Pennsylvania is seeking “equitable, affordable, and robust high-speed broadband infrastructure and services connecting Pennsylvania for the 21st century and beyond,” said a state broadband plan adopted Thursday. The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority board approved the plan in a unanimous voice vote at a partially virtual meeting Thursday. Authority Executive Director Brandon Carson said the shot clock is now running to develop the plans required by NTIA to get Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) federal funding.
Verizon backed the Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) Broadband Coalition proposal to extend the program, per an ex parte filing Tuesday in docket 10-90 (see 2207190056). The FCC could "give rate-of-return carriers the opportunity to make an enforceable commitment to provide 100/20 Mbps service" using their ACAM or Connect America Fund broadband loop support funding, Verizon said in a meeting with Wireline Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff. Doing so would prevent areas subject to enforceable commitments from receiving support through the broadband, equity, access and deployment program, Verizon said. It also backed "looking to the BEAD program or other new programs, rather than the universal service fund, to meet deployment goals" in order to "mitigate increases in annual support."
Communications sector officials and lobbyists believe the outcome of the Tuesday midterm election could affect a range of telecom policy priorities, including whether the Senate confirms FCC nominee Gigi Sohn this year, or any other commission Democrats, during the remainder of President Joe Biden’s term. Election results may affect future federal broadband funding initiatives and the direction of a proposed spectrum pipeline in the years ahead, observers told us. Election prognosticators see only a handful of incumbents on the Senate and House Commerce and Judiciary committees facing tight reelection battles despite volatile polling results in recent weeks.
Broadband advocates, industry and academics urged policymakers Wednesday to develop standards for measuring broadband beyond speed. Some during the Marconi Society virtual event sought a focus on how local communities implement sustainable broadband programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s funding to expand access to broadband may have a “very big” net economic impact because “the broadband is missing in areas that aren’t going to add a lot of economic value,” said Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten during a Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy webinar Tuesday. It’s still “worthwhile” because it’s “an equity issue,” Wallsten said, and there are “still lots of areas in the country that don’t have access or have subpar access to broadband.” Wallsten said the funding “may have positive local economic effects,” such as helping small towns attract businesses and residents,” but he raised concerns about there being “too many objectives” beyond “providing the most broadband we can for the amount of money that we have.” There also hasn’t been enough focus on program evaluation, he said: “That’s kind of being ignored and I’m worried about that.” Wallsten also raised concerns about the FCC’s broadband maps and the challenge process underway for the broadband serviceable location fabric: “It’s really unclear what’s going on with the map right now.”
Whether Oklahoma should cap its state USF surcharge divided Corporation Commission members at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. Commissioners weighed a draft bill, distributed last week, to update Oklahoma USF (OUSF) policy in the 1997 Oklahoma Telecommunications Act. A commission rulemaking might be a better option than legislation to strengthen OUSF accountability, said Commissioner Todd Hiett (R).
Broadband mapping experts raised concerns about the FCC’s methodology and processes for developing its new broadband availability maps. During a Wednesday Broadband Breakfast webinar some questioned how the data will affect how NTIA allocates broadband, equity, access and deployment program funding (see 2209060059).
New York state can speed broadband deployment by requiring pole owners to share pole replacement costs with attachers, cable companies said in comments last week at the New York Public Service Commission. Pole owners disagreed, suggesting using the influx of state and federal broadband funding to pay for replacements. Some other attachers urged the PSC to act quickly on less controversial issues in docket 22-M-0101, especially with the FCC considering similar issues in its docket 17-84.
State telecom regulation is needed to reach rural areas, two Democrats running for utility commissions in red states said in interviews ahead of Nov. 8 elections. Facing one such challenge, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chair Chris Nelson (R) told us his state has made “tremendous progress” rolling out broadband in recent years. Alabama, New Mexico and some Colorado voters will have ballot questions on broadband next month.
Cleanup of existing orbital debris could be complicated by lack of clear international norms on how to handle small objects, space law experts told us. Many said clean-up efforts will almost surely focus on big objects in space since technology to deal with small debris is still under development.