NTIA awarded more than $601.6 million in additional tribal broadband connectivity program support Tuesday, totaling more than $1 billion to date (see 2209220062). The new funding will support 23 applicants in 15 states and connect more than 42,000 unserved tribal households, said a news release. "Today’s awards will not only build high-speed Internet capacity within tribal nations, but also bring digital opportunities for good-paying jobs, education, and healthcare," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The agency will release a notice of funding opportunity "in the coming months" on an additional $1 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding.
The new Coalition for Coordinated Sharing filed a petition for rulemaking at the FCC Tuesday, asking the agency to develop rules to open the 10-10.5 GHz band for point-to-point use on a shared basis. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to find greenfield spectrum below the 12 GHz spectrum band to connect tower sites, enterprises and devices,” the group said in a news release: “Sharing spectrum in the 10 GHz band represents the most viable means to solve congestion and meet consumer demand for more robust broadband and IoT services with incumbents.” The coalition's members are the Wireless ISP Association, Cambium Networks, the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge. An official with the coalition told us it builds on a 2013 proposal by Mimosa asking that the band be set aside for outdoor and long-distance backhaul links at the power levels allowed under Part 90, subpart Z, of commission rules. The commission took comment in 2014 (see 1404150034). CTIA previously supported use of the 10 GHz band for licensed use (see 2011030051). Bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate urged an exam of the band in 2015 (see 1503030029). The coalition said sharing would be easier than the sharing in the citizens broadband radio service band, similar to the frequency coordination being developed for the 6 GHz band. “Over the last several years, the Commission has made thousands of megahertz of spectrum available for last-mile service,” the group said. “While those allocations have created significant public benefits, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for more point-to-point spectrum to relieve congestion in other bands and help meet the increased demand for fixed broadband service,” it said: “This is particularly true in rural areas and for other applications where devices are not proximate to available or affordable fiber.” The spectrum is currently occupied by DOD and possibly other federal incumbents in many areas, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Using a geographic coordination system, this underutilized band could also accommodate shared use with broadband providers in many rural, tribal and other underserved areas,” he said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau extended its waiver of Lifeline recertification and reverification requirements for subscribers residing on tribal lands through Jan. 31, said an order Friday in docket 11-42 (see 2209160042). The bureau also extended the waiver to Lifeline subscribers on tribal lands that are also participating in the affordable connectivity program.
The FCC extended its disaster information reporting system Friday to cover counties in Georgia and South Carolina hit by Hurricane Ian, which headed north after pummeling Florida. The FCC said it acted in coordination with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FEMA. The FCC also set up a dedicated website on Ian.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appointed Denise Bambi Kraus Tuesday to be chief of the Office of Native Affairs and Policy. As chief, “Kraus will further the Commission's efforts to bring the benefits of modern communications to all Native communities,” the FCC said. “ONAP will lead Tribal consultation and provide technical assistance to ensure all Tribal Nations have the support that they need to participate in the agency's ongoing broadband data collection effort and expand the accuracy of the FCC's broadband availability maps,” the FCC said. Kraus will also focus on access, affordability and sustainability. She was formerly national tribal affairs advisor at FEMA.
FDA on Sept. 26 released two strategy documents outlining the potential actions it may take to address the risks of salmonellosis and listeriosis in imported enoki and wood ear mushrooms, and of salmonellosis in imported bulb onions. The food safety prevention strategies are the first two released as a result of outbreak investigations conducted by FDA through its Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network alongside federal, state, territorial, tribal and international partners, the agency said.
NTIA awarded an additional $29.3 million in tribal broadband connectivity program support to the Native Village of Port Lions in Alaska (see 2208300064). The new funding will support fiber deployment with 1 GB symmetrical speeds to connect 930 unserved tribal households, businesses, and anchor institutions, said a Thursday news release. “Affordable and reliable high-speed Internet for these remote villages means access to jobs, health care and education," said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. Additional grants will be announced "on a rolling basis this fall."
The FCC broadband data task force scheduled a virtual workshop Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. EDT to give state, local and tribal governments, ISPs and other entities technical assistance on how to file bulk challenges in the broadband serviceable location fabric, said a public notice Thursday in docket 19-195 (see 2209150075).
To close the digital literacy gap and maximize federal dollars for increasing broadband access, programs and institutions need to focus on local solutions, existing community programs, and community anchor institutions like libraries, said numerous panelists at the FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council’s virtual Digital Skills Gap Symposium and Town Hall Thursday. The symposium is intended to help inform the CEDC’s efforts to create a national plan and toolkit for digital upskilling in connection with the Digital Equity Act, said CEDC Chair Heather Gate.
The FCC will release a notice of funding opportunity “in the coming months” for organizations seeking funding through the affordable connectivity program’s outreach grant program, said Derik Goatson, Office of Native Affairs Policy legal adviser, during a Consumer Action webinar Tuesday (see 2208050023). The grant program’s review process will “prioritize applicants who target underserved low-income households and communities with low ACP enrollment rates,” Goatson said, noting “many of these communities are often tribal communities.”