ASPEN, Colo. -- NTIA won't repeat the mistakes made in past federal efforts to narrow the digital divide, said Evan Feinman, director of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, Tuesday at Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum. This time, he said, "we are going to solve this problem" and avoid the top-down approaches that missed unserved or underserved locations and didn't use ideal technology. But critics see danger signs.
The FCC denying Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program funding for SpaceX's Starlink (see 2208100050) points to satellite operators needing to be able to prove their systems' scalability and reliability if they want to participate in future broadband subsidization programs, experts told us. SpaceX and the FCC didn't comment.
A Verizon executive warned against awarding funds from the NTIA’s $48 billion broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program to companies that won’t be able to build the networks they promise. BEAD must be “structured in a way that works for experienced providers, who cannot only build reliable and efficient networks, but who will be around to serve customers for many years to come,” said Kathleen Grillo, senior vice president-public policy and government affairs, at a Media Institute virtual lunch Wednesday.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
NTIA will “ultimately measure our success by meaningful adoption” of broadband as the agency implements the broadband, equity, access and deployment program funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, said Administrator Alan Davidson during a virtual USTelecom and AT&T event Friday. Affordability and adoption are “critical” to connecting households, Davidson said, and it “doesn’t help if we have a connection to somebody’s home if they can’t afford to get online or they can’t use it” (see 2206090072).
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Wireless ISPs urged NTIA to amend its definition of reliable broadband service unveiled last month for its broadband, equity, access and deployment program (see 2205130054) to allow for participation by WISPs. “It’s our view that the NTIA’s definition of Reliable Broadband Service excludes ISPs who are already providing reliable and dependable internet access to so-called unserved rural and non-urban areas,” said a Thursday statement coordinated by Preseem, a cloud-based platform for smaller ISPs: “As such, we believe the NTIA’s definition is unfair and inaccurate, and should be amended.” New WISP Association President David Zumwalt also criticized the definition. “WISPs provide dependable, resilient, reliable broadband to millions of Americans across the country, and have long served and excelled on the front lines of bringing broadband to unserved areas,” he said: “NTIA should clarify its guidance so that the objectives of the BEAD program can be truly achieved, and States provided with the flexibility they need to bring broadband to the unserved.”