the coming weeks, they could decide which candidates will best help the state achieve these goals.

Additional Coverage on Arizona Broadband Priorities

See the latest Arizona broadband news

Reid Sharkey is a Community Broadband Specialist & Research Associate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

For subscribe/unsubscribe info, please email headlinesATbentonDOTorg

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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State Profiles

Affordable Broadband for Every Household in New Mexico

Grace Tepper — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Friday, October 18, 2024

Weekly Digest

Affordable Broadband for Every Household in New Mexico

Round-Up for the Week of October 14-18, 2024

Tepper

In July 2024, the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) released its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Initial Proposal Volume II. This plan—in tandem with Volume I and OBAE's Digital Equity Plan—maps the state's progress in working towards sustainable broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion in New Mexico. Here we look at how New Mexico's plans to make broadband affordable for all in the state.

Broadband Affordability in New Mexico

According to the American Community Survey, 90 percent of New Mexico residents have a
home internet subscription of any kind. This is similar to the national rate of 90.3 percent. However, New Mexico residents do not have a similar adoption of reliable broadband when compared to the nation. Only 68.7 percent of New Mexico residents have a wireline home internet subscription. This is 6.8 percentage points less than the national rate of 75.5 percent. Additionally, 15.3 percent of New Mexico residents rely on a cellular data plan alone for the home internet service, which is insufficient to realize the many benefits of broadband. Mobile-only individuals typically cite affordability, their smartphone being good enough, and/or having access to broadband somewhere else as the reasons for not having home internet connectivity.

Of all New Mexico households that do not use internet at home, an estimated 10 percent claim that a main reason for their lack of internet use at home is an inability to afford service.

Individuals living in low-income households constitute the covered population with the largest adoption gaps. Low-income individuals are 14.5 percentage points less likely than higher-income individuals to have a home internet subscription, and they are 20.6 percentage points less likely to have a wireline internet subscription. Low-income individuals are also the covered population most likely to be mobile-only users, with a rate of 18.1 percent.

New Mexico's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option for BEAD Networks

The State of New Mexico is committed to providing residents with the opportunity to receive low-cost broadband service, while simultaneously recognizing that internet service providers (ISPs) have a variety of different plans and may be unable to alter their pricing structure on a large scale. OBAE believes ISPs are highly unlikely to implement different pricing structures for BEAD-funded areas only, while maintaining other pricing in areas that are not BEAD-funded. That said, a proposed $50 monthly service offering aligns with many current ISP low-cost offerings (in the state of New Mexico and nationwide) and represents a sensible benchmark price for a low-cost service option to be offered by subgrantees.

How OBAE Arrived at the Proposed Service Offering Price

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the current unweighted median price of 100/10 Megabits per second (Mbps) broadband service in New Mexico is $69 per month, with an overall statewide pricing range of $30 to $89 per month. When the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) subsidy could have been applied, the effective pricing for eligible low-income households purchasing services over BEAD-funded infrastructure would have been $40 if $70 is chosen as the low-cost price point, and $20 if a lower price point of $50 is set as the low-cost price point. [ACP ended earlier in 2024.]

This effective cost is considered reasonable in light of the generally accepted economic metric that broadband costs should not exceed 2 percent of household income. The average household income of a family of four at 200 percent of the poverty level in New Mexico is roughly $33,400, yielding a $56 per month reasonable internet cost at 2 percent of household income. At 100 percent poverty levels, the income threshold is $26,500 for a family of four, yielding a reasonable monthly internet cost of $44 (Data based on 2021 Census Current Population Study and 2021 Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines).

This number is supported by the data from OBAE’s 2023 scientific phone survey, in which 58 percent of respondents at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level signaled a willingness to purchase internet service priced at $40 (i.e., a price of $70 before application of the ACP subsidy). At or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, fully 71 percent of households indicated a willingness to purchase at that price. Expressed willingness to pay is usually an underestimation of consumer behavior as survey answers capture some bias from what consumers would like to pay rather than what they would be willing to pay.

OBAE’s intention is to aid as many New Mexico residents as possible while ensuring that the scale of the low-cost obligation—and its resulting impact on the business case for ISPs’ applications to build to unserved and underserved New Mexico locations—is not too burdensome to BEAD grant applicants. The eligibility requirement for the ACP subsidy program is approximately equal to household income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, suggesting a precedent for that benchmark as well as the potential to utilize the ACP National Verifier as a useful, low-cost means of verifying eligibility that does not impose additional burden on either the consumer or the ISP.

Service Option Criteria

OBAE proposes to require all BEAD subgrantees to offer a service option that meets, at a minimum, the following criteria:

Will be available to all households that meet the eligibility requirements of the ACP program and, generally, households with income equal to or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
Cost of $50 per month or less ($75 per month or less on Tribal lands), exclusive of all required federal, State, or county government taxes and fees, and inclusive of any optional, non-mandatory, and/or permissive fees (during the course of its outreach to ISPs, OBAE discussed this requirement. The ISPs agreed to plans that cost $50 per month.
Is not subject to data caps, surcharges, or usage-based throttling, and is subject only to the same acceptable use policies to which subscribers to all other broadband internet access service plans offered to home subscribers by the participating subgrantee must adhere.
Allows the end user to apply the ACP subsidy to the service price and encourages ISPs to ensure that prospective customers are aware of their participation in the ACP.
Meets performance requirements as established by the BEAD program, with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps, and delivers typical latency of no more than 100 milliseconds
Allows subscribers to upgrade at no cost in the event the provider later offers a low-cost plan with higher speeds (downstream or upstream)

New Mexico BEAD and ACP

Since the Affordable Connectivity Program expired, and a successor program has not been established, OBAE’s Low-Cost Broadband Service Option requirements will remain unchanged from the above, with the exception that the cost must be $50 per month or less, including on Tribal lands, exclusive of all required federal, State, or county government taxes and fees, and inclusive of any optional, non-mandatory, and/or permissive fees.

New Mexico's Middle-Class Affordability Plan for BEAD Networks

OBAE is very cognizant of the barriers that New Mexico residents face to connectivity, and, as such, the State has committed itself to addressing these concerns in manner that aids as many residents as possible. Middle-income households are a significant demographic in New Mexico and as such, are a critical factor to be considered in support of the BEAD Program’s goal to make high-quality broadband services available to all residents.

OBAE is considering several policy options to ensure that broadband is accessible by all New Mexico residents, while simultaneously remaining cognizant of the delicate position of ISPs. As such, OBAE’s addressing of middle-class affordability aims to aid as many households as possible, while also aiming to prevent potential BEAD subgrantees from choosing not to participate in BEAD, which would lead to higher cost awards and fewer residents getting access to all-fiber broadband networks. Furthermore, OBAE’s policy-oriented approach intends to address the barrier of affordability that plagues many households with incomes that just surpass ACP eligibility.

Accordingly, New Mexico plans to address the following areas of risk:

Small, local providers propose low requested BEAD support but set high subscription costs: OBAE will encourage ISPs participating in BEAD to offer areas they serve with grant funding their best price for analogous products they offer in other areas, in alignment with the gigabit best offered pricing requirement in the BEAD program rules. (ISPs should include current pricing through the prequalification process, and a rigorous financial proficiency test will be built into the letter of credit and prequalification process.)
Providers shift drop and installation costs to the consumer to recover capital costs: Grant participation rules will make clear that drops and network equipment are eligible BEAD costs and should be built into grant proposals to avoid inflated subscriber prices. OBAE expects this risk to be somewhat mitigated by expanding competition in rural areas from 5G home internet and LEO satellite options.
Providers refuse to provide service to expensive locations: OBAE will monitor and ensure that awardees make good on their BEAD service commitments, including not assessing additional fees beyond standard installation fees.
Differential pricing between urban and new project areas: The gigabit best pricing policy mandated in the scoring matrix sets requirements around geographic non-discrimination. New Mexico is committed to establishing policies that would ultimately lead to more widespread affordability among middle-income residents. This holistic commitment to expanding the adoption of broadband throughout the state necessitates the accommodation and partnership of BEAD subgrantees. In doing so, OBAE increases the likelihood of ISP participation and, in effect, will provide middle-income New Mexico residents a genuine opportunity to be fully engaged in the digital world.

Affordability Scoring Criteria

For All-Fiber Broadband Projects: OBAE will score affordability based on the pricing proposed for the symmetrical 1 Gbps service tier. The points received will be determined by the degree to which the applicant’s proposed price varies from a reference price for symmetrical 1 Gbps. This reference price will reflect the average price for symmetrical 1 Gbps, based on a 75 to 25 percent weight, respectively, as determined by the data in the FCC’s 2024 Urban Rates Survey. An applicant will receive 50 points if it commits to honor the reference price. The applicant will receive greater points, up to 100, based on the degree of discount relative to the reference price, with all 100 points received if the discount exceeds 50 percent. The applicant will receive fewer points based on the degree greater, with zero points offered if the premium meets or surpasses 50 percent.

For Last-Mile Broadband Deployment Projects Employing Other Technologies: OBAE will score affordability based on the pricing proposed for the 100/20 Mbps service tier. The points received will be determined by the degree to which the applicant’s proposed price varies from a reference price for 100/20 Mbps. This reference price will reflect the average price for 100/20 Mbps, based on a 75 to 25 percent weight, respectively, as determined by the data in the FCC’s 2024 Urban Rates Survey. An applicant will receive 50 points if they commit to honor the reference price. The applicant will receive greater points, up to 100, based on the degree of discount relative to the reference price, with all 100 points received if the discount exceeds 50 percent. The applicant will receive fewer points based on the degree greater, with zero points offered if the premium meets or surpasses 50 percent. OBAE will publish this scoring range for 100/20 Mbps affordability in its future program guidance.

A Vision of Affordable Broadband

In New Mexico's vision for digital equity, every household and community across New Mexico has access to affordable, high-speed broadband internet. This includes urban, rural, and underserved areas, as well as the 23 sovereign territories of the Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos, ensuring that no one is left behind due to geographical location. This aim underscores not just the state Digital Equity Plan, but the coordinated efforts undertaken by OBAE in pursuit of BEAD Program funding.

Additional Coverage on New Mexico's Broadband Priorities

New Mexico's Plan for an Inclusive and Prosperous Society
New Mexico's Commitment to Partnership and Progress Towards Digital Equity
New Mexico's Five-Year Action Plan
Connect New Mexico's Initial Proposal Volume 1 and Volume 2

See the latest New Mexico broadband news

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

FCC Explores How Broadband Data Caps Impact Competition and Consumers—FCC
Broadband Affordability: What Should Change?—New York University
Willingness to pay for broadband: A case study of Wisconsin—Telecommunications Policy

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

Oct 22—The Google Search Antitrust Case—Finding a Remedy that Helps Consumers (Technology Policy Institute)

Oct 24—Broadband Data Collection Mobile Challenge Webinar (FCC)

Oct 24—The Conservative Weaponization of Government Against Tech (ITIF)

Oct 24—Digital Equity Solutions for Tribal Nations (NTIA)

Oct 24—Could a right to remote work stop declining birth rates? (Brookings)

Oct 24—Broadband Data Collection Mobile Challenge Webinar (FCC)

Oct 25—The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online (FTC)

For subscribe/unsubscribe info, please email headlinesATbentonDOTorg

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Broadband Delivers Opportunities and Strengthens Communities

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Emergency Broadband Benefit/Emergency Connectivity Fund

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

State Profiles

The Road to Recovery in Western North Carolina

benton — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 20:30:36 +0000

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Digital Beat

The Road to Recovery in Western North Carolina

Walker

In the late hours of Thursday, September 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall at Keaton Beach (FL). On Friday, downgraded to a tropical storm, Helene made its way up the east coast, leaving a path of destruction through Georgia and the Carolinas. Particularly hard hit was Western North Carolina, with entire towns submerged underwater, and mountain communities turned into islands.

In the days that followed, as images of the devastation slowly came out and folks desperately tried to contact their loved ones, residents were hampered by telecommunications outages throughout the disaster area. On September 28, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that nearly 75 percent of cell sites in North Carolina’s disaster area were out of service, leaving much of the region without communications services.

Nearly three weeks after the storm, communities have banded together to aid in recovery efforts. However, the mountains are, in general, rural and sparsely populated, making it difficult to get food, water, and other supplies to residents in need. This is compounded by the destruction of large chunks of roads, hampering transportation and efforts to repair damaged telecommunications, water, and electric infrastructure.

Helene’s Impact on Infrastructure

Rebuilding from Helene is estimated to require billions of dollars. Here's a quick look at Western North Carolina's infrastructure needs in the wake of the storm.

Telecommunications

Helene dealt devastating blows to telecommunications infrastructure throughout Western North Carolina. On September 28, the day of the FCC’s first Communications Status Report for Helene, nearly three-quarters (74.31 percent) of cell sites in the disaster area were out of service. High winds and flooding badly damaged cell phone towers in the disaster area. Debris and damage to roads slowed operators and technicians in attempts to repair cell towers. As of October 14, nearly 9 percent of cell sites were still out of service.

Broadband internet service was also impacted by the storm. A spokesperson for Spectrum, the largest provider in the region, attributed much of the issue to power outages. But even once a household has regained power, the network hub for its internet service may still be without power. Furthermore, some hubs have sustained substantial damage and Spectrum cannot estimate when the internet will be fully restored.

Water

As of October 13, 90,000-100,000 customers served by Asheville’s Water Resources Department are still without water. Officials don’t anticipate water being fully restored for “weeks at a minimum.” Lines at the North Fork Water Treatment Facility, the principal water treatment plant for the system, were destroyed, and the storm also broke backup water lines buried 25 feet underground. Asheville residents who do have running water are under a boil water advisory.

Power

Hurricane Helene severely damaged large portions of the power infrastructure in Western North Carolina. As of Thursday, October 10, two weeks after Helene made landfall, there were 37,000 households without power, down from 149,000 immediately following the storm.

Duke Energy, the provider in the region, has classified some areas as complex repair zones—“These areas experienced extensive damage, including broken poles, downed lines, damaged transmission lines or road access issues”—and others as disaster rebuild zones— “These areas encountered significant damage and will require new poles, lines,electrical equipment, buildings and infrastructure. Temporary restoration solutions are under development.” Households that do not fall into one of those categories should have power restored by the end of October.

Daily Life in the Wake of Helene

In the wake of the storm, Western North Carolinians have been left reeling. At least 120 people have been confirmed dead. Countless people have lost their homes. Hundreds of roads are closed, and Interstates 40 and 26 were severely damaged by mudslides—and have no timeline for reopening.

Tens of thousands of residents are left without power or running water. Relief groups are providing potable water, but residents describe using Wet Wipes to bathe, and filling buckets from ponds and streams to flush toilets.

Many schools will be closed for weeks or months, and residents fear that the aftermath “might be as devastating for student learning as COVID.”

Through all of this, residents of the diverse area say the community has come together. CCG Consulting's Doug Dawson, an Asheville resident, said,

“There is always a bright side to balance out gloom and doom. We’ve been having neighborhood cookouts to make sure that everybody gets some hot food. Neighbors are all helping neighbors, and there is a renewed sense of community. I’ve met and made new friends that will long outlast any bad memories of the storm.”

However, there is a long road ahead for Western North Carolina. Fall leaves on the Blue Ridge Parkway (now closed indefinitely) and winter holidays in charming mountain towns usually draw thousands of tourists every year. The historic Biltmore House, which draws 1.7 million visitors a year, is also closed indefinitely. Visit North Carolina Executive Director Wit Tuttle estimates that Western North Carolina could miss out on as much as $1.8 billion in tourist revenue this fall and winter.

The Road to Recovery

Rampant online misinformation has hampered recovery efforts. Buncombe County Spokeswoman Lillian Govus said social media rumors spreading in North Carolina have created "a really big obstacle for us to overcome." At a national level, misinformation about the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has paid out over $99 million in aid in North Carolina so far, has become a problem for the agency. FEMA briefly had to pause operations after an armed man threatened officials. After Elon Musk falsely claimed on X that FEMA was not allowing supplies to be delivered, FEMA Chief Deanne Criswell said the misinformation is the "worst" she's ever seen.

Moving forward, recovery in Western North Carolina will be a slow process. Huge portions of the region need to rebuild from catastrophic damage, and the lives, history, and culture that were lost in the storm can never be replaced.

Locals and officials encourage folks to support the economy of Western North Carolina by shopping from local stores online—and, once towns have reopened and locals have the resources they need, to once again visit the beautiful North Carolina mountains.

See More on North Carolina's Broadband Priorities

Follow North Carolina broadband news

Zoë Walker is a Writing Associate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

For subscribe/unsubscribe info, please email headlinesATbentonDOTorg

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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State Profiles

Milton's Four Horses Ride Through Florida

benton — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 11:00:08 +0000

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Digital Beat

Milton's Four Horses Ride Through Florida

Tornadoes, heavy rain, hurricane-force wind, and storm surge. Any of these could devastate a community. Hurricane Milton delivered them all to Florida earlier this month.

Milton made landfall on October 9 in Siesta Key, south of Sarasota, as a Category 3 hurricane and continued out to the Atlantic as a Category 1 the next morning. The storm dropped nearly two feet of rain in some areas, causing flooding inland and adding more water onto the storm surge that was hitting parts of both coasts. Sustained winds were 120 miles per hour, toppling trees and ripping the roof off of Tropicana Field, where first responders were staging operations and thousands of people were taking shelter. More than 3 million people lost power across the state. The National Weather Service counted 45 reports of tornadoes across the southern half of the state.

According to network outage data submitted by communications providers to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), as of 9 a.m. (EDT) October 10 over twelve percent of cell sites in areas impacted by Hurricane Milton were out of service, mostly due to a lack of power. The counties impacted most were Sarasota and Polk, where nearly half of all cell sites were down, along with Hardee, Highlands, Manatee, and Pinellas where at least a third of cell sites were down. Cable and wireline companies reported 1,273,354 subscribers out of service in the disaster area, including the loss of telephone, television, and/or internet services.¹

On October 11, the FCC took action to assist those affected by Hurricane Milton and future storms by temporarily waiving some Lifeline program eligibility rules to ensure that consumers receiving federal disaster assistance can easily apply for and enroll in the Lifeline program. Because of the exigent circumstances that arose from Hurricane Milton, the FCC found that there is good cause for further action to expeditiously ensure that households receive critical assistance for their communications needs in the aftermath of hurricanes and other tropical weather systems in the near term. The FCC temporarily waived the Lifeline eligibility requirements to permit households not already enrolled in the Lifeline program to enter the program if they are receiving individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individuals and Households Program (IHP) as a result of the impacts of Hurricane Milton or other hurricanes and tropical weather systems that result in a Presidential declaration of emergency that occur during the next six months. Such waiver will run for at least six months from the date of the declaration.

The Lifeline program offers qualifying low-income consumers discounts on fixed or mobile voice or broadband Internet access service, as well as on bundled service. Qualifying low-income consumers can receive a $9.25 monthly discount on Lifeline-supported broadband Internet access service or a $5.25 monthly discount on Lifeline-supported voice service. Lifeline consumers residing on qualifying Tribal lands can receive up to a $34.25 monthly discount on Lifeline-supported service.

Florida is Susceptible to Weather Risks

According to FEMA analysis, most counties in Florida are deemed to be susceptible to some weather risks and hazards.

Florida, of course, knows firsthand how extreme weather can have an adverse effect on infrastructure.

Due to its location and unique geographical ecosystems, the state faces unique weather risks and hazards that can cause damage to broadband infrastructure or delay its deployment. Florida has always been more vulnerable to hurricanes and tropical storms than any other U.S. state because its exposed, southern location is surrounded by warm waters. There are almost twice as many hurricanes that hit Florida as Texas, the second most impacted state. But shifting atmosphere and ocean conditions are making hurricane season even worse for Floridians.

There are 12 counties in Florida that are at “very high” risk for hurricanes: Brevard, Broward, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, and St. Lucie. Hurricanes can affect broadband infrastructure in a variety of ways. Strong winds and rains can impact aerial fiber and poles as they are exposed to the elements. In addition, wireless/satellite distribution or access points can be destroyed by the storms. Underground fiber can also be damaged or disrupted during severe storms.

There is one county in Florida that is at “very high” risk for strong wind: Polk. Strong winds have the potential to damage aerial infrastructure, as the poles and fiber lines are suspended and exposed to the elements.

There are two counties in Florida that are at “very high’ risk for tornadoes: Hillsborough and Orange. Tornadoes have the potential to damage aerial infrastructure, as the poles and fiber lines are exposed. There is also a potential that wireless/satellite services could be disrupted due to heavy winds.

Wind storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes can cause direct damage to all exposed broadband equipment, such as utility poles, cables, ground-mounted equipment, and wireless infrastructure.

There are 19 counties in Florida that are at “very high” risk for lightning: Bay, Brevard, Broward, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Okaloosa, Orange, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, and Volusia. Florida is very prone to lightning storms, and these events are most likely to affect above-ground broadband infrastructure, such as poles and aerial fiber cables.

There is one county in Florida that is at “very high” risk for riverine flooding: Miami-Dade. Flooding can damage fiber deployed underground. While cables are made to resist water under normal operating conditions, extreme flooding can have a negative effect on service.

Flooding caused by heavy rainstorms, hurricanes, and coastal and riverine flooding poses a great risk to broadband equipment, especially ground-mounted equipment like network hubs and central offices. Utility poles or even buried fiber can be impacted as well due to saturated ground, river wash-outs, or even corrosion due to prolonged exposure.

Climate Change and Hurricanes

Climate change is a key reason that hurricanes are more destructive—especially in Florida.

Milton was the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. in 2024. Like Hurricane Helene, Milton gained strength rapidly traveling across the Gulf of Mexico, where water temperatures are abnormally high. Warmer ocean temperatures fuel more powerful storms—and climate change is driving record-high sea surface temperatures. The Atlantic Ocean, where hurricanes that hit the U.S. form, and the Gulf of Mexico just off Florida, have been hotter than average for more than 18 months, driven both by climate change and the recent El Nino weather pattern. Warmer ocean temperatures can lead to heavier rainfall and more severe flooding. Storms like Hurricane Helene suck up huge amounts of moisture as they move towards land, which then falls as rain, and can cause flooding far from the coast. Climate change is also driving sea levels higher, which means more dangerous storm surges.

Broadband, Natural Disasters, and BEAD

As Milton illustrates, natural disasters can severely damage broadband infrastructure, causing network failures that interrupt the continuity of many commercial, governmental, and social activities. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program requires states and territories to plan for how BEAD-funded networks will withstand climate-related disasters.

The National Telecommunications Infrastructure Administration (NTIA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have partnered to incorporate knowledge about climate-related hazards into local decisions about telecommunications infrastructure. Sound judgment and a good understanding of local conditions will always be of primary importance when siting and building such systems, but it’s a good idea to be aware of trends in temperature, precipitation, and other climate-related factors that might influence communications system performance during its construction and throughout its planned period of service.

BEAD applicants are encouraged to use a variety of resources to address climate concerns specifically satisfying five requirements:

Identify the geographic areas that should be subject to an initial hazard screening for current and future weather- and climate-related risks and the time scales for performing such screenings;
Identify which weather and climate hazards may be most important to account for and respond to in these areas and over the relevant time horizons, utilizing the tools and resources recommended below or other resources available to the Eligible Entity;
Characterize any weather and climate risks to new infrastructure deployed using BEAD funds for the 20 years following deployment;
Identify how the proposed plan will avoid and/or mitigate the weather and climate risks identified; and
Detail plans for periodically repeating this process over the life of the program to ensure that evolving risks are understood, characterized and addressed, and that the most up-to-date tools and information resources are utilized.

The Florida Office of Broadband aims to avoid and mitigate severe weather risks through a variety of strategies. By incorporating resilient designs, developing mitigation and response plans, and encouraging the hardening of assets, the state of Florida aims to strengthen its broadband infrastructure to withstand unpredictable events. The office intends to use the risk assessment provided by the Florida Division of Emergency Management (DEM).

The Florida Office of Broadband will review and update its resilience and mitigation plans periodically, using resources like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Disaster Risk Mapping tools, the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index, the Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation Assessment Tool, and state-specific information provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The Center on Rural Innovation recommends that state broadband offices analyze the specific contexts of broadband deployment proposals to ensure these deployments mitigate disaster risk. Doing so will allow these offices to better evaluate deployment plans, ask questions of applicants to ensure their networks are going to meet the needs of specific communities during disasters, and prioritize field and compliance checks of funded infrastructure in disaster-prone areas to ensure construction best practices are being followed in the most critical areas.

To withstand damages and minimize the likelihood of service outages, a resilient broadband system requires:

Route diversity: The availability of multiple paths without common points
Redundancy: The provision of duplicate assets to provide backup
Protective measures: The additional processes and systems used to reduce the likelihood that a system will be affected by natural disaster
Restorative measures: The additional processes and systems used to reduce the time needed to return a system to full functionality

Follow the latest Florida broadband news

Affordable Broadband is the Way to Improve Lives and Grow the Economy in Nebraska

benton — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 11:00:05 +0000

Friday, October 11, 2024

Weekly Digest

Affordable Broadband is the Way to Improve Lives and Grow the Economy in Nebraska

Round-Up for the Week of October 7-11, 2024

Taglang

Nebraska is aiming to connect 99 percent of homes and businesses with reliable and affordable high-speed internet access by 2027.

Based on June 2023 data, 12-15 percent of Nebraska’s locations are unserved or underserved, and approximately 105,000 households lack acceptable access to the internet. An unfavorable business case for investment, especially in rural areas, has resulted in limited access. Major factors in the adoption gap are affordability, devices, and literacy.

Nebraska's vision for digital equity is for Nebraskans to effectively use broadband to improve their lives and grow the economy. This means that all Nebraskans have access to high quality broadband service at prices that are affordable, and that everyone has the skills to use the service. But availability and affordability of broadband service were the two issues identified most frequently by participants in listening sessions across the state.

Rural residents and people living in urban areas with high percentages of low-income households have the lowest rates of broadband access at home. Over one-third of Nebraskans live in rural areas. Members of households with annual incomes at 150 percent or less of the federal poverty level make up just over 18 percent of Nebraska’s population.

Through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Nebraska will receive $405 million to ensure every farm, home, and business in the state has access to high-speed internet. The Nebraska Broadband Office (NBO) within the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) is partnering with the state's eight economic development districts to design an equitable plan to bring reliable, affordable broadband to most of the population as soon as 2027.

In addition to having broadband access available, NBO recognizes that Nebraskans should be empowered with sufficient capabilities, should be able to afford broadband, and should be provided access to opportunities to develop digital literacy skills. By ensuring that Nebraskans have access to affordable, quality broadband, an appropriate device, and the skills to use technologies at home, in school, on the farm or ranch, in businesses, in health care, and in government, Nebraska will grow its economy and improve the lives of all Nebraskans.

The BEAD Low-Cost Broadband Service Option in Nebraska

The cost of broadband remains high for some, especially if they reside in a rural part of the state or only have one or two providers to choose from.

NBO will require that all BEAD applicants offer plans to eligible households that provide typical speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream, at least 20 Mbps upstream, and latency measurements of no more than 100 milliseconds.

The annual rate for the low-cost affordable plan offered by providers must be one percent of 200 percent of the total four-member household income of the Federal Poverty Guidelines in 2023, inclusive of all taxes, fees, and charges. This equates to $600 a year or $50 a month. The proposed low-cost plan may not be subject to data caps, surcharges, usage-based throttling, service installation fees, activation fees, equipment purchase fees, or any other recurring or non-recuring fees that add to a customer's rate.

If, after the establishment of its low-cost plan, the provider offers another low-cost plan with higher speeds, the provider will be required to permit its existing low-cost subscribers to upgrade to the new low-cost plan at no additional cost.

For all BEAD applicants, NBO will require submission of a low-cost plan and score the proposed affordable plan.

Consumer eligibility for these plans was to be tied to ACP enrollment. For now, the following households will be eligible for the low-cost service option in Nebraska:

Annual incomes at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines,
Receiving a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year,
Meeting the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income internet program,
Participation in one of these assistance programs:
- Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools,
- SNAP,
- Medicaid,
- Federal Housing Assistance, including Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (Section 8 Vouchers), Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA/Section 202/ Section 811), Public Housing, Affordable Housing Programs for American Indians, Alaska Natives or Native Hawaiians,
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC),
- Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits,
- Lifeline,
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance,
- Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF),
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations,
- Tribal Head Start

The Low-Cost Plan and ACP

As of March 2024, nearly 89,000 out of 284,439 eligible households (31%) in Nebraska had enrolled in the Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Nebraska has 116 ISP providers that participated in ACP with 70 providing fixed-broadband services and 42 offering connected devices (laptop, desktop or tablet). Due to a lack of funding, ACP ended in May 2024.

NBO planned to require all BEAD-supported providers in the state to allow subscribers to apply ACP benefits (or any State or Federal successor plan) toward the low-cost plan. All providers were to be encouraged to place links to information about the ACP in conspicuous locations on their websites.

Nebraska adopted an extensive strategy for increasing ACP enrollment including outreach and education, partnering with community organizations, streamlining the application process, target communications, community workshops and trainings, helping enrollees picking ISPs, ongoing support and troubleshooting, monitoring enrollment, and program evaluation.

Nebraska expected to increase ACP usage among eligible low-income families, bridging the digital divide and enabling greater access to the internet for educational, employment, and other essential needs.

BEAD Middle-Class Affordability Plans in Nebraska

The median household income in Nebraska in 2023 was $66,644.

NBO reviewed existing price plans for 100 Mbps offerings on Nebraska provider websites as well as data from the FCC Urban Rate Survey from 2021, 2022, and 2023. Based on this market analysis, NBO is documenting the current median rate at two percent of the median household income in Nebraska in 2023 for a 100 Mbps symmetrical service plan. This equates to $1,332.88 a year or $111.07 a month. NBO encourages broadband providers to continue to strive to offer broadband service in this area of pricing.

The Middle-Class Affordability Plan will be scored as part of the BEAD application process in Nebraska. A proposed plan must provide typical speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream, at least 20 Mbps upstream, and latency measurements of no more than 100 milliseconds. The plan must not be subject to data caps, surcharges, or usage-based throttling and must be subject to the same acceptable use policies as all other subscribers to broadband services offered by the provider. NBO will require all providers to offer the middle-class plan across the BEAD-funded network but encourages providers to offer the plan to all customers. NBO understands the difference between business and residential plans for providers, and, as a result, the middle-class affordability plan is intended for residential customers. All BEAD-supported providers should promote the availability of middle-class affordability plans on their websites and through other promotional avenues.

Investing in Digital Equity

Connecting all Nebraskan households to high-speed internet access requires investment in digital equity. Nebraska’s digital equity efforts are focusing on affordable access to service, access to internet-enabled devices, and digital literacy. The Nebraska State Digital Equity Plan will support the digital equity strategies of the Nebraska Strategic Broadband Plan and provide more detail.

Nebraska also plans to improve public internet access in Nebraska communities. The state plans to work with libraries and other stakeholders, for example, to increase the number of libraries with fiber broadband connections by taking advantage of E-Rate funding available through the Federal Communications Commission.

Additional Coverage on Nebraska's Broadband Priorities

Creating Digital Opportunities in Nebraska
Nebraska's Digital Equity Plan
Capital Projects Fund Helps Build Nebraska's Broadband Bridge
Connecting Nebraska—Five-Year Action Plan
Nebraska Broadband Office Initial Proposal Volume 1 and Volume 2

See the latest Nebraska broadband news

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

Oct 14-15—Michigan Broadband Summit (Merit)

Oct 15—2024 Maryland Statewide Digital Equity Summit (University of Maryland Extension)

Oct 15—Task Force For Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (FCC)

Oct 15—Building Bridges For BEAD: A Community & ISP Networking Expo (Michigan High-Speed Internet Office)

Oct 16—Getting Connected: Closing the Broadband Access Gap in the US (Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland)

Oct 17—October 2024 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (FCC)

Oct 17—Advancing Community Broadband (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Oct 18—Disability Advisory Committee Meeting (FCC)

Oct 22—The Google Search Antitrust Case—Finding a Remedy that Helps Consumers (Technology Policy Institute)

Oct 24—Broadband Data Collection Mobile Challenge Webinar (FCC)

Oct 24—The Conservative Weaponization of Government Against Tech (ITIF)

Oct 24—Digital Equity Solutions for Tribal Nations (NTIA)

Oct 24—Could a right to remote work stop declining birth rates? (Brookings)

Oct 25—The Attention Economy: Monopolizing Kids’ Time Online (FTC)

For subscribe/unsubscribe info, please email headlinesATbentonDOTorg

Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Broadband Delivers Opportunities and Strengthens Communities

Series:

Emergency Broadband Benefit/Emergency Connectivity Fund

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

State Profiles

Impact of the Election on the Broadband Sector

benton — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 20:54:13 +0000

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Digital Beat

Impact of the Election on the Broadband Sector

Keynote Speech for Broadband Nation Expo

(As Prepared for Delivery)

Levin

Are there any undecided voters in the room?

I thought not.

Here’s why I asked. I’m going to say some things that may sound partisan. They are not. They’re just Wall Street analysis. I am certain nothing I say will influence a single vote. Which is fine. But one cannot talk about the impact of the election without saying some things that to some ears, in this climate, sound partisan.

So, with that in mind, let’s discuss the current Broadband Policy State of Play and how the election may affect it.

There are four fundamental goals of broadband policy:

One, networks everywhere.
Two, everyone on.
Three, use the networks to improve the delivery of essential public goods.
Four, a market dynamic that is constantly driving faster, better, cheaper, easier broadband.

As to the first, we are well on the way to achieving the goal, though more slowly than we would wish. Federal Communications Commission data suggests we already reach the low 90s percent. Between the Capital Projects Fund and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, however, we are within a few years of getting to the high 90s, if not finishing that job.

As to the second goal, we are moving backwards. The end of Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) was the largest step backwards any country has ever taken to widen the digital divide. Having said that, we won’t know how large a step backwards until later this year. I am guessing we will discover that most of those homes that lost ACP have stayed on, thanks to voluntary, private, low-income programs.

Many of those homes will still be broadband insecure but the bottom line is that the combination of the Emergency Broadband Benefit, the ACP, and voluntary programs have narrowed the affordability divide. That would make the affordability problem easier to solve though ironically it takes off some of the political pressure to solve it.

As to the access and affordability problems that remain when BEAD is finished and we know what happened to the 23 million homes receiving ACP, we need to reassess. More on that in a minute.

As to the third, we are making progress and AI will inevitably be an accelerant. But while we are using broadband for healthcare much better than we did pre-COVID, we still have not cracked the code for education, job training, and other public services.

As to the fourth, there is a big debate. For now, I will simply say that relative to what we had when we did the 2010 National Broadband Plan, it is a lot faster, better and easier. The average download speed when we did the plan was about 4 down. The latest Ookla speed test has us at about 250 down, over 60 times faster. We now have fiber in over half the homes in the U.S., usually competing against gigabit-capable cable; something non-existent back in 2010. And in some places, fixed-wireless competition is fueling another competitive dynamic.

As to price, between 2010-2023 overall inflation was 40 percent. The broadband price index, however, increase at only a quarter of the rate, by about 10 percent when adjusted for quality.

Still, we have a way to go to upgrade copper to fiber to millions of homes. While some, such as Memphis, are engaging in some interesting experiments, I think that discussion will not move to the front burner until the end of the decade.

How will the election change any of these? Let me break it down this way.

As to those things your industry fears if Democrats win, they will not happen. The courts are highly likely to overturn the FCC’s frameworks for Title II and Digital Discrimination and anything else I can think of that might arguably represent a speed bump to investment in new or upgraded networks.

As to one of, if not the top thing your industry needs—a sustainable, rational, and national universal service policy—that is more likely to happen under the Democrats, with the Democrats likely to be more generous when it comes to low income and institutional (that is, E-Rate) support, which supports markets all across the country while Republicans will be more focused on support for rural areas.

I could be wrong. Many Republicans are participating in bipartisan efforts to reform the FCC’s Universal Service Fund and could lead us to a comprehensive solution. Still, so far, those efforts have not borne fruit. I worry that the reason is that the disagreements are still too wide.

I worry that on the issue of USF contribution reform, there is a lot of rhetoric about taxing tech, but—just being an analyst here—tech has a strong record of stopping legislation it doesn’t like.

I worry that we are not focused on distribution reform. I’m astonished that so far—and if I missed it, my bad—there is no authoritative study that tells us, post-BEAD and the end of ACP, how much we are likely to need to fund individual and institutional access and affordability.

I know the FCC staff. They could produce that authoritative study. I don’t know how you have a thoughtful debate about the future of USF without some basic analysis of the financial needs.

In addition, I think that if Trump wins, we should assume that Elon Musk will be highly influential on all telecommunications issues. Ask yourself, what is the ideal USF program from Starlink’s point of view? Based on what he has said about BEAD, I don’t think he is on the same page as the bipartisan working groups.

But this is not about ideology. Starlink’s business model is different than most everyone else offering broadband. Starlink has built out its network covering the United States. Wired and Fixed Wireless ISPs build out locally. Many are in the process of upgrading. Any government money that goes to Wired or Fixed Wireless providers to upgrade their networks for consumers weakens Starlink’s relative competitive position. Further, Starlink relies on using government spectrum. Any additional spectrum it can use strengthens its ability to serve more customers and improves the quality of the service. In the same way, any spectrum that is allocated to other satellite providers or to mobile or fixed wireless services weakens Starlink’s relative competitive position.

Seeking to gain a business advantage through a policy process is not unusual. Having one player with a unique business model and unique political power is.

As to BEAD, if Harris wins, the roll-out will continue as currently planned. With Trump, there is some risk of delay as the Republicans rethink the priorities and potentially replace civil service employees with political appointments, two of the proposals recommended in Project 2025. There is even a risk of a significant cut back in fiber deployment as Musk and some Republican policymakers see the fiber spending as unnecessary considering satellite offerings.

There has been a lot of criticism of BEAD particularly related to how long it has taken. What the critics keep forgetting is that more than half of time was taken up with the FCC developing a map.

Congress required that map because the 2020 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction used maps that included as unserved locations where there was obviously already broadband coverage, such as in Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, Apple headquarters, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, and several large airports including international hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth and San Francisco.

Critics also forget Congress asked the BEAD program to finish the job of connecting all Americans to broadband. Other deployment programs allocate funding that everyone agrees is insufficient, and then makes incremental progress in connecting unserved areas. BEAD does the opposite. It puts a huge amount of money on the table but requires states to color in the entire map. It's a totally different, and much more difficult, policy problem.

If Congress wanted BEAD to prioritize speed, it would have been better off to give the funding to the FCC and ask it to run a national reverse auction rather than creating a state grant program, which required setting up state broadband offices in many states. Considering the failure of the RDOF program, it is understandable that Congress made the decision it did not to do so.

Policy also needs to deliver more spectrum. The parties have different approaches but neither appears to have a strategy for addressing the concerns of the Department of Defense—a significant user—in a timely manner. With spectrum, I think the outcome is less a matter of ideology and more a matter of leadership and diplomatic skills, something difficult to predict in the context of the election.

I will only note, as I did on the Wall Street Journal editorial page the other day, that we need a systemic approach to repurposing spectrum from fading uses to innovations that will drive consumer benefits and economic growth. We have done so successfully under both Democrats, with the broadcast incentive auction, and under Republicans with the C-Band auction. But I should add that the Democratic auction won a Nobel Prize as well as two Emmys. Ok, that was a gratuitous, partisan comment.

My serious point is that we need to do so on a systemic, not an ad hoc basis.

As to the third and fourth problems, utilization and the copper divide, those are more likely to be addressed through state and local initiatives. The federal government could do more to stimulate experimentation but that does not appear to be on the radars in this political season.

Let me mention two underappreciated elements post-election.

First, the recent hurricanes will elevate a back burner issue—resiliency and reliability—to the front burner. Similarly, the news about the Chinese hack of communications networks may do the same for security. There are not easy nor partisan answers. But the pressure to come up with pragmatic answers will increase.

Second, perhaps the most important and, so far, ignored economic policy at stake in the election involves the question of how Trump will, if elected, set individual tariffs. He has proposed imposing a “universal” baseline tariff on all imported goods, which, at his direction, can be waived or increased. Under our trade laws, through which Congress delegated broad authority to the President, he arguably has that power.

So, under Trump’s plan, huge sectors of the economy would be incented to beseech him to lower the costs of their imported inputs and increase those of their competitors. What will be the criteria Trump will use for determining whether a tariff is increased or decreased? A detailed economic study demonstrating the impact on jobs? On economic growth? On prices? On national security?

Not the way I would bet. Consider his flip-flops on TikTok, crypto, EVs, visas, and vaping. As Politico noted, “Trump keeps flip-flopping his policy positions after meeting with rich people.”

But it wasn’t just the meeting. It was the giving.

Tariff supplicants, including foreign countries, will understand that rather than investing in economists, perhaps they should invest in Jared Kushner’s fund, or Trump social media stock, or buy a supply of Trump $100,000 watches. Those efforts could all be hidden. But even if exposed, thanks to the Supreme Court, they are likely legal.

Conservatives have rightly decried rent-seeking—using political means to take wealth from someone else and to redistribute it to oneself—to warn against government interventions in the economy as diverting resources from more productive activities. But the limited conservative push back to Trump’s plans suggest he will have the freedom to act however he wishes.

Tariffs will then reflect the willingness of enterprises to bribe, I mean in the parlance of the Supreme Court, the willingness of enterprises to offer a gratuity, not a rational economic response to boost our economy. The price you will pay for importing foreign inputs will not reflect market forces of supply and demand but rather the market price for Trump’s affections.

What is that price? Good luck figuring it out.

Let me close with this thought. There is a fundamental Wall Street issue for your companies in terms of misaligned product cycle.

Wall Street values service providers business in part on its perception of how long a product cycle is: the longer the better in terms of amortizing a generation of equipment to capture revenues. That is, Wall Street would prefer that as to service providers, the time between 4G, 5G and 6G be as long as it can be.

On the other hand, Wall Street values equipment providers’ businesses on its perception of how short the clients’ product cycle is: the shorter the better. If the gap between the G’s goes down by a year, the stocks of the equipment side go up.

This is not a unique or even unusual situation. It does create a tension.

But there is a path for you and your clients and the country to win. While we can and should argue over details, there are ways to enable upgrades to address resiliency, reliability and security, to close the copper/fiber gap, to create a spectrum pipeline that addresses market demands and capital requirements, that produces a broadband ecosystem that is constantly becoming faster, better, cheaper and easier.

Some of those answers will be raised and discussed at this meeting. Some await the election returns. Some require better analysis before the real debate can commence.

But I know this for certain: none of the discussions that will lead us to where we want to go will take place on X.

Thank you.

Blair Levin is the Policy Advisor to New Street Research and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings Metro. Prior to joining New Street, Blair served as Chief of Staff to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt (1993-1997), directed the writing of the United States National Broadband Plan (2009-2010), and was a policy analyst for the equity research teams at Legg Mason and Stifel Nicolaus. Levin is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.

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Kevin Taglang
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Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Ensuring Affordable Broadband for all Virginians

Grace Tepper — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 22:00:00 +0000

Friday, October 4, 2024

Weekly Digest

Ensuring Affordable Broadband for all Virginians

Round-Up for the Week of September 30-October 4, 2024

Tepper

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) sees the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program as Virginia’s opportunity to finish the job of extending broadband access and also make long-term, transformational investments into broadband affordability and adoption. With the $1.48 billion in BEAD funds for Virginia, DHCD is finalizing plans to extend broadband infrastructure to the remaining unserved locations without a funded solution for connectivity and designing programs to meaningfully address broadband affordability and adoption. DHCD's approved Initial Proposal Volume II details how it plans to ensure affordable, reliable broadband for all in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Affordability in Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to approximately 1.4 million low-income households, which are defined by the NTIA as a household with an income less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level, as established by the Bureau of the Census.

As a part of the development of Virginia's Digital Opportunity Plan, DHCD distributed the statewide Digital Opportunity Survey to collect valuable quantitative data that helped paint the picture of the current state of Digital Opportunity in Virginia. According to survey findings, 29 percent of Virginians without internet access said that it was too expensive for them, and 51 percent of all respondents were unwilling to pay more for better internet service. Most respondents (81%) had also not applied to a program for internet accessibility, and only one-third (30%) were aware of these programs.

Living where reliable broadband infrastructure is missing is not just an availability barrier, but also a problem of affordability. Further stakeholder engagement by DHCD identified that rural, remote, and coastal regions where wired (e.g., fiber, cable) or reliable fixed wireless broadband does not exist. For many rural residents whose internet lines are not yet laid, the cost to pay a provider to install them is often too high. For others, what is provided is slow (e.g., DSL) or the only option is satellite which can be costly and – for older satellite technologies – is unreliable in inclement weather.

Those who have been digitally left behind frequently discuss the adverse socioeconomic effects of the digital divide. Low-income households experience the digital divide from the perspective of having already been left behind economically. Essentially, the lack of existing economic opportunity for this population creates a lack of digital opportunity in many ways. This is a clear example of how low-income households experience a negative feedback loop. A lack of socioeconomic opportunity begets a lack of digital opportunity, further reducing opportunities to improve their economic situation.

Virginia's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option

As required in the BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity, subgrantees receiving BEAD funds to deploy broadband infrastructure are required to offer a “low-cost broadband service option” that is available to customers for the useful life of the network assets. DHCD defines a low-cost service option as the following:

The service option is set at a price that is affordable to the eligible population, defined as those eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program or its successor or within the range of $30.00 to $75.00. This range is based on a DHCD survey conducted of a collection of state-funded Virginia internet service providers regarding the lowest cost plan pricing option that they offer in state-funded broadband expansion award areas. The offerings for lowest cost plans during that time period ranged between $30.00 and $75.00.
The applicant shall submit a justification for why such an option is affordable to the eligible population. The applicant may establish a low-cost service option below $30/month.
The price identified, as well as the provisions identified below, for this service option will be a contractual requirement of awardees for the useful life of the network assets, which is defined as 10 years. This price shall be indexed to the Consumer Price Index, as outlined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but shall not exceed an increase by four percent annually.
Allows the end user to apply the Affordable Connectivity Program benefit subsidy to the service price and makes a demonstrable effort to inform prospective customers of these programs and the steps necessary to enroll and apply the benefit to the service plan.
Consistently and reliably provides download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and typical upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps.
Provides typical latency measurements of no more than 100 milliseconds.
Is not subject to data caps, surcharges, or usage-based throttling, and is subject only to the same acceptable use policies to which subscribers to all other broadband internet access service plans offered to home subscribers by the participating subgrantee must adhere.
In the event the applicant later offers a low-cost plan with higher speeds downstream and/or upstream, permits Eligible Subscribers who are subscribed to a low-cost broadband service option to upgrade to the new low-cost offering at little to no cost.

While the Affordable Connectivity Program was active, the applicant was required to participate in ACP and was encouraged to ensure that prospective customers were aware of their participation in the ACP. DHCD states that the applicant is encouraged to participate in any successor broadband subsidy programs, as the Affordable Connectivity Program has ended.

DHCD used eligibility for the ACP to determine who qualifies for a low-cost broadband service option under BEAD. However, as the ACP is no longer active, DHCD will defer to NTIA clarification on how low-cost service option eligibility verification should occur.

Middle-Class Affordability Plans in Virginia

The affordability of broadband services from BEAD-funded networks for middle-class households is a priority for DHCD and is addressed by the following program elements:

BEAD Proposal Scoring Criteria

DHCD’s primary means of ensuring affordability is the weight of affordability in the scoring criteria established in this proposal. Affordability comprises 20 percent of the scoring criteria DHCD will use to evaluate proposals to serve a location under the BEAD program. Under the scoring criterion, the lowest total cost service package of gigabit symmetrical service will receive full credit. More expensive packages receive a percentage of points reflective of their percent distance from the lowest cost package.

Low-Cost Service Option

Providers participating in the BEAD program are required to offer eligible customers the Low-Cost Service Option defined in Virginia's proposal. Broadband service providers are encouraged to ensure that broadband services offered to prospective customers in the BEAD-awarded area are affordable and reasonably accessible to middle-class households.

Consideration of Special Construction Costs

For a subset of Virginians, broadband connections are not attainable because their home exceeds an internet service provider’s standard connection drop length from a roadway or easement containing telecommunications infrastructure. The cost incurred by homeowners to extend broadband infrastructure to these locations, referred to as special construction costs, ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the distance and cost to connect the location. To account for this affordability barrier to connect to broadband networks, awardees will be prohibited from charging special construction charges for a minimum of twelve months after broadband service is made available to a BEAD-funded location. Awardees will not be permitted to charge any fees to subscribers for these line extensions, except for the regular connection fees associated with any connection made on the network.

Kicking off BEAD in Virginia

On October 1, 2024, DHCD launched its BEAD Letter of Intent window, which kicks off the BEAD application process. The 60-day letter of intent phase will end on November 30, 2024, unless extended, and will be followed by a 90-day full application phase. Visit the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development website for more information and resources on the BEAD Program.

Additional Coverage on Virginia's Broadband Priorities

See the latest Virginia broadband news

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

Oct 9––This is only a Test: Understanding Experimental Licensing (FCC)

Oct 11––Digital Equity: The Future of Bridging the Digital Divide (AARP)

Oct 14-15––Michigan Broadband Summit (Merit)

Oct 15––2024 Maryland Statewide Digital Equity Summit

Oct 15––Task Force For Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States (FCC)

Oct 17––October 2024 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (FCC)

Oct 18––Disability Advisory Committee Meeting (FCC)

Oct 24––Broadband Data Collection Mobile Challenge Webinar (FCC)

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Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

State Profiles

A Better Way to Fund USF

benton — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 11:00:44 +0000

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Digital Beat

A Better Way to Fund USF

Horrigan

Levin

There is a political consensus that the United States should continue its nearly century long commitment to assuring that the tools of modern communications are universally accessible and affordable.

There is also a consensus that the primary program through which we keep that commitment—the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF)—is breaking down. While it has multiple problems, including legal and administrative challenges, the primary problem is that the system by which we fund USF is unsustainable. As many readers may know, any entity that provides interstate telecommunications services to the public for a fee must contribute to the USF. Various new mechanisms have been proposed but we think there is a better way: assess online gambling.

Before explaining why that mechanism is better, let us describe the current alternatives for funding and their flaws.

Keep the status quo. While no one advocates for this alternative, this has been the de facto policy for the last decade. The simple truth, however, is that the USF contribution base—the communications revenues subject to the USF assessment—keeps going down forcing the contribution factor—the percentage assessment of the contribution base revenues—to keep going up. For example, in the last quarter, the contribution base revenues were approximately $329 million less than the previous quarter, and the lowest quarterly revenue in the history of the USF. As a result, the USF contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2024 will rise from 34.4 percent to 36.5 percent—the highest quarterly contribution factor in the history of the USF.

Pay for it through annual appropriations. While this alternative has some theoretical attractiveness, it ignores that the service providers cannot make long-term capital plans that depend on annual appropriations that are subject to the vagaries of politics. While nothing is certain in life, too much uncertainty will cause the ISPs to underinvest in capital projects both because the funding for long-term investments may not survive a bad political cycle and the demand side for low-income customers may also be cut off, rendering their models moot.

Assess broadband revenues. The FCC could assess broadband revenues. The FCC so far has chosen not to. The FCC’s argument was that it does not want to raise the cost of the broadband service, making it less affordable for tens of millions of households.

Assess Big Tech. A new favorite, championed by FCC Commissioner Carr and others, is to assess Big Tech. This alternative has the advantage of going after a large revenue stream garnered by a currently unpopular sector. It has the disadvantage of going after a complicated revenue stream enjoyed by a sector that, despite its unpopularity in the public on some fronts, has a perfect record of defeating any Congressional efforts to regulate or tax it more. Carr’s efforts have garnered him great headlines but there is no traction for it so far in Congress.

Assess Online Gambling. There is another alternative.

Let’s start with this question. What will be the biggest social problem in the US in the year 2030 that rides on communications platforms? A December 2022 Wall Street Journal article provided evidence that it is likely to be young men gambling online. For example, it noted that the “number of 11th and 12th grade males experiencing gambling problems, such as lying about how much they lost, or being unable to control their gambling, rose to 8.3% in 2022 from 4.2% in 2018, according to one survey of 7,500 7th through 12th graders in Wood County, Ohio.” Another example was that “more male college students are coming in for treatment, often at the insistence of parents who discover tuition money and other college expenses have gone toward sports betting and other gambling.”

Another recent story in The Atlantic provided further evidence. Noting that sports gambling is now legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia, yielding $10 billion a year in revenue, it pointed to three studies showing devasting consequences: one, finding that sports gambling depletes households’ savings; a second finding that sports gambling increases the risk that a household goes bankrupt by 25 to 30 percent and increases debt delinquency; and a third finding a link between sports gambling and increased domestic violence.

What are we doing about it? The New York Times reported, “to reap millions of dollars in fees, universities are partnering with betting companies to introduce their students and sports fans to online gambling.” And that “Government oversight of sports betting offers scant consumer protections and looks to the industry to police itself.”

There is an argument that sports gambling should be banned. But we don’t see that as likely. There are, however, many things the government should do short of that to reduce the harm. One of them is to do what government has done before to reduce the harm of legal but problematic behaviors such as the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes: tax it. While there is a current tax, we would propose raising it to fund some, if not all, of the USF program.

Such a tax would not have the problem of raising the cost of broadband, something we don’t want to cause. It would also not have the problem of assessing a tax on a complicated corporate revenue stream. It provides a steady and, unfortunately, growing revenue stream that can be relied upon. And its revenue opportunities are sizable enough to be part of a meaningful broadband subsidy solution. According to the Legal Sports Report, some $2.14 billion dollars in taxes was collected on $11 billion in revenue for 2023 in states where such betting is legal (which excludes Texas and California). Online sports gambling is only a portion of overall online gambling revenue; online casinos and online lotteries generated another $8.5 billion in revenue for operators in 2023.

So as a matter of policy, it is clearly superior to the alternatives offered to date.

As a political matter, we understand Commissioner Carr’s desire to blame the tech industry for many ills. Whether justified or not, it is remarkable how many policies he recommends in his chapter on the FCC in the now infamous Project 2025 book relate to policies the FCC has nothing to do with but that would have the impact of raising costs for Big Tech enterprises. But while that might work in terms of Republican messaging, when it comes to rewriting the tax code in Congress, there is a good reason his proposal has gone nowhere.

It is never easy to assess a new tax on a sector. But if the tech and communications sectors were to align in support of the using such assessments to fund USF, the political odds would improve.

In short, if government is going to sanction something with proven harms, why not tax it to fund something with proven benefits?

John B. Horrigan is a Benton Senior Fellow and a national expert on technology adoption, digital inclusion, and evaluating the outcomes and impacts of programs designed to promote communications technology adoption and use.

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Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Broadband on the Ballot in North Carolina

benton — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:00:00 +0000

Monday, September 30, 2024

Digital Beat

Broadband on the Ballot in North Carolina

Walker

Although a great deal of attention is on the 2024 elections at the national level, state elections could play a major role in how high-speed networks are rolled out, particularly in regards to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

The need for reliable communications is very apparent in the state this week. Since Friday, September 27, Western North Carolina has been experiencing catastrophic flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene. Although towns like Asheville and Boone attract swaths of tourists, the area is generally very rural, and the rocky, mountainous terrain makes communications infrastructure difficult to install and maintain in the best of conditions.

In the wake of the storm, the region has almost completely lost cell phone and internet service, making it nearly impossible for residents to communicate with friends and family—and for friends and family to get in touch with loved ones impacted by flooding. Major carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are working to restore service, but the historic flooding and damage are making repair efforts difficult, and none have been able to provide timelines for full restoration.

In the coming weeks and months as Western North Carolina recovers and rebuilds, support and investments in strong broadband and communications infrastructure will be critical.

North Carolina's Broadband Record

North Carolina has a strong record on broadband. The current Governor, Roy Cooper (D-NC), has championed broadband over his two terms. In 2021, Gov. Cooper launched the nation’s first Office of Digital Equity and Literacy. In 2018, through an Executive Order, Gov. Cooper started the Connecting NC Task Force and launched the Growing Rural Economies With Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program, which funds the terrestrial deployment of broadband within unserved areas of economically distressed counties. GREAT has awarded $350 million since 2022. He has also advocated for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and North Carolina had the ninth-largest percentage of ACP enrollees in the country when the program shut down earlier this year due to a lack of federal funding.

While state Republicans gerrymandering efforts have made national news and eliminated much of the partisan competition for local races, there are at least three hotly contested races in the 2024 election cycle that may have significant impacts on high-speed broadband roll outs.

Race for Governor

Josh Stein is the Democratic candidate for Governor of North Carolina. He is currently serving his second term as North Carolina’s Attorney General, where he has worked closely with Governor Roy Cooper. Stein’s campaign page includes one direct reference to broadband—on the Strengthening Rural Communities page,

That means delivering high-speed and affordable internet access to every household so people can engage, learn, and compete in today’s online world and economy.

In his time as Attorney General, Stein has repeatedly called for increased funding for broadband access.

In 2021, he and 29 other attorneys general urged the FCC to “amend or waive E-Rate program rules as necessary to provide broadband connectivity for remote schooling.”
Stein also joined with 16 other attorneys general to protect users of the Lifeline program. The attorneys general asked the FCC to make sure that any mergers or acquisitions between telecommunications companies protect and maintain the affordable services that Lifeline provides for millions of Americans.
After winning over $13 million in a settlement with Dish Network, Stein urged the North Carolina legislature to use the funds to address the digital divide.
Stein also successfully negotiated a settlement with Frontier Communications that required the company to invest $20 million to improve internet speeds and access in the state.

“Affordable, reliable internet is necessary for North Carolinians to work, study, get health care, and run businesses,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “We’ve been hearing concerns from Frontier customers for years now, and I’m hopeful that these investments will lead to better service.”

Mark Robinson is the Republican candidate for Governor of North Carolina. He currently serves as the Lieutenant Governor. Robinson’s 10-point economic plan includes one direct reference to broadband,

This means investing in rural broadband, safe and wide roadways, coastal protections, robust bridges, and well-maintained ports.

However, Lt. Gov Robinson has said that the state should reject federal funding for public schools. While he did not specify which federal funding he would reject, the federal E-Rate program has provided over $1 billion in discounts towards internet access and connections for North Carolina schools and libraries. Rejecting E-Rate and other federal funding for schools would make it harder for public schools to connect to the internet, and could widen the digital divide for North Carolina students.

Race for Attorney General

Jeff Jackson is the Democratic candidate for Attorney General. He currently serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, and is known for his use of social media to explain policy issues and the function of the U.S. Congress. Jackson’s campaign website includes one direct reference to broadband—a bill that he sponsored in the North Carolina State Senate in 2019 to remove restrictions blocking electric cooperatives from seeking federal funding for broadband services.

In a 2021 blog post, Getting to Universal Broadband in North Carolina, Rep Jackson wrote about the various issues preventing universal broadband in North Carolina, including the ban on public broadband, and laid out some of the possible solutions, writing,

If we just did the obvious stuff—legalize municipal broadband, provide modest subsidies to very low-income families, and use relief funds to scale-up our fiber investment—we’d see tremendous progress very quickly.

Dan Bishop is the Republican candidate for Attorney General. He is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. As a member of the North Carolina State Senate, Rep. Bishop was notable for being the lead author of the controversial North Carolina House Bill 2, also known as the “Bathroom Bill.” While his campaign page does not mention broadband or list any policy priorities, in 2020 Rep. Bishop announced an award from the the Economic Development Administration to increase broadband development in hurricane impacted areas.

In 2021, Bishop voted against the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided a combined $1.61 billion for broadband in North Carolina. In a press release, Rep Bishop called ARPA “nothing more than a partisan liberal wish list.”

First Congressional District

North Carolina has one of the most competitive congressional races in the country. The state’s first Congressional district consists of 21 counties. Much of the district is rural, households there are poorer than in other parts of the state, and agriculture remains an economic driver.

Don Davis is the Democratic candidate for North Carolina’s First Congressional District. He is the incumbent in this race. Rep. Davis is a veteran and former mayor. His campaign website includes two direct references to broadband—including a section on rural broadband infrastructure and rebuilding the rural economy. Rep. Davis is a supporter of the Affordable Connectivity Program, and joined calls to re-fund the program. Rep. Davis has spoken about the importance of broadband.

In a March press release from the Problem Solvers Caucus regarding the impending end of the ACP, Rep Davis said,

Affordable and reliable broadband connections are necessary for the long-term success of eastern North Carolina. It’s essential for kids at school, workers, and communities.

Laurie Buckhout is the Republican candidate for North Carolina’s first Congressional district. She is a retired Army Colonel. Her campaign website does not include any references to broadband. She does not have any record on the subject.

Elections Matter

Governor Cooper’s Closing the Digital Divide Plan lays out three goals for North Carolina to achieve by 2026:

Raising the percentage of North Carolina households with high-speed internet subscriptions from 73% to 80%.
Raising the percentage of North Carolina households with children with high-speed internet subscriptions from 81% to 100%.
Increasing adoption rates to 80% across racial subgroups:

Native American (currently 57%)
Black: (currently 64%)
Latinx: (currently 68%)
White: (currently 76%)

In the 2024 elections, North Carolinians should consider which candidates will get the state across that finish line.

See More on North Carolina's Broadband Priorities

Follow North Carolina broadband news

Zoë Walker is a Writing Associate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

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Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
headlines AT benton DOT org

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Series:

State Profiles

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society blogs

New Hampshire Pursues Affordable Broadband With BEAD

Weekly Digest

New Hampshire Pursues Affordable Broadband With BEAD

How Affordable is Broadband in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option for BEAD Networks

Middle-Class Affordability Plans for New Hampshire's BEAD Networks

Affordability Scoring Criteria

Conclusion

Additional Coverage on New Hampshire's Broadband Priorities

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

Arizona’s Competitive Congressional Races and the 6th C

Digital Beat

Arizona’s Competitive Congressional Races and the 6th C

Arizona Broadband

Senate Candidates’ Broadband Positions

Competitive House of Representatives Races

The 6th C

Additional Coverage on Arizona Broadband Priorities

Affordable Broadband for Every Household in New Mexico

Weekly Digest

Affordable Broadband for Every Household in New Mexico

Broadband Affordability in New Mexico

New Mexico's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option for BEAD Networks

How OBAE Arrived at the Proposed Service Offering Price

Service Option Criteria

New Mexico BEAD and ACP

New Mexico's Middle-Class Affordability Plan for BEAD Networks

Affordability Scoring Criteria

A Vision of Affordable Broadband

Additional Coverage on New Mexico's Broadband Priorities

More in this Series

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

The Road to Recovery in Western North Carolina

Digital Beat

The Road to Recovery in Western North Carolina

Helene’s Impact on Infrastructure

Telecommunications

Water

Power

Daily Life in the Wake of Helene

The Road to Recovery

More in this Series

See More on North Carolina's Broadband Priorities

Milton's Four Horses Ride Through Florida

Digital Beat

Milton's Four Horses Ride Through Florida

Florida is Susceptible to Weather Risks

Climate Change and Hurricanes

Broadband, Natural Disasters, and BEAD

More on Florida's Broadband Priorities

Affordable Broadband is the Way to Improve Lives and Grow the Economy in Nebraska

Weekly Digest

Affordable Broadband is the Way to Improve Lives and Grow the Economy in Nebraska

The BEAD Low-Cost Broadband Service Option in Nebraska

The Low-Cost Plan and ACP

BEAD Middle-Class Affordability Plans in Nebraska

Investing in Digital Equity

Additional Coverage on Nebraska's Broadband Priorities

Quick Bits

Weekend Reads

ICYMI from Benton

Upcoming Events

Impact of the Election on the Broadband Sector

Digital Beat

Impact of the Election on the Broadband Sector

Ensuring Affordable Broadband for all Virginians

Weekly Digest

Ensuring Affordable Broadband for all Virginians

Affordability in Virginia

Virginia's Low-Cost Broadband Service Option

Middle-Class Affordability Plans in Virginia

BEAD Proposal Scoring Criteria

Low-Cost Service Option