If the past couple of years of pandemic aid have shown us anything, it’s that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/08/1161284053/biden-rural-funding?utm_source=sendgrid&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletters&amp;mc_cid=3b9894371d&amp;mc_eid=f63cc288fd">process of channeling help</a> to communities that need it the most is complex. Just because Congress appropriated money doesn’t mean that targeted communities will receive it: Communities have to discover a benefit. Then its members have to figure out if they’re eligible, and how they can access it.Oftentimes, these communities don’t trust the offers of help because the means by which the benefit is being distributed is hijacked by unethical actors (as described recently in this<a href="https://ilsr.org/building-for-digital-equity-podcast/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Institute for Local Self Reliance podcast interview</a> with Margaret Kaufer, President of the STEM Alliance of Westchester, New York.)That’s why a <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/kids-action/articles/why-closing-the-digital-divide-is-a-team-effort" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pilot campaign undertaken </a>last Fall in Phoenix, Arizona by Common Sense Media to bolster adoption of the Biden Administration’s <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/acp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Affordable Connectivity Program</a> is so worthy of attention. The program boosted ACP enrollment to 8,500 households a month at its peak, up from 2,900 households in August 2022. That 8,500 number is the highest number of eligible households enrolled in the program since its inception in March last year, according to Common Sense Media.&nbsp;The campaign is notable because studies have shown that only<a href="https://www.educationsuperhighway.org/wp-content/uploads/No-Home-Left-Offline_Accelerating-ACP-Adoption_2022.pdf">&nbsp;1 in 4 eligible households have enrolled in the ACP since it launched in 2021</a>. And a <a href="https://www.benton.org/blog/half-acp-eligible-households-still-unaware-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">January, 2023 survey</a> conducted on behalf of he Benton Institute for Broadband &amp; Society revealed that half of eligible households still aren't aware of the benefit. Currently, 16 million households have enrolled in the program, but an estimated 52 million are eligible. The Federal Communications Commission administers the program, and in March 2023, it allocated $66 million to dozens of local non-profits across the country to also boost awareness and adoption.&nbsp;The ACP is a key part of the Biden Administration’s signature program to bring affordable internet access and economic opportunity to all households in the country. The program provides a monthly subsidy of up to $30 a month for broadband subscriptions&nbsp; to households with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or that participate in a qualifying federal benefits program. Eligible households also can receive a one-time discount up to $100 toward a device from certain providers after contributing between $10 and $50.&nbsp;Ready offers <a href="https://ready.net/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Turnkey ACP</a>, a product that enables providers the ability to seamlessly offer eligible households ACP discounts to new subscribers when these prospective subscribers sign up for service.The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act appropriated $14.2 billion to fund the ACP program. At the same time, some<a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3535663-affordable-connectivity-program-needs-permanent-funding/">&nbsp;predict that the program may run out of money by 2024</a> if Congress and the Administration doesn’t renew the funding stream. Advocates want to make sure that the households that need the subsidy to participate in the modern economy get access to it as soon as possible. According to a<a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20190648">&nbsp;2021 study</a> from the American Economic Journal, subsidized broadband for low-income Americans have helped them gain employment and decreased their likelihood of being unemployed.&nbsp;<h2>Digital Navigators are essential&nbsp;</h2>Common Sense’ pilot campaign leveraged the deep bench of human resources of an existing institution, a highly-targeted media campaign, and partnerships with state and local government leaders to gain trust and get the word out.&nbsp;“Our main criteria was finding an area where we could have a partner that had the capacity to do a call center or text-based navigator support program,” said Drew Garner, Common Sense Media’s state broadband policy advisor.&nbsp;The nonprofit found that partner in the<a href="https://digitalequityinstitute.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Digital Equity Institute</a>, an Arizona-based nonprofit, and Arizona State University, which had recently received $35 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for digital equity work. The university partnered with Common Sense Media to direct all the ACP signup inquiries generated by its targeted advertising campaign to its 150 university tech support staff, who adopted the additional role of being digital navigators for the ACP.&nbsp; The navigators’ job was to help callers obtain the credentials needed to obtain the monthly subsidy, but also to help them understand their complex menu of options.Garner worked with Common Sense’ Senior Director of Advocacy Campaigns Elizabeth Foley, Arizona Director Ilana Lowery, and the Digital Equity Institute’s Managing Director Erin Carr-Jordan to implement the pilot project.&nbsp;“Not only do we help them with getting the benefit through the national verifier,” Garner explained. “We can also answer questions about internet service. Like what do ‘speeds’ mean? What sort of speeds do you need for the size of your family? Do you want a mobile, or do you want a fixed line?”&nbsp;Garner says the duration of the calls spanned from 5 minutes to 2 hours. But the average was 12 minutes.&nbsp;Arizona State University’s digital navigators are available 24/7 and speak multiple languages. They are led and trained by Alexa Tarvid, an experienced digital navigator formerly with the state library system.. In addition to their training, the University’s navigators also have access to internal articles that pop up on their computers with Frequently-Asked-Questions about the ACP.&nbsp;“To get the benefit to the people who need it, you need navigators – specialists who can help a person enroll, and then apply the benefit because the target population may not have internet connectivity, and they may not have a device,” Garner says. “They almost certainly don't have a lot of familiarity with computers and how to navigate these forms. So paying for the human capacity to work with people on a one-on-one basis over the phone or in person is critical. And if you do that, you start bringing money into the state, because the more people you enroll, the more ACP money your state is going to get.”<h2>Getting the word out</h2>Common Sense Media spent $300,000 on a bilingual advertising campaign to publicize the availability of the ACP. The campaign reached targeted audiences in South Phoenix online, at bus shelters, on billboards, on TV, and on the radio. Each form of media relied on a unique phone number so that Common Sense could track which medium generated the best response.&nbsp;“The key really was frequency,” says Common Sense’ Elizabeth Foley. “The ideal was for an individual to see a TV ad, and then the next day when they're maybe on their commute, or you know out of their house seeing the outdoor ads.”The idea was that multiple forms of exposure would nudge the eligible residents of South Phoenix to take action and call to sign themselves up for the benefit.&nbsp;&nbsp;Common Sense’ ads featured its&nbsp;<a href="https://getmyinternet.org/">Get My Internet</a> ACP website, and an 800 number. The campaign drew the attention of local media and generated stories in the Arizona Republic and the local public radio affiliate.&nbsp;Common Sense and the Digital Equity Institute also worked with the state broadband office and local officials to get the word out. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/the-mayor-of-phoenix-talks-about-the-acp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">filmed a PSA for the campaign</a>, and the video was promoted through Common Sense and the city’s social media channels. All this resulted in 1600 calls to Arizona State University’s call center in 12 weeks. Callers received information about how to sign up for ACP, what internet subscription plans might work for them, as well as material from Common Sense’ education arm about how families can navigate the internet safely, find jobs and make health appointments.&nbsp;Garner also recommends that state offices that administer federal benefits such as Medicaid and SNAP may want to inform beneficiaries about ACP so that they can connect with the beneficiaries and administer the programs more efficiently through online portals.<h2>The Future</h2>Common Sense’ ad campaign has ended, but the call center resources are still available to the public. The Digital Equity Institute and University plan to build on these resources as Arizona rolls out its IIJA Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) and digital equity programs.In the meantime, Common Sense is looking to expand, and partner with&nbsp; other state and local governments, nonprofits, or foundations to replicate a similar program in other areas of the country. It is currently exploring the idea of working with the city of Atlanta, Georgia.Meanwhile, the <a href="https://communitynets.org/content/nationwide-push-address-acp-anemia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">White House held a webinar</a> on Monday, March 13 that further highlighted the work of three other national non-profits’ ACP campaigns: <a href="https://civicnation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Civic Nation</a>, <a href="https://www.educationsuperhighway.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Education SuperHighway</a> and the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Digital Inclusion Alliance</a>.&nbsp;The groups are launching an “<a href="https://onlineforall.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Online for All</a>” campaign aimed at helping more families enroll in the ACP with similar tools and strategies as described here in Common Sense Media’s campaign.<h2>Key Lessons from Common Sense Media's ACP Campaign in Phoenix:</h2><ul><li>Navigators are essential because many disconnected households lack the skills needed to enroll themselves</li><li>Phone-based support allows households to enroll using familiar devices, in private, and on their own schedule</li><li>Medicaid and SNAP are, by far, the most common enrollment pathways</li><li>2 out of the 5 callers requested Spanish language support</li><li>3 of of the 5 expressed discomfort with technology and/or online forms</li><li>4 out of 5 callers were not previously signed up for Lifeline (or the ACP)</li><li>Navigators are instrumental in collecting anecdotes for advocacy</li></ul><h2>Lessons from the Ad Campaign</h2><ul><li>Digital and TV ads performed best but may benefit from a holistic approach</li><li>~50% of callers only had a smartphone to connect to the internet</li><li>Radio ads were underperforming pre-COVID levels</li><li>A simple, mobile-friendly website is most effective</li><li>Ads with trusted branding and authoritative language performed much better</li><li>QR codes generated very little engagement</li><li>Earlier inclusion of government/transit agencies, utilities, schools and social service programs (which can be slow,) is a cost-efficient way to extend reach.</li><li>Competing ad campaigns (i.e. election campaigns) reduce cost efficiency, so think about when you are going to launch a campaign, and what other entities will be driving up ad prices.&nbsp;</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;

A Common Sense Media pilot campaign in Phoenix, Arizona, quadrupled enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program to 8,500 households a month in a limited amount of time. Here's how they did it. 

How Common Sense Media deployed activism, media, and a key partnership to drive ACP Adoption in Arizona

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Ready.net, Inc. is pleased to announce that Shannan Williams-Mitchem has joined the company as Director of Community Outreach and Research as of November 14.Williams-Mitchem joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where she was appointed as Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives in the administration’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OIGC). NTIA is an agency within the Department of Commerce.While at NTIA, Williams-Mitchem helped lead the management of the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) pilot program—a $265 million investment in expanding broadband access to minority serving institutions and their anchor communities. &nbsp;She served a pivotal role in streamlining the CMC applicant review and selection processes, developing outreach plans to engage stakeholders, and supporting the development of research plans and recommendations.In her leadership role at NTIA, Williams-Mitchem was a firm advocate for greater engagement within unserved and underserved communities of color in meeting NTIA’s goals for digital equity through engagement with trusted partners, local service providers and community anchor institutions.At Ready, Williams-Mitchem is thrilled to join a highly skilled and innovative team that is building technological tools to address the critical issue of broadband access and digital equity.“Ready.net’s tools are a game changer for communities in bridging the digital divide. I’m so excited to share these amazing tools and to be a part of a team innovating at warp speed to make real and tremendous change,” she said.Williams-Mitchem will support Ready's nationwide <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Audit</a> mapping system and the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/community-kit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit </a>to states and localities.She will also support Ready’s work with state broadband offices and local governments, and she’ll lead partnerships with institutions interested in using Ready’s data platform. She’ll be there to help them to obtain deep insights into underserved and unserved communities so that they can ensure equitable distribution of the historic federal funding opportunities.Prior to her time at NTIA, Williams-Mitchem worked for nearly 10 years at the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a> (NIST), a sister agency to NTIA within Commerce. At NIST, she led high profile research and standards reform initiatives in the Special Programs Office.She gained invaluable change management and business development skills as an Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, a management consulting firm. She also has experience working directly in state and local governments, having worked for the State of Maryland and serving as a Mayoral Fellow for the City of Chicago.Williams-Mitchem is a graduate of the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. She obtained her Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Urban Economic Development in 2009. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduating Magna Cum Laude and as a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar in 2007.

Williams-Mitchem joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where she was Deputy Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives

NTIA Leader Shannan Williams-Mitchem joins Ready.net as Director of Research

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Are you applying for broadband grant funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program?&nbsp;You’ll need at least a 25% matching funds contribution for grants you seek, along with a <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/letter-of-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Letter of Credit </a>submitted up front with your application.&nbsp;That's the bare minimum. In many cases, states will seek a larger proportional match.This requirement may seem intimidating for many would be grant-seeking broadband providers – especially local, new, and non-traditional providers. But there are many pathways to fulfilling this requirement for strong, growth-minded providers of all shapes and sizes.&nbsp;The matching requirement can even be an opportunity to align with great partners who can help connect more families to better broadband. It’s all a matter of perspective, knowledge, and network.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Untitled_ef142592ee/Untitled_ef142592ee.png"></figure><figure class="image"><img></figure>Many in broadband view matching funds requirements as unfair, obstructionist and political, but the truth is: Matching contributions can be a powerful force multiplier for your project’s outcomes.Help with matching funds is the top request from <a href="http://broadband.money">Broadband.money</a> applicants – 68% of provider applicants look for some kind of help lining up this crucial, elusive ingredient.We even hear about otherwise-strong, skilled, capable providers – many local, many innovative – who are considering sitting out the IIJA BEAD program given the uniquely high bar for matching funds.That’s why we were so excited when <a href="https://www.fiberbroadband.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fiber Broadband Association</a>’s President and CEO Gary Bolton imagined a webinar series to help bridge this knowledge gap.&nbsp;We’re grateful to get to work with Gary and the FBA team in their new series called <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/intro-to-bead-matching-funds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Where’s the Funding</a>? Now providers and applicants can learn how to get matching funds for BEAD grants from experts. Gary generously agreed to make the curriculum open and available to the broadband community. Attendance is free.<h2>When</h2>On the third Wednesday of each month of 2023, an industry expert will lead a 30-minute discussion, including a Q&amp;A session.&nbsp;We’ll kick the series off with Gary in January’s episode, covering the basics of how to get matching funds for broadband grants.<h2>What</h2>In early 2023, the series will dive into matching contribution topics, from broad to advanced. Later in the year, episodes will get into the dedicated, unique needs of specific groups:<ul><li>Internet service providers and BEAD grant-matching funds</li><li>Tribal broadband grant matching funds</li><li>Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) and Telco broadband grant matching funds</li><li>Municipalities – all the flavors and varieties of tools available in the municipal markets</li></ul>Upcoming topics include:<ul><li>Intro to the Capital Stack: What are the pros and cons of different loans? Should you borrow money from private or public sources?</li><li>Intro to Private Funding Sources: Banks, family offices, foundations and more.</li><li>Intro to Public Funding Sources: How might applicants leverage public funding sources?</li><li>Intro to Alternative Sources and Types of Investments</li><li>How to Design a Resilient Capital Stack</li><li>Lining up Matching Funds Efficiently: You don’t need 100 different matching funds providers. Learn how to leverage the funding marketplace – launching mid-2023 – to save time and get multiple offers.</li><li>Navigating the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/letter-of-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Letter of Credit</a>: You have to submit it up front. Where do you start? Once you get offers, now what?</li></ul>Broadband.money exists so providers can get the resources they need to connect more families to better broadband.&nbsp;We strongly encourage attending Where’s The Funding? Learn how to do more with less.<a href="https://login.circle.so/sign_up?request_host=discuss.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RSVP for free</a> so you can learn how to <a href="http://broadband.money/wtf " target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">find BEAD matching funds providers</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

If you're applying for an IIJA BEAD grant, you should attend our webinar new "Where’s The Funding?" series, hosted by Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association.  

Introducing: Where's the Funding?

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The surprise wasn’t what President Biden said about broadband in the East Room of the White House – it was that he said it in the East Room of the White House.As far as federal programs go, $42.5 billion isn’t nothing. But it isn’t a lot of money, either. I think the takeaway of yesterday’s announcement is that Biden (and Vice President Kamala Harris) want to be associated with improving Americans’ broadband.&nbsp;<h2>Parallels with rural electrification of three generations ago</h2>I was struck by the repeated mentions of the connection between the bipartisan infrastructure law and the 1936 Rural Electrification Act passed during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt.The 1936 law intended to bring electricity to nearly every home and farm in America, the administration noted.&nbsp;“High-speed internet is the new electricity,” the White House noted in the first page of its briefing guide.&nbsp;“Today, roughly 8.5 million locations across America aren’t connected to the internet. The Biden-Harris Administration is going to close that gap. As a result of once-in-a-generation funding in the President’s Investing in America agenda… to bring affordable, reliable, high-speed internet to everyone in America.”&nbsp;<h2>States learn that they win some and lose some</h2><a href="https://ready.net/state-broadband-office-resources/list-ntia-bead-broadband-grant-allocations" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">States are still digesting their numbers released yesterday.</a>Some states, like Virginia, were pleased with their numbers – $1.48 billion. Other states, like Kansas, were disappointed – $451 million. The next step will be to compare the numbers released yesterday with the various industry and analyst projections that have been made.&nbsp;Critically important will be understanding why&nbsp;each state received their particular award – and the tools that state broadband offices need to manage the state challenge processes.&nbsp;<h2>Linkages to other aspects of the Biden administration’s Investing in America agenda</h2>Another thing I heard while I listened to Biden’s statements yesterday was how the president is doubling down on “Buy America” rules.In its briefing prior to the announcement, the administration highlighted how “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is driving a manufacturing boom – in part because of provisions in the historic legislation passed by President Biden that requires made-in-America materials.”For example, they highlighted a recent announcement in North Carolina by fiber optic cable manufacturers Corning and CommScope announced $500 million and $47 million expansions of facilities earlier in the year.There are some thorny issues to address here, too. But as the broadband industry welcomes the implementation of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, in needs to be conscious of sorting through these challenges, too.

Parallels with rural electrification, states digest their awards, and learning to live with Buy America rules.

Some early takeaways on the Biden administration’s BEAD allocation announcement

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Identifying sources of matching funds is a critical component of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment process. Over the past 12 months, the Fiber Broadband Association “Where’s The Funding?” series has been designed to equip applicants with the tools and information they need to satisfy BEAD’s matching contribution requirements under the signature National Telecommunications and Information Administration broadband funding program.BEAD matching – JanuaryReady CEO&nbsp;Jase Wilson and Chief Operating Officer&nbsp;Mike Faloon gave an introduction to the BEAD financing requirements. The program requires applicants to match 25% of their project costs, either with their own capital or outside loans or investments. Crucially, those have to be secured before an application is submitted.“It’s going to be the hardest part of your grant journey,” Wilson said.BEAD matching – FebruaryThe BEAD program requires 25% matching funds, but applicants that secure more will have better chances of winning grants, said&nbsp;Evan Feinman, director of the BEAD program at NTIA.Those matching funds can come from municipalities with remaining money from other federal programs like the American Rescue Plan Act and the Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund.Another source of matching funds the NTIA will accept are in-kind donations, he said. That can include rights of way, pole access, and labor, among other things.Sources of capital – MarchDavid Hartin, president of the telecom investor ITC Holding Company, highlighted mezzanine debt and issuing convertible notes as potential ways of securing match funding for broadband grant applicants.Mezzanine debt offers repayment plans tailored to the borrower’s revenue. Convertible notes are a type of bond that can function like both debt and equity, as they can be converted into stock in the issuing company or cash of equal value.More sources of capital – AprilNonprofits have more flexibility when providing funds than banks or government offices, said&nbsp;Brian Vo, Chief Investment Officer at Connect Humanity, a nonprofit that finances digital equity projects. He has worked with providers to finance projects with revenue-based repayment plans, for example, in which loan payments are linked purely to how much money the network brings in after being constructed.Impact-focused nonprofits like Connect Humanity can help smaller providers especially, but he noted that even nonprofits will want a partner to be familiar with their financial condition.Navigating the previous Letter of Credit requirement – MayUntil the NTIA issued a waiver for its 25% letter of credit requirement in November 2023, many in the broadband community were worried about this rule. Many of the individuals campaigning for a change to this requirement spoke about this in a special Ask Me Anything session on<a href="https://www.broadband.io/c/broadband-grant-events/ntia-letter-of-credit-discussion">&nbsp;November 9, 2023</a>. The updated guidance allows states to use performance bonds, which providers only pay out if the project fails, and milestone-based repayment plans to ensure the financial viability of a project.In May, WTF guest&nbsp;Elizabeth Bowles, president of Aristotle ISP, flagged the restrictive nature of the original rules. A 25% letter of credit would tie up too much cash up front for smaller companies to compete, she said.&nbsp;Getting matching funds – JuneChris Perlitz, managing director at Municipal Capital Markets Group, has been contemplating using grant anticipation notes from local banks to help finance BEAD projects. That’s short-term financing issued to borrowers expecting to receive a government grant.The funds can be placed in a trust account and used as collateral for letter of credit requirements, he said.Municipal bonds – JulyMunicipal bonds are debt issued by a city or town. Investors in such bonds are exempt from federal taxes and from most state taxes. They provide a low capital cost and can help grant-funded projects get off the ground, Perlitz said in his second WTF appearance.It will be important for providers to start building partnerships with municipalities early in the grant process, he said.Matching for rural electric co-ops – AugustLocal governments can assist BEAD applicants by putting up other federal money as matching funds, said&nbsp;Darren Farnan, CEO Missouri-based electric co-op United Fiber. County officials helped his co-op secure other state broadband grants by signing on to United Fiber’s applications and providing ARPA money toward the matching requirement.For co-ops specifically, the nonprofit model can allow networks in more densely populated areas to help subsidize the most remote places that for-profit companies won’t build to, he said.Challenges of matching funds – SeptemberConnect Humanity founder&nbsp;Jochai Ben-Avie discussed some of the challenges for rural providers looking to get matching funds. The high cost of serving rural areas is a significant barrier to getting that capital, he said, but small providers can work with electric co-ops to get pole access as an in-kind donation toward the 25% requirement.The NTIA also left open the possibility of waiving the match down to zero in high-cost areas, which a number of states are attempting to take the agency up on in theory initial proposals.Opportunities from securing matching grants – OctoberIn October,&nbsp;Jack Lawrence, chief financial officer of Amperage Infrastructure Corporation, spoke to the issue of how matching funds unlocks major broadband grants. Prior to Amperage, Jack was vice president at Priority Technology Holdings and oversaw the Priority Technology Ventures portfolio. Prior to joining Priority, he was CFO and CAO of Finxera, Inc., which was acquired by Priority.Tribal matching funds – NovemberTribal Ready CFO&nbsp;Joe Valandra and American Indian law practitioner&nbsp;Jennifer Weddle discussed some of the specific barriers and opportunities Tribal communities face in getting funding for BEAD projects.The BEAD matching requirement can be waived for Tribal projects, and Tribes need to be assertive about requesting those waivers from States, Weddle said.Tribes can also use any ARPA funds they have yet to spend if matches are necessary. &nbsp;

Highlights and takeaways from Fiber Broadband Association’s Where’s the Funding (WTF) series exploring sources of matching funds for NTIA's BEAD

Here are some of the best WTF highlights!

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Recapping the 2023 broadband year in review centers on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, the $42.5 billion last-mile broadband program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.Among the topics that will be discussed in the broadband community in the <a href="https://www.broadband.io/c/broadband-grant-events/2023-broadband-year-in-review">end-of-year bash</a> on Friday, December 15, 2023, at 1 p.m. ET include the following:1. Broadband Maps and the Evolution to the Data-Driven State Broadband OfficeState broadband offices across the U.S. are now currently finalizing their initial proposals, after nearly a year of back-and-forth with first the Federal Communications Commission and then the National Telecommunications and Information Administration over data about broadband serviceable locations.&nbsp;As part of the BEAD program, state broadband offices need to ensure that maps identify all unserved locations (those that do not receive 25 Mbps down by 3 Mbps up) as well as all underserved locations, or those that do not receive 100 Mbps by 20 Mbps.Particularly in the early months of 2023, state broadband offices began shifting from a narrow focus on mapping to a more wholistic approach where smart, data-driven states found the need to ingest, analyze and process far more information than merely broadband locations on a map from the FCC.&nbsp;2. Allocation Awards to State Broadband OfficesMidway through the year, in a White House ceremony on June 26, 2023, President Joe Biden <a href="https://ready.net/state-broadband-office-resources/list-ntia-bead-broadband-grant-allocations">announced the award amount to states</a> under the BEAD program. Texas and California received the largest awards, with $3.3 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively, but 19 states received more than $1 billion each, including Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.By late November, all 56 states and territories had released their proposals for public comment in their states, a necessary step before being officially submitted to the NTIA by December 27.&nbsp;Louisiana and Virginia were two states whose initial proposals (volume 1) have already been approved by NTIA.&nbsp;In general, Volume 1 details how states will ground-truth broadband coverage data, and approval of the volume by NTIA kicks off the challenge process on states’ broadband availability. Volume 2 outlines states’ plans for administering grant programs with their BEAD funds. That includes provisions like how grant applications will be scored,&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2023/11/ntia-will-allow-alternatives-to-letter-of-credit-for-bead-funding-in-new-guidance/">financing requirements</a>, and the price at which states will start to consider technology other than the fiber-optic cable favored by the program.States are able to submit volume 1 before volume 2, an effort by the NTIA to get challenge processes started and expedite the program’s process.&nbsp;This is&nbsp;driven by a sense of urgency: State broadband offices have only 365 days to award funds to broadband providers after their post-challenge process proposals are approved by NTIA.3. Middle Mile AwardsOn June 16, NTIA&nbsp;announced $930 million in funding for middle-mile broadband, nearly all of the $1 billion available for such projects under the bipartisan infrastructure law.In all, 35 projects were announced by the Commerce Departments, and these projects will cover 350 counties in 35 states and Puerto Rico. The states receiving the largest funds for these middle mile projects are Alaska, California, Texas, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada and Kansas.Grants ranged from&nbsp;$2.7 million to $88.8 million, and are expected to deploy more than 12,000 miles of new fiber. Because of what turned out to be a 93 percent match component, awardees contributed an extra $848 million in outside funding to these projects.4. Buy America Rules in Broadband InfrastructureIn August 22, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a limited draft waiver for some parts of the "Buy America" rules for BEAD. More significantly, the more worrisome aspects of the rules were resolved by private investment onshore. For example, analysts expressed optimism that Nokia’s announcement of an extensive fiber electronics manufacturing facility in the United States would alleviate concerns about current Buy America requirements for federal investment.As part of the IIJA as passed in November 2021, projects receiving federal funding needed to obtain at least 55 percent of their component by cost in the United States. The proposed waiver preserves that cost requirement for fiber optic cables, but removes the requirements for all electronics equipment used in fiber-optic technologies with the exception of four specific categories of fiber-optic equipment. But for industry onshore announcement, that would have been a concern for broadband builders under BEAD.&nbsp;5. Letter of Credit and Performance BondAfter considerable criticism by industry stakeholders, the NTIA on November 1 released alternatives to the letter of credit requirement for BEAD. Program rules had required that broadband providers produce a letter of credit from a bank for 25 percent of the amount they are awarded. That involved putting the cash up as collateral, which critics have said could prevent small broadband providers from participating.With the NTIA’s new “<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/funding-programs/policies-waivers/BEAD-Letter-of-Credit-Waiver">conditional programmatic waiver</a>,” states and territories will have other options to ensure the financial reliability of BEAD grants. Those include requiring a&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/performance-bonds-for-bead-grants">performance bond</a>&nbsp;for the full award, which the awardee only pays out if they fail to meet their build out requirements.&nbsp;The waiver allows states and territories to use completion milestones to lower letter of credit amounts over time, meaning the LOC could decrease from 25 percent of the grant as infrastructure is deployed, freeing up money for grant recipients to use in their BEAD projects. That option can also apply to performance bonds.The agency is also doing away with the 25 percent starting point, allowing the letter to be as low as 10 percent under certain circumstances, as well as accepting letters of credit from credit unions.6. Digital Discrimination and Broadband AffordabilityOne important aspect of the dialogue around BEAD over the past year concerns the importance of digital equity, and the prevention of digital discrimination. In November 2023, the FCC adopted new rules to prevent and eliminate digital discrimination. Following the urging of the NTIA, the FCC adopted a definition of digital discrimination that includes both disparate treatment (intentional discrimination) and disparate impact (unintentional disparities resulting from a company's policies and practices) on protected groups.How will this impact BEAD? It’s not 100 percent certain. But it’s plausible that the rules may enhance participation in BEAD.That’s because of an NTIA clarification that actions in compliance with the requirements of the BEAD Program or other similar federally-funded programs should be considered presumptively lawful under the digital discrimination rules. This means that ISPs are presumed to be in compliance with the new digital discrimination rules as long as they adhere to the program's guidelines.What other broadband issue do you think should be highlighted from 2023?

Recapping the 2023 broadband year in review centers on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, the $42.5 billion last-mile broadband program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The biggest broadband news of 2023? Hint: It's all about BEAD

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Great news last week: all 50 states and 5 territories and the District of Columbia announced their intention to <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/all-50-states-territories-and-d-c-join-broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">come on board for Access for All.</a> This means it’s Go Time for local providers and communities preparing to get their share of the historic program.On behalf of the Broadband.money and Ready teams, we are thankful you are undertaking the quest to help end the digital divide once and for all. Enrollment is now open for local providers intending to pursue <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a> grants.Our goal is to make the process of applying for <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a> grants as easy as possible. We've done that in several ways: helping you to learn, providing you with data and maps, as well as access to experts and a community.We built Broadband.money for local providers and the communities you serve to get the lion’s share of our nation’s largest-ever historic investment in broadband. We believe you are better qualified than national incumbents to get the job done, even if you might not have on-hand the array of resources you will need in order to get your share.You have the grit and genuine desire to get the job done. With the right resources in hand, you can get it done.To get your share of <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a>, you’ll need:<ul><li>Deep expertise in broadband grants, GIS, and community relations</li><li>At least 25% of the amount you’re applying to win – with documented proof up front</li><li>Tools for advanced geospatial analysis across complex data sets, and empirical data analysis</li><li>Hundreds of hours to build each of your project applications separately</li></ul>With Broadband.money, you get a partner and platform with:<ul><li>Built-in tools and resources to help you navigate grants, data, and effective community engagement</li><li>A common foundation – build one or more project applications from a single set of inputs</li><li>A collaborative platform – invite your consultants and other stakeholders to manage specific parts of your application journey</li><li>A lot of your time back – you’re busy connecting families and businesses to broadband</li><li>An easy way to apply once for matching funds from a variety of sources, including <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/common-equity-stock" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">equity</a>, <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/debt" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">debt</a>, and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/letter-of-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">letter of credit providers</a></li><li>A community of broadband pros who want to help you win</li><li>Loads of other time-saving resources including office hours with former NTIA execs, <a href="https://broadband.money/ntia-bead-nofo/notice-of-funding-opportunity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">annotated guides</a>, and more</li></ul><h2>What’s inside?</h2><h3>1. An A to Z Curriculum: Guides, Lessons &amp; Templates</h3>Broadband.money is <a href="https://broadband.money/start-broadband-grant-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">curriculum-based</a>, so you can work through your journey on your terms according to your timeline, at your pace. This way, you can work in logical units over the coming months in accordance with the requirements of the grant programs.<ul><li><a href="https://broadband.money/start-broadband-grant-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guides</a> walk you through the questions needed in order to build your most effective broadband grant project proposals, and get you oriented for the next steps in your journey, such as partnering with great communities and lining up matching fund sources.</li><li><a href="https://broadband.money/lessons/bead-nofo-deep-dive" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lessons</a> go into more detail about specific topics and themes you’ll need to know about in order to reach your full project proposal potential. This way, you’ll have the knowledge you need to answer questions with confidence.</li><li>Templates assist you in composing responses to structured inputs, such as <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a> grant pro forma, and more.</li></ul>Together, these building blocks will help you compose your best IIJA broadband grant project proposals starting with the groundwork for <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a>.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/what_s_inside_1_82fa8ae1d9.png"></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/rsz_1whats_inside_2_5ac6b498bc.png"></figure><h3>2. Powerful, Easy-to-Use Geospatial Tools</h3>Get to know your territory and areas of interest in an all-new light. Quickly build up your understanding of the areas for which you might apply. Get filterable address-level insights and multiple points of view on current service, competition, and socio-demographics – all in a single place. Best of all, you can import and export to popular formats so you can use your existing geo tools.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/power_easy_to_use_geospatial_tools_min_ff006db948.png"></figure><h3>3. Dashboard + Area Analysis</h3>Track your journey to win broadband grants with a dashboard overview, and get into detail about areas of interest you’re looking to take on – months ahead before the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/federal-communications-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Federal Communications Commission</a> publishes its own national map known as the “Fabric.” Stay informed with community events, industry updates and more.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/dashboard_area_analysis_7c7ab7cbdc.png"></figure><code>Soon, the Community Broadband Toolkit will allow the communities you’re partnering with to get going on their side with community broadband performance data collection.</code><h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Why Now?</h2>While each state will have its own project-level requirements, the core of what you’re going to need to produce is already well-documented by the <a href="https://broadband.money/ntia-bead-nofo/notice-of-funding-opportunity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NTIA’s NOFO</a>. Think of it like Turbotax – you can do your main “application” (1040 federal return) and then later do your state-level “applications” (returns).States will finalize submission requirements in a few months. Meanwhile, your application model is safely stored while you develop answers, team up with collaborators, and make progress through developing your proposals. This way, when your states of interest open their portals, you’ll be ready.While it’s certainly possible to wait on state plans and Fabric maps, it’s not clear that’s a winning strategy. Three reasons you should consider starting now:<h3>Incumbents aren’t waiting</h3>Local providers and the communities they’re teaming up with to serve need every advantage in the fight to divert resources from where they’ve historically gone.While <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/federal-communications-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FCC </a>Fabric will surely be light years ahead of Form 477 self-reporting, the self-reported nature of the data still remains a risk for local providers and communities who need better broadband. It’s worth having a different point of view. Luckily, NTIA allows for challenges to Fabric data.<h3>Neither is your competition – current or future</h3>If you’ve been the only game in town for years, you might be caught off guard by the number of new entrants popping up as a result of our nation’s largest-ever investment in broadband. <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD</a> provides the resources to defend, strengthen and increase your territory… but only if you apply and win.<h3>You need matching funds up front</h3>For many local providers and communities, the minimum 25% matching fund requirement – with proof required at the time of filing your proposals – will be the Achilles heel for otherwise great applications. With Broadband.money, qualified providers will be able to line up matching funds from a range of sources. This way, otherwise capable, qualified local providers, and the communities they are serving, won’t be left in the dust by well-funded rivals.<h3>Get Started on BEAD Grant Applications</h3>If you’re already pre-enrolled, look for your email invitation to join Broadband.money. The first guide you’ll complete is <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/getting-ready-for-bead" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Getting Ready for BEAD</a>.

On behalf of the Broadband.money and Ready teams, we are thankful you are undertaking the quest to help end the digital divide once and for all. Enrollment is now open for local providers intending to pursue BEAD grants. Get Started on BEAD, Middle Mile, Digital Equity, and Tribal Broadband Grants.

BEAD Grant Applications are Now Open for Local Providers

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Utah has long been a pioneer in broadband planning. The state has its own broadband map and State Broadband Office Director Rebecca Dilg has<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/08/states-are-making-their-own-broadband-maps-to-challenge-the-fccs-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> said</a> that it plans to use its map to "challenge location-level coverage claims in the cases of multi-dwelling buildings where federal maps would claim a location is served without considering multi-tenant living situations," according to Broadband Breakfast.&nbsp;The Biden administration announced late November that it is awarding $5.6 million to the state to enable it to plan for the flood of Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding expected to come its way.&nbsp;Like most other states, Utah will receive $100 million. But will also receive a proportion of federal funding depending on the number of unserved (under 25/3 Mbps) and underserved (under 100/20 Mbps) locations as defined by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.&nbsp;Broadband.money <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/utah" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates </a>that this will vary between $397.8 M - $416.7 Million.The Biden administration, for its part, estimates that the planning grants help Dilg's office to:<ul><li>Identify unserved and underserved locations;</li><li>Train employees of Utah’s broadband program and increase office capacity;</li><li>Map and catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment across the state</li><li>Develop the “All Utah, All Online” project, a five-year action plan supported by the precise assessment of current Internet service speeds and a better understanding of barriers.</li></ul><h3>Digital Equity</h3>As the Biden administration's National Telecommunications and Information Administration says itself: "The Digital Equity Act provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy.&nbsp;The first part of NTIA’s execution of the Digital Equity Act is to fund digital equity planning efforts."Utah will receive $676,684.53 to fund various activities including:<ul><li>Development of a statewide digital equity plan;</li><li>Building digital access program capacity;</li><li>Provision of funding to create local digital equity plans.</li></ul>Broadband.money can help you win your region's fair share of funding to get everyone connected.We have the <a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tools and data</a> you need to create detailed broadband grant proposals that will make a real impact in your community.&nbsp;Identify <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved and underserved locations</a>, as well as <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">map assets across your service area </a>to catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment.&nbsp;We have the tools to help you develop a 5-year action plan supported by the precise assessment of current Internet service speeds, as<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> required </a>by the IIJA.Find out more. Contact <a href="mailto:inquiries@broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">us</a>.&nbsp;

Utah, long a broadband pioneer, wins $5.6 million in a BEAD planning grant 

Utah lands $5.6 million in "Internet for All" planning grants

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The <a href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California Public Utilities Commission </a>(CPUC) the state agency that regulates telecom, power, transportation and other vital sectors, announced Wednesday that it has received $8.96 million in funding grants from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021, adding to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/interactive-map">49 other states and territories</a> that have received money from the Infrastructure bill’s total pot of $65 billion to expand broadband.This is the latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/california-receives-9-million-in-federal-grants-for-digital-equity-and-last-mile">broadband funding news</a> the regulatory agency shared this week on top of its&nbsp;<a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/california-public-utilities-commission-awards-8m-for-expanding-broadband-to-unserved-areas">December 19 announcement</a>. State legislators have already budgeted $6.5 billion to roll out affordable broadband across the state.The funds will power twin initiatives that broadband expansion <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/infrastructure-inextricably-linked-to-digital-equity-and-broadband-mapping" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">experts say </a>are crucial to develop in tandem:&nbsp;<ol><li>$4.9 million is designated to plan California’s&nbsp;implementation of the infrastructure law's <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program">Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD)</a> grant program for a range of broadband access expansion activities, including:<ol><li>“Identifying unserved and underserved locations</li><li>Planning and increasing capacity of the state broadband programs&nbsp;</li><li>Developing a sub-grantee program for last-mile broadband deployment&nbsp;</li><li>Supporting the development of a 5-year action plan”</li></ol></li></ol>In October,&nbsp; CPUC President Alice Busching Reynolds said during a webinar that the agency wants "a big tent approach" as it develops the required five-year plan for spending BEAD funding. More than 2 million Californians don’t have access to the internet, Chief Information Officer Liana Bailey-Crimmins said during the webinar, and it’s those people who should be involved in the planning process.&nbsp;The other funding initiative is:<ol><li>A $4 million grant administered by the California Department of Technology (CDT) to further develop the State Digital Equity Plan, which will engage “local and regional stakeholders”&nbsp;</li></ol>Finally, as part of this effort, CPUC says CDT will conduct a statewide survey that aims to reach 11,000 respondents across California’s 58 counties via phone, online, and in-person interviews, focusing on areas that already have broadband coverage, from which CDT wants to better understand “barriers to digital equity.”&nbsp;Broadband.money has&nbsp;the <a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works">tools and data</a> you need to create detailed broadband grant proposals that will make a real impact in your community.&nbsp;Identify&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits">unserved and underserved locations</a>, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals">map assets across your service area&nbsp;</a>to catalogue high-speed Internet service adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment.&nbsp;Check out our <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California broadband audit</a>. According to our data, California has 14,383,328 broadband serviceable locations, 535,597 of which are unserved and 5,899,139 are underserved, as defined by the infrastructure legislation's criteria.Contact&nbsp;us.&nbsp;

California receives an additional $9 million for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) program grant funding and digital equity

California receives nearly $9M for BEAD funding and digital equity planning

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Starting November 1, broadband industry leaders, especially providers, are breathing a collective sigh of relief as NTIA officials have provided a <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2023/11/ntia-will-allow-alternatives-to-letter-of-credit-for-bead-funding-in-new-guidance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">programmatic waiver</a> providing states and territories with more options to ensure the financial reliability of BEAD grants.BEAD grant recipients, under previous rules, were required to produce a <a href="http://Letter of Credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Letter of Credit</a> for a 25% of the total award amount from an FDIC-insured bank with a Weiss rating of B- or better, unless specified by BEAD rules. This required putting substantial sums of cash as collateral which often prevented smaller and minority-owned providers from participating.NTIA’s waiver provides numerous changes to the Letter of Credit requirements that aim to enhance access to funding, including allowing states to utilize a <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/performance-bonds-for-bead-grants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">performance bond</a> for the full award amount.Performance bonds are a new chapter for the broadband sector with their full adoption pending the results of a national working group led by the <a href="https://www.nasbp.org/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Association of Surety Bond Producers,</a> or NASPB, and <a href="https://surety.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Surety and Fidelity Association of America</a>, or SFAA.The working group is expected to release its results in either the first or second quarter of 2024.<div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Lo_C_Performance_Bond_4d7bb4ad13/Lo_C_Performance_Bond_4d7bb4ad13.svg" alt="Performance Bonds"></div><h2>What are performance bonds?</h2>Performance bonds are surety bonds issued by an insurance company or bank that guarantees successful completion of a project. Performance bonds are most commonly used in the construction industry, legal sectors in the form of appeal bonds and some licensed occupations.Performance bonds allow the principal, such as an <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/isp-or-provider" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">internet service provider</a>, &nbsp;to be protected for the full cost of the project by the surety, or financial institution, that is providing the performance bond. The obligee, or entity requesting the work such as a municipality or state broadband office, in return, can file a claim against the bond to recover losses from uncompleted work.<h2>What’s the application process for a performance bond?</h2>Providers should first be sure to build relationships with surety providers prior to the application period. Read: This is not the time to procrastinate.Your first step should be to ask your company’s insurance provider to connect you with a surety agent that is familiar with the broadband sector. Having an agent with sector knowledge allows for productive conversations, accurate assessment of the application and its risks and, ultimately, the most beneficial terms for everyone involved.Be sure to take advantage of online resources such as <a href="https://broadband.money/start-broadband-grant-application" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money</a> and <a href="https://www.beadbonding.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEADbonding.com</a> which contain valuable resources on establishing BEAD-compliant contracts and performance bonds.Applicants will be expected during the submission process to provide business credit information and financial documents for an understanding of the applicant’s financial position. Sureties will also want information about the applicant’s progress on related projects, project schedule and work capacity.Some sureties might expect a pledge of collateral or cash funds depending on the size of the bond and the company’s track record with past projects.Surety agents will guide applicants through the entire underwriting process with bond costs ranging from 2%-6% of the total project cost or, in the case of BEAD, award amount.Approval timelines vary on a case-by-case basis. Smaller bonds, usually under $1 million, can be approved in a matter of hours, especially if the applicant has strong credit and is in a strong financial position. Larger bonds of up to $10 million can take up to two weeks.<h2>How are performance bonds being used in broadband?</h2>The national working group led by the NASPB and SFAA are working with the NTIA, states, ISPs, &nbsp;and other government entities to tailor guidelines for how performance bonds can be utilized with the BEAD program.Among the biggest challenges are reaching a middle ground between what language is acceptable to the NTIA for bonding purposes but also ensuring that bonds are able to still provide value to both applicants and grantors.<h2>What comes next?</h2>Grantors must become aware of their responsibilities surrounding performance bonds, such as awareness of project progress and ensuring that projects are completed in a timely manner. Failure to fill these responsibilities could potentially result in a bond being unable to be called upon.Applicants must become familiar with performance bonds and take preliminary steps to take advantage of them as soon as they are available. This includes being aware of their benefits, such as greater access to capital and diversity among applicants, and also a stronger assurance that the work will be done.Applicants should be sure to tap into numerous resources available from the broadband community, such as <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money</a> and <a href="http://broadband.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.io</a>.

A crash course on performance bonds for America’s leading broadband pros

What Every Broadband Pro Should Know about Performance Bonds

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Understanding community culture is an essential step to building trust and successfully bringing digital equity to unserved or underserved areas of the country, a panel of digital inclusion practitioners said on Wednesday. &nbsp;“There is a lot of frustration on the ground,” said Joshua Edmonds, director of digital inclusion for the City of Detroit. He spoke Wednesday at the annual <a href="https://mountainconnect.org/event/innovations-in-digital-inclusion/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mountain Connect </a>conference taking place in Keystone, Colorado.The subject of the discussion was Innovations in Digital Inclusion, and included Edmonds, &nbsp;Paolo Balboa, senior programs and data manager at the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/ndiateam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">National Digital Inclusion Alliance</a>, and Scott D. Woods, Ready's vice president of community engagement and strategic partnerships. M-Labs' Director Lai Yi Ohlsen moderated the session.&nbsp;Many communities <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/03/to-build-a-digital-identity-system-governments-must-build-trust-about-data-collection-panelists/">lack trust in state programs</a>, having been burned by them in the past.Edmonds continued, “we are very, very skeptical, based on the historic flow of resources that continues to put private interest over public good.”&nbsp;He said that that community members often felt exploited.&nbsp;“There’s a trust issue here,” added Balboa. “When people hear that something is free, they immediately think that it is of lesser value.”Human infrastructure, <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/04/multilingual-digital-navigators-crucial-for-inclusion/">like digital navigators</a> who work on the ground with people to help combat technical illiteracy, needs to come from the communities in which they serve.&nbsp;That's one way of gaining trust, said Balboa.Woods spoke about his experience working as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's former director of the National Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives. He said that faith organizations also play a huge role in gaining communities' trust.Faith organizations, he said, held communities together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Projects must involve this community if they expect to develop trust with individual communities. “We have gone places where, if the local pastor vouches for you, you’re golden.”It is essential to understand what works culturally for where you are and take advantage of those cultural norms.Communities have different cultures, but ultimately, said Edmonds, all communities need to see someone who represents them and their specific issues.&nbsp;Trust is developed when you’ve developed a “responsive ecosystem” that works in perpetuity.&nbsp;

Digital Inclusion project managers should use community culture to connect with and build trust with communities that they serve.

Digital inclusion projects need to build trust to succeed 

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On June 21, 2022, fixed wireless internet service provider LTD Broadband announced that it will no longer use the Federal Communications Commissions’ Rural Digital Opportunity Fund grant for telecom builds in rural California.&nbsp;The company petitioned the FCC in June of 2021 to extend deadline requirements for the funds granted them. The petition was <a href="https://www.neca.org/docs/default-source/wwpdf/public/da21908.pdf">denied shortly thereafter</a>. In response, LTD issued a <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/file/download/LTD_Broadband_Petition_for_Partial_Reconsideration.pdf?folder=1082588694209">petition for partial reconsideration in August</a>, which they redrew this week.&nbsp;“It has become apparent that LTD will not be able to obtain Eligible Telecommunications Carrier designation for the required census blocks within a reasonable timeframe to allow it to meet its RDOF obligations,” said LTD <a href="https://www.neca.org/docs/default-source/wwpdf/public/62122ltd.pdf">in a new filing</a>.The California Public Utilities Commission denied LTD’s application and request for ETC designation in California.&nbsp;LTD asserts that “this decision [by the CPUC] was premised on errors of both fact and law.” Former LTD lawyer Kristopher Twomey had, unknown to LTD, submitted the ETC application 5 weeks later than reported to the company and the press.&nbsp;The company claimed in the August petition for partial reconsideration that it was “affirmatively misled by its then-counsel as to when the application should have been filed according to the CPUC communications division staff and when it was actually filed.”However, “the broad discretion afforded to the CPUC by the California courts makes it unlikely that it could obtain reversal of that decision [to deny request for ETC designation],” said the report issued this week, announcing its withdrawal from California. “It would therefore be an imprudent expenditure of time and money to continue litigating that case.”&nbsp;LTD Broadband is <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/more-companies-are-defaulting-on-rdof-areas-they-won/">not the first company to default on RDOF funds</a>. At least five companies have asked the FCC to waive penalties for defaulting on coverage areas they promised to connect with their winning bids.&nbsp;The $9.2 billion RDOF funds were allocated via reverse auction where awards were given to companies that could promise coverage for areas at the least amount of money. <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/02/anti-muni-broadband-bill-introduced-boost-act-from-michigan-ltd-responds-to-rural-broadband-critics/." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LTD had been tentatively awarded the largest amount</a> of funding <a href="https://www.lightreading.com/opticalip/here-are-all-winners-of-fccs-$92b-rdof-auction/d/d-id/765937" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at $1.32 billion</a>, although that number <a href="https://broadband.money/events/ask-me-anything-with-corey-hauer-984-million-broadband-grant-winner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was subsequently trimmed to $984 million</a>.Charter received the next-largest initial award, at $1.22 billion.The difficulties the FCC faced in allocating RDOF funds could have implications for the rollout of the $42.5 billion in funds through Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program, even though the programs operate very &nbsp;differently.

One of the largest winners in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund reverse-auction has withdrawn from California projects, casting doubt on unserved areas in the state.

Major RDOF winner LTD withdraws from California awards

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<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe src="https://pitch.com/public/0b5632e7-def1-4d8b-9bc1-7cd2a02fa792/e273308a-0904-4c8a-91f6-d827b1786e9c" allow="fullscreen" class="pitch" width="720" height="480"></iframe></div>Broadband.money is working to help local communities to win and defend their share of broadband grant funding.Pioneering local broadband champions – like those in the city of Detroit — get their own <a href="http://detroitspeed.broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit</a> to collect on-the-ground broadband performance tests and survey data, so that they can determine their own broadband needs and present them in empirical form to broadband grant makers and service providers.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Detroit_Community_Kit_4b79c92889.png"></figure>Broadband.money’s Community Broadband Kit contains a built-in messaging system with a custom-branded template to invite individuals and community anchor institutions to participate. It also contains instructions with tips and guidance for getting the test in front of communities.The kit was inspired by a presentation conducted this May during the Mountain Connect conference, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79G1uR0u57c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a talk </a>given this past June by a MLab’s Project Director Lai-Yi Ohlsen and the Marconi Society’s National Broadband Mapping Coalition Program Manager Dustin Loup.The session was about how local communities can most effectively measure and map broadband availability and coverage in their areas. The duo <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EUjbdDxsMy2azZK_f48qF7K9V3ta2r0Ac7iOWvA66Y4/edit">recommended</a> and provided useful guidance including the recommendation to include multiple tests in performance tests in order to get a more comprehensive view of an area’s connectivity, since the different tests use different methodologies. This <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vLl24JtINLXOL_KY8aZRmNH8jlNfE2gNHUhUuTKgW8Y/edit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">document</a> provides further details of their recommendations, as well as recommendations from the Broadband Mapping Coalition. Broadband.money’s Broadband Community Kit has incorporated these recommendations.Ohlsen and Loup’s performance and survey test recommendations are being built into an open-source broadband performance test that can be widely distributed online and adopted by thousands of communities and regional and local providers across the country to generate the empirical data they need to win and defend their broadband grants against incumbent telecom providers making bogus claims a about areas that they already serve, but in fact don’t.One of the flagship locations that demonstrates this constant battle is the city of Detroit, where <a href="https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroits-plan-for-equal-internet-access-starts-with-hope-village/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than a quarter of residents </a>don’t have access to high-speed broadband, and <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/09/detroit-bridges-internet-access-digital-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">70 percent of school age children don’t have broadband at home</a>. A lawsuit was also filed against an incumbent carrier in 2017 accusing it of <a href="https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/features/the-broadband-gaps-dirty-secret-redlining-still-exists-in-digital-form/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital redlining</a> after an academic published a study showing that the carrier hadn’t made significant investments in its networks in census blocks with poverty rates above 35 percent. The carrier denied that it ignores high poverty areas.More recently, thousands of Detroiters suffered from a 45 day internet outage from a commercial provider during the height of the pandemic last year. (You can hear more about that in the podcast episode below. It is also downloadable through <a href="<iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLpBdWMdM9s&quot; title=&quot;YouTube video player&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture&quot; allowfullscreen></iframe>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="<iframe width=&quot;560&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLpBdWMdM9s&quot; title=&quot;YouTube video player&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allow=&quot;accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture&quot; allowfullscreen></iframe>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a0f3b57a-4999-4372-9071-9d2ed1caa324/ready-or-not-with-scott-d-woods-esq?refMarker=null" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a>, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.)<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qLpBdWMdM9s" title="YouTube video player" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>Now Detroiters will be able to use our <a href="http://detroitspeed.broadband.money">Broadband Community Kit</a> to conduct a <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit">broadband audit</a> to demonstrate their level of need.A broadband audit is a statistically valid survey of a census block or other local geographic areas defined by state grant making authorities for <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband">broadband</a> availability.The survey would consist of internet performance measurements undertaken multiple times a day under varying network traffic conditions, but under established parameters, such as the distances packets of data have to travel between specified servers.Performance, as defined by the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/hr3684/text">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a>, includes measurements of upload and download speeds and latency.Local communities and providers can dispute their state broadband office’s broadband connectivity profiles of their communities with challenges backed up by their broadband audits.The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act requires each state and territory to conduct a challenge process before they can be given their allotted funding as determined by an IIJA formula.That process enables local governments, nonprofit organizations, or providers to challenge state and territories’ determinations of local areas’ connectivity and grant funding needs as defined by number of locations that are unserved and underserved in their IIJA BEAD grant funding application to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The worry is that states may undercount the number of locations needing grant funding because of exaggerated coverage claims by incumbent providers, or because of other faulty data. &nbsp;The IIJA determines that locations are unserved if they have connections that can only manage speeds of less than 25/3 Mbps upload/download. Underserved areas are those locations that have connections that offer speeds of less than 100/20 Mbps.The Community Broadband Kit is in beta and will be launched for public use mid September, ahead of the eligibility and challenge processes.

Broadband.money is working to help local communities win and defend their share of broadband grant funding. 

Detroit residents to conduct their own broadband audit after historic outage

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Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Biden administration has been working hard to lay the groundwork to get all Americans connected to the Internet.&nbsp;The IIJA is the United States' largest ever investment in establishing affordable, high-speed internet access for all.Broadband.money has been working hard too to arm providers, state and local government officials, and the public with tools to easily <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">see where the money should go</a>, to <a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">apply for funding</a>, and then to manage their networks and comply with funding requirements.Find out more <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/broadband-money-office-hours" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this Wednesday</a> when Broadband.money's Scott D. Woods holds online office hours to show you how to use the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/community-kit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit</a> to establish your local community's current connectivity profile, and our<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Broadband Audit </a>pages to see the big picture of where new networks ought to be built.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Learn how to win your share of the IIJA's BEAD grants this Wednesday with Ready's Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships

Join us on the 1-year anniversary of the Infrastructure Act

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“You can't get there from here.”That’s what residents of Maine (particularly those in Northern Maine) say in a heavy accent when asked for driving directions.Well&nbsp;<a href="mailto:abutcher@maineconnectivity.org">Andrew Butcher</a>’s goal, as president of the <a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maine Connectivity Authority</a>, is to actually get sufficient bits “there, from here,” for all of the state’s residents.&nbsp;In fact, it’s been his prime goal for the past three years as director of the <a href="https://www.mainebroadbandcoalition.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maine Broadband Coalition</a>, where in 2020 he co-lead a successful campaign to persuade voters to borrow $15 million to fund broadband expansion. He and the coalition then went on to develop the legislation that ultimately created the MCA, which Governor Janet Mills and the state legislature signed off on through the<a href="http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0477&amp;item=4&amp;snum=130">&nbsp;Connectivity Infrastructure Act</a>&nbsp;in June 2021.&nbsp;The state established the terms of statewide broadband deployment funded by the $129 million from two rounds of the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. (The state has also received $21 million from the Maine Jobs and Recovery Program, and it expects to receive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/all-in">up to $300 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a>.)Butcher’s work at the Maine Broadband Coalition has been about empowering Mainers with solutions to get everyone connected, and particularly using technology as their secret weapon.<h3>From building community gardens in Pittsburgh to community broadband in Maine</h3>Butcher became MCA's president in early January 2022, when the state legislature confirmed his appointment. This puts him in charge of organizing the state’s efforts to parcel out all these funds.&nbsp;He has spent his career working to help local communities. He returned to Maine from Pittsburgh five years ago, where he ran an economic development organization he co-founded called <a href="https://groundedpgh.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Grounded Strategies</a>. The non-profit focused on re-development as a platform for community regeneration. He was pretty busy: The city had 30,000 vacant lots at one point as a result of a 60 percent decline in the city’s population over the decades. When he moved, he was working with Carnegie Mellon University and the U.S. Postal Service on repurposing U.S. postal facilities, again, to help local communities. That led him to work with the cities of Lewiston and Portland, and the <a href="https://www.mainetechnology.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maine Technology Institute</a>.“It was not quite what drew me to Maine,” he said during a Zoom interview. “Maine drew me be close to the places and people that I love. I have family here, and I spent a good amount of my formative life coming here in the summertime - and have always dreamed of living here.”Having led the coalition for three years, Butcher is familiar with the protocol of coordinating with local communities and governments to roll out broadband networks. The Maine Broadband Coalition is the primary network of local communities, government agencies, service providers and technology companies working to bring universal, affordable and reliable internet access to the state.&nbsp;<h3>Empowering Mainers with solutions for broadband</h3>The coalition, now with full-time staff, still runs a very informative newsletter and set of programming that keeps stakeholders informed and connected, and reminds people when they can meet on a regular basis every Friday to talk about Broadband.&nbsp;“Informed and equipped people can be really effective in designing their own solutions,” Butcher told me from his home office over Zoom earlier this year. “They understand the problems better than anyone else, and they have the resourcefulness and capability to design their own solutions – and that’s true whether you’re building a community garden, like I did in Pittsburgh, or whether you’re building out broadband infrastructure, like we are in Maine”This belief is why he pushes for community engagement, capacity building and education. These things can help the community inform network builders and service providers what they really want.&nbsp;“We will continue to invest in the community-driven planning process, and we will try to incentivize regional-scale activities through utility districts where communities want to come together in that way.”&nbsp;In the past, several communities in Maine have banded together to form broadband utility districts to share the costs of running broadband to their homes.&nbsp;But that’s not the only way the state is going to expand broadband.&nbsp;<h3>Going All In and Getting Everyone Connected By 2024</h3>The relatively small state of 1.4 million inhabitants has had one of the most organized and coherent broadband strategies in the nation.&nbsp;During 2022, the MCA established what it calls its <a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/all-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">All-In Program</a>. The plan is to build broadband to more than 30,000 homes in rural and remote areas.&nbsp;That process will unfold, as required by the IIJA, in conjunction with the development of a statewide<a href="https://www.maineconnectivity.org/digital-equity">&nbsp;Digital Equity</a> and 5-Year Broadband Masterplan. The MCA opened up&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/here-are-the-key-dates-for-Maine-broadband-grant-opportunities">the grant application process</a> for its various programs this fall. And it issued a Request for Proposals for partners to help it create a digital equity plan in November. The deadline for applications is December 16, 2022.&nbsp;The state also wanted to create an entity like a public power authority so that it can be creative with financing, Butcher said. The authority might, for example, issue bonds or make equity investments. That would make it possible for the authority to own and operate its own infrastructure and enter public-private partnerships. Butcher did not commit to doing any of that since there are federal restrictions on some of these kinds of activities, but he said that it’s good to be able to have “all options on the table.”&nbsp;The state’s plans say that the MCA’s goal is to get a broadband connection to anyone who wants one by the end of 2024.&nbsp;<h3>Maine’s secret weapon</h3>One of the tools that has helped Maine plan its networks and win a Broadband Infrastructure Project Grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration was its Broadband Intelligence Platform, Butcher said. Maine developed the tool with Vetro Fiber and Tilson Technology. It aggregates self-reported ISP network data with speed test information, among other things.&nbsp;“In 2021, the Platform allowed for us to rebut over 1200 challenges to the 15,000 locations that [service providers claimed were already served] that were submitted in our proposal,” he said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Butcher has spent 2022 establishing an impressive, team to manage all of this. When we spoke with him in April, he was looking to hire 15 people on top of the three full-time staff the MCA already had. The profile of the team is the envy of many other state offices and is composed of numerous leaders from a diversity of places and sectors around the state.&nbsp; Additionally the MCA has an diverse array of partners ranging lawyers from the Harvard Law School <a href="https://hls.harvard.edu/clinics/in-house-clinics/cyberlaw-clinic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cyberlaw Clinic</a>, to the <a href="https://roux.northeastern.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Roux Institute</a> at Northeastern to the State Department of Transportation. They are helping the MCA create a middle mile strategy, and a business plan, as well as a financing guide for broadband utility districts. The lawyers are also helping the authority with compliance issues tied to grant funding to build networks from a variety of funding streams.&nbsp;Butcher had these words for providers interested in serving communities in Maine:&nbsp;“ISPs need to be able to engage with regional partnerships in a meaningful way. We also believe in a competitive market space that advances the diversity of options for consumers.&nbsp;“We also believe in being as efficient and judicious with use of public funding as possible, and certainly want to minimize inefficiencies or overbuild, as some people might call it. And so, it's hard for us to know what would be overbuilt if we don't know where people are going to be building. So information sharing and data sharing will be paramount to making sure that we know what is being planned for and how we can complement it, how we can augment it.”

Butcher’s work at the Maine Broadband Coalition is about empowering Mainers with solutions to get everyone connected

Maine Connectivity Authority President Andrew Butcher: A community and consensus builder takes charge

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The Biden administration is expected to issue a notice soon that lays out the parameters of the $42.5 billion in broadband funding allocated by the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/nofo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)</a> will invite states to submit letters of intent to apply for up to $5 million in planning grants.Here are four themes that are expected to be addressed in the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s NOFO:<h2><a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/local-coordination" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1. Local Coordination</a></h2>Learning from prior broadband grant programs, the NTIA could be arming communities with tools to fight back against incumbent shenanigans. Look for <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/local-coordination" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Local Coordination</a> to be key among these tools.The NTIA stressed the importance of local coordination in its <a href="https://www.ntia.gov/files/ntia/publications/fr-iija-broadband-rfc.pdf">Request for Comments</a> back in January.The NTIA wrote: “Community engagement is critical to eliminating barriers to broadband access and adoption. NTIA views strong involvement between states and local communities as key to ensuring that the broadband needs of all unserved and underserved locations are accounted for in state plans submitted for funding.“What requirements should NTIA establish for states/territories to ensure that local perspectives are critical factors in the design of state plans?”The question spurred <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NTIA-2021-0002/comments">hundreds</a> of comments.<h2><a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/challenge-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2. Challenge Processes</a></h2>NTIA could also beef up the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/challenge-process" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">challenge process</a>, again, learning from historic incumbent monopoly reactions, to include tools for communities as well as states to challenge allocations.The IIJA states that the NTIA should allow states to challenge the amounts of money it decides to allot them based on forthcoming broadband coverage maps issued by the Federal Communications Commission. ( The maps are known as “Fabric," and are estimated to arrive in Fall of this year.) It also states that the FCC should resolve the disputes within 90 days of the final response of the challenged party.This will also be a hot issue that state and local governments will be scanning the NOFO for since many states have constructed their own broadband coverage maps in anticipation of federal broadband funding.&nbsp;<h2>3. Affordability</h2>“Affordability is a key objective of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s broadband programs,” the NTIA said in its RFC. “What factors should be considered in the deployment of BEAD funds to help drive affordability beyond the low-cost option?This has been something that is being widely discussed in the broadband community. It’s a complex issue that ties in with several existing programs, and it is something that was highlighted earlier this week when the administration announced that 20 ISPs had agreed to provide what is essentially “free” service to Affordable Connectivity Program recipients.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>4. BEAD Timelines</h2>For a BEAD timeline, read this <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/applying-for-iija-grants-a-timeline-of-key-milestones-and-grant-application-deadlines">BEAD timeline article</a>Stay tuned for more on the NTIA’s BEAD, Middle Mile and Digital Equity NOFOs, the first two of which are expected to be published on Friday afternoon.Don’t get NOFO FOMO! Join the <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband grants community</a> to stay informed. And you can get a head start on your competition: <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pre-enroll</a> in broadband.money’s <a href="https://broadband.money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant applicant R&amp;D portal</a> today.

Four key themes you should look for in NTIA’s $42.5 Billion BEAD NOFO.

Four themes to watch for in NTIA’s BEAD NOFO

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Colorado's broadband office announced a new grant program Wednesday called <a href="https://broadband.colorado.gov/advance-colorado-broadband" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Advance Colorado Broadband</a>.It's the office's state-managed grant program to deploy more than $500 million that the state expects from <a href="https://broadband.money/resources/your-guide-to-broadband-grants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal broadband grants</a>. That includes the Capital Projects Fund (CPF), Enabling Middle-Mile Programs (MM) and the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.The office invited local “stakeholders and communities interested in applying for funding to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to apply for grants” on Wednesday in its monthly newsletter.The office said that it “will review each submission and work with stakeholders to develop high-impact project plans and determine the best funding source for each proposal.”LOIs will be due July 18, 2022.&nbsp;The office reminded applicants that “LOIs are not required as part of the official grant application nor do they guarantee you will receive funding.”Colorado's Governor Jared Polis has set the target date of 2027 for near universal broadband coverage for his state.&nbsp;To help applicants, CBO is hosting two identical webinars on <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ld-mqpj4uGdA1lwWXMmgPNNpANWgX2M9o?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">June 17</a> and <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ld-mqpj4uGdA1lwWXMmgPNNpANWgX2M9o?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">June 21</a> at 10 a.m. MT to review the LOI content and process. They'll be recorded and posted to the CBO's website. The office urged prospective attendees to only attend one.Check out <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Money's Colorado profile page</a> and interactive <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/colorado" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mapping portal</a> to explore coverage and BEAD funding opportunities.

Colorado is racing ahead and soliciting input from local stakeholders and communities ahead of the NTIA's July 18 deadline for state submissions of letters of intent to apply for federal broadband funding

Colorado is soliciting BEAD local letters of intent, LOI

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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration reviewed details of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program application and subgrantee process in a webinar on June 1, 2022.&nbsp;&nbsp;The agency of the U.S. Commerce Department has been conducting a series of webinars on many aspects of the $42.5 billion BEAD program, as well as the agency’s companion programs on middle mile broadband deployment, and the Digital Equity Act. All of the funding was authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed by President Joe Bide on November 15, 2021.&nbsp;For the BEAD program, eligible entities include states and territories who receive funds. In turn, they are responsible to distribute them to subgrantees to carry out eligible activities.&nbsp;Subgrantees include co-ops, nonprofits, public private partnerships, private companies, utilities, public utility districts, or local government.&nbsp;&nbsp;Eligible entities must lay out a plan for the competitive process they will use to select subgrantees in their initial proposal. These plans are due within 180 days of receiving a receipt of the notice of available amounts for each state.&nbsp;Following a challenge process in which subgrantees can challenge mapping data, each eligible entity must initialize a competitive subgrantee selection process. NTIA does not mandate any specific approach but urges fairness where “eligible entity is not selection to self-administer programs.”&nbsp;Each subgrantee will be required to submit semiannual reports that include the type of project, duration of the subgrant, and other details of the project. .&nbsp;They will also be responsible to uphold three programmatic requirements, network capabilities of speeds greater than 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) down * 20 Mbps up, deploy and begin service no later than four years after subgrant is received, and offer a low-cost option which will be determined by states and territories.&nbsp;&nbsp;Eligible entities are required to consider all types of subgrantee, ensure subgrantee accountability, equitable and nondiscriminatory distribution of funds, fair labor practices and climate resiliency.

For the BEAD program, eligible entities include states and territories who receive funds. In turn, they are responsible to distribute them to subgrantees to carry out eligible activities.

Focus on subgrantee process in latest NTIA BEAD webinar

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Here's what some key players told the Biden administration to do with the $42.5 billion in broadband funding

Weighing in on the NTIA’s BEAD NOFO

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Mayors: Is access to strong, affordable broadband for your constituents at the top of your agenda? If not, you might soon miss a one-time opportunity to make your city more competitive.&nbsp; Broadband is now essential. Not everyone gets itYou know strong broadband is now essential for daily life. Access to education, healthcare, and jobs now depend on broadband. For many of your constituents, internet access is inadequate for this new reality, with few, or no real broadband choices in parts of your city. For others, plans are too expensive.&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><div class="contentPart">
<h2>Help could be on the way, if you act fast</h2>
Right now, America’s gearing up to make its largest – and likely last – major public investment in broadband. Within the broadband provisions of the Infrastructure Investment &amp; Jobs Act (IIJA), your state could get as much as $3 billion to help build next-generation broadband infrastructure.
The largest program – the $42.5 Billion Broadband Equity Access &amp; Deployment (BEAD) program, is designed to fund capital-intensive, modern broadband infrastructure in communities like yours.


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</div></div>&nbsp;Your city could be entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars for broadband projects, depending on:<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>How many <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location">unserved</a> and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location">underserved</a> <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-serviceable-locations">serviceable broadband locations</a> you’re able to prove that exist within your city</li><li>Your state’s broadband plan, and to what extent you shape it with empirical data</li></ol>&nbsp;<h3>There is a catch – and it’s up to you to fix it</h3>The way BEAD’s prioritization algorithm works means the money will flow by default away from denser urban areas like your city, since:<ol><li>More eligible providers will self-report adequate service in denser metro areas. It will be harder to prove unserved and underserved locations without defensible, empirical data.</li><li>BEAD prioritizes higher-cost projects. Broadband project cost and population density are usually inversely correlated.&nbsp;</li></ol>This means that, without intervention from you, your city could see very little of this one-time broadband windfall.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>How will you ensure your city gets its fair share of BEAD grants?&nbsp;</h3>Luckily – the National Telecommunications &amp; Information Administration (NTIA) architected a nearly perfect solution for you, if you choose to lead it: <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/local-coordination">Local Coordination</a>. This legal requirement obligates your state to consult with you about your local communities' needs before it sends its final financial ask of the federal government – in the form of a state broadband plan. You’ll have tools available to make your case after the plan is submitted, but you’re far better off to be at the table now, with good, defensible data about your city's current broadband need in hand.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h3>When and where to start</h3>Your state’s broadband planning is underway now. There is still time for Mayors like you to orient your response in order to get ready to get your city’s share, but that window is closing.&nbsp; You need to be at the table, equipped with defensible, empirical data about your city’s current broadband reality.&nbsp;You can set the foundation with your city's <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Audit</a>, with data through the Community Broadband Kit.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h1><a href="https://broadband.money?src=USCM">Get your city's free Broadband Audit today</a>.</h1><figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/community_broadband_kit_preview_7d25b471ae.png"></figure>Free broadband test for your city to gather empirical proof of broadband need<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/boss_dashboard_preview_06ef3b3e73.png"></figure>Detailed, interactive reports in your Broadband Audit<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Detroit_Community_Kit_2812636379.png"></figure>Geospatial Insights in your city's Broadband Audit<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/image_a6c51de332.png"></figure>Quickly distribute your Broadband Kit to Community Anchor Institutions<h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Learn More &amp; Take Action</h3><ol><li><a href="https://broadband.money/community-broadband-kit?src=USCM">Get started on your city’s Broadband Audit</a> through the Community Broadband Kit&nbsp;</li><li>Watch this <a href="https://broadband.money/events/ntia-head-alan-davidsons-keynote-address-mountain-connect-2022">Fireside chat with Alan Davidson</a> , Head of the agency overseeing $50 billion of the $75 billion for broadband in motion now.&nbsp;</li><li>And this <a href="https://broadband.money/lessons/bead-nofo-deep-dive">Recent webinar from Scott Woods, Esq.</a>&nbsp;A former NTIA executive weighs in on unpacking the agency’s $42.5 Billion BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)</li><li>Encourage your staff to join the <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money">Broadband Grants Community</a> of 800+ broadband professionals, introduce yourselves, and post your city’s broadband efforts &amp; requests for help. Learn about broadband funding, deployment planning and technologies and discuss active challenges.</li><li>Want to share your city’s digital inclusion &amp; equity plans with the community? Odds are good that your state director is in the community – it’s a great place to publicly share your city’s broadband vision. Ping <a href="mailto:sarah@ready.net">Sarah Lai Stirland</a> for help.</li><li>Bookmark the <a href="https://broadband.money/resources">Broadband Grants Resource Center</a> – more resources added weekly.</li><li>Contact us for more information – we’re here to help you win.&nbsp;</li></ol>

America's gearing up to make its largest – and almost certainly last – investment in broadband. By default, most of that money is set to flow away from urban areas. Mayors can and should get their share to connect constituents.

Mayors: Don't Miss Your City's Share of Billions for Broadband

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More than $75 billion in federal grants is coming to local broadband projects over the next five years. That sounds like a lot, but the process is extremely competitive.&nbsp;Grantmakers both on the federal and state levels have historically received requests for way more money than they have to give out. So applicants need to act quickly and decisively. That’s &nbsp; why Ready.net launched Broadband.money, the fastest way for local broadband providers to discover and win their fair share of the historic grants.&nbsp;We built this system to help local providers and projects get their share. These providers could be: a local internet service provider; a mom and pop run-ISP; a utility that runs an ISP or starting an ISP; rural electric cooperatives running ISPs. The common denominator is folks that are in the business of operating connectivity, and their partners.We provide your projects with the needed software, geospatial mapping data, technological guidance, partners, matching capital and more. For now, here are five things you can do to get ready for the tsunami of funding.&nbsp;<h3>1. Get on the radar of everyone who is involved in future decision-making.&nbsp;</h3>The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) is the $42.45 billion portion of the $65 billion allocated to broadband and digital inclusion in the infrastructure legislation. The grants will be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) and state governments.&nbsp; So it’s the state governments that will ultimately issue these grants to local entities building broadband networks. &nbsp; We recommend getting in touch with state broadband offices and their directors, being active on discussion boards, and generally making connections with others in the broadband community.Broadband.money offers a comprehensive listing of state broadband offices, contact information for their leaders, links to their broadband plans and summaries of each state broadband landscape. You can use the directory to find the relevant state broadband director and fire off a quick note to them and learn a little bit more about what they're up to.Another way of getting visibility is registering in and getting listed in Ready.net’s ISP Directory, which is free. It differs from other ISP directories because it’s not financially supported by advertisers.&nbsp;<h3>2. Become familiar with the legislation's reporting requirements and how the upcoming program will differ from past funding initiatives.</h3>The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) differs from previous grant programs because it contains rigorous reporting requirements of different kinds. For example, the IIJA requires ISPs to create “broadband nutrition labels.” That means that ISPs that receive the grants will have to precisely disclose performance and pricing data to their customers. The performance data includes information such as service speeds, latency, packet loss rates and network management practices, among other things.Ready.net understands that ISPs offer a mosaic of services across different geographies. That’s why we offer Ready BOSS, our back office information management and reporting system that helps you to map and track all of this information to keep it at your fingertips.&nbsp;<h3>3. Question assumptions.&nbsp;</h3>The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) differs from previous grant programs because it contains rigorous reporting requirements of different kinds.For example, the IIJA requires ISPs to create “broadband nutrition labels.” That means that ISPs that receive the grants will have to precisely disclose performance and pricing data to their customers. The performance data includes information such as service speeds, latency, packet loss rates and network management practices, among other things. Ready.net understands that ISPs offer a mosaic of services across different geographies. That’s why we offer Ready BOSS, our back office information management and reporting system that helps you to map and track all of this information to keep it at your fingertips.&nbsp;<h3>4. Get creative about your financing options.&nbsp;</h3>Don’t wait for grant makers to issue rules. To be blunt: You should weigh in on the plan. Large companies hire lobbyists to influence the rule-making process. If you’ve been involved in building networks for a while, share your domain of expertise with the NTIA and your state broadband offices as they make the program rules.Get loud about what you know and share it. The more you're on the minds of people that are making decisions about the funding, the better. So share what you know.In many cases, federal and state lawmakers are still creating rules and definitions. They want to hear from you.&nbsp; A lot of the rule-makers are not technologists. They’re in economic development. They're working their tails off, to get plans in place to get everything lined up to be neutral to help make sure that they're going to make the most of this historic opportunity.But you have the knowledge. You've been connecting people, even building parts that go into networks. You could be part of a network supply chain. You've been consultants to some of the big projects in the country. Share what you’ve learned with policymakers and the community at Broadband.money.You can also use our resource directory to learn more about federal grant programs and legal terms and definitions in the IIJA.&nbsp;<h3>5. Build a team that will successfully work together to make the build out process as efficient as possible.&nbsp;</h3>Such a team could be made of expert partners, consultants, investors, strong local operators, and other members of the local community. If you want, pre-enroll in Broadband Money, like we can help you matchmake to find the right partners. You can also look for service providers in your area in our ISP.me directory. Many of you have already won grant awards in the past and you've used consultants. So it's time to talk to them about this upcoming program.Our mission here at Broadband.money is to help local providers and projects get their share of the upcoming grants so that you all can go out and connect more families and businesses to better broadband. You can use our tools and engage in our community to do that.Our service includes: An interactive map with information on underserved, unserved, and served communities across the United States; a tool where consumers and internet providers can see what providers and internet services are near them; and individual state resource pages with contact information for state broadband offices and officials.Broadband.Money was created as a resource for those who are applying for funding, such as communities, local internet service providers, utilities, and related entities, and applicant partners, which includes consultants, the provider’s community, investors, and vendors.&nbsp;To listen to the discussion between Broadband.money and Fiber Broadband Association, check out Broadband.money's <a href="https://broadband.money/events/get-your-share-5-keys-to-know-asap-about-the-42-billion-bead-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recap of the event</a>.

More than $75 billion in federal grants is coming to local broadband projects over the next five years. Grantmakers both on the federal and state levels have historically received requests for way more money than they have to give out. So applicants need to act quickly and decisively. Read more to learn five things you can do to get ready for the tsunami of funding. 

Get Your Share: 5 Keys to Know ASAP About the 42 Billion BEAD Program

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The Biden administration kicked off its <a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Internet for All </a>Initiative on Friday when the Commerce Department unveiled the rules by which it plans to disburse more than $45 billion in federal broadband funding, which is a result of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.&nbsp;The money comes in the forms of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program; $1 billion for the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program; and $1.5 billion for the State Digital Equity Act program.&nbsp;“The resources in President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will allow us to bring broadband infrastructure to every corner of the country, make service affordable for everyone, and ensure users have the devices and digital skills they need, said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves in a press statement. ”But in order to succeed, we need a whole of government and whole of nation approach – everyone who has a stake in our connected future should get involved now."&nbsp;Here are the nine steps to funding outlined in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity:<h2>1. Letter of intent</h2>States, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories need to tell the NTIA that they intend to apply for the grant funding with a formal letter of intent by July 18th.&nbsp;<h2>2. Request for initial planning funds</h2>States and territories can include a request for planning funds along with their initial letters of intent. But if they decide not to, they then have up until August 15th to request up to $5 million for planning purposes. (American Samoa, Guam, the Mariana Island, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands can request up to $1.25 million each.) The NTIA's BEADS NOFO outlines the various tasks that state officials might want to use these funds for. In particular, the BEAD NOFO emphasizes that it is planning to offer substantial “free” help to state officials with planning.&nbsp;<h2>3. Fund recipients then must submit a five-year-plan broadband plan</h2>State &nbsp;entities then must submit five-year “action plans” within 270 days of receiving this initial pot of planning money. The NTIA's NOFO provides detailed guidance on what should be in these plans. But it emphasizes that these plans must be informed by collaboration with&nbsp;<blockquote>“local, regional, and Tribal (as applicable) entities, as well as unions and worker organizations, b. detail the eligible entity's investment priorities and associated costs, and c. align the state or territory's planned spending with its economic development, community benefit, workforce, telehealth, digital equity, and other efforts.”&nbsp;</blockquote><h2>4. Notice of available amounts&nbsp;</h2>The NTIA plans to notify the states and territories of the size of the grants they're eligible for beyond the initial $100 million based upon the Broadband DATA maps to be unveiled by the Federal Communications Commission sometime in the fall of 2022. The NTIA will then invite the states and territories to send them initial and final grant proposals. The states have 180 days to submit these proposals. They also have to show the NTIA that the states solicited input from the public and incorporate it.&nbsp;<h2>5. The challenge process</h2>Local governments, non-profits, or broadband providers can challenge state proposals “as to whether a particular location or community anchor institution within the jurisdiction of the Eligible Entity is eligible for grant funds, including whether a particular location is unserved or underserved.” The "eligible entity, i.e. the state or territory, has to submit those successful challenges to the NTIA for approval and review.&nbsp;<h2>6.Initial funding availability</h2>The NTIA's NOFO says that it will review initial proposals as quickly as possible and will make 20 percent of the total funds a state or territory is eligible for available.<h2>7. Sub-grantee selection</h2>Once the NTIA approves a state or territory's initial proposal, they can embark on the process of scoping out and coordinating broadband planning activities with local communities. They have one year to do this before submitting a final grant proposal back to the NTIA. &nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>8. Final proposal and release of remaining funds</h2>States and territories should submit their final proposals after locking in their agreements with local communities and broadband providers and explaining to the NTIA how it fulfilled its plans described in their initial proposals. The NTIA will then release the rest of the funding to to the state or territory. The state or territory again, must put its final proposal out for public comment before sending it back to the NTIA<h2>9. Ongoing reporting requirements</h2>The IIJA places extensive reporting requirements on sub-grantees and the NTIA will be monitoring the progress of the recipients of the federal money.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Here are the nine steps that states and territories must take to land federal funding to bring broadband to everyone. 

Here are the nine steps to landing a grant from the NTIA's BEAD NOFO

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Don’t get NOFO FOMO. Join the <a href="https://www.discuss.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband grants community</a> to stay informed. And you can get a head start on your competition: <a href="https://www.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pre-enroll</a> in broadband.money’s <a href="https://www.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grant applicant R&amp;D portal</a> today.&nbsp;Soon, the Biden administration is expected to formally ask states and territories to explain how they will organize their grant-issuing process for federal broadband funding.The milestone has been highly anticipated as the kickoff for the process of dispensing more than $46 billion in broadband, middle mile and digital equity grants.The National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to publish its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Congress authorized the funding through the broadband section of the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act last November.The specific tranche of funding initiated by the NOFO is from the law’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the core infrastructure program. Additional tranches of funding under the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program and the Digital Equity Planning Grant programs are expected to be shortly forthcoming.<h2>Step One: Issuing the NOFO&nbsp;</h2>Friday’s NOFO issuance will mark the first of three phases of funding. States, territories, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico can access the initial $5 million for planning purposes. This includes staffing up broadband offices, funding outreach and local coordination efforts with all local stakeholders.In IIJA, Congress clearly empowered local communities to make their own decisions about how to fund programs that will help people get online.&nbsp;To that end, the IIJA directed NTIA to ensure that state administrators coordinate with local governments and anchor institutions to scope out their needs. When state broadband offices or other entities respond to the NTIA’s BEAD NOFO they will have to demonstrate that they’ve coordinated with local entities.Additionally, the NTIA’s January request for comments mentions local coordination efforts several times.The agency asked the public for feedback on many aspects of local coordination.“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also requires states and territories to coordinate with local governments and other political subdivisions in developing State Digital Equity Plans.“What steps should states take to fulfill this mandate? How should NTIA assess whether a state has engaged in adequate coordination with its political subdivisions?” the agency asked in its January notice.The agency also asked how it could achieve the IIJA’s goal of including a more diverse mix of internet service providers in the grant recipient mix.Obtaining a diverse mix of service providers will be a highly anticipated theme insofar as<a href="https://muninetworks.org/content/seventeen-states-preempt-municipal-broadband"> 17 states still preempt</a> local governments from providing internet services. One big question: How the Biden administration will treat grant funding to these 17 states.In its request for comments, the NTIA asked: “NTIA views the participation of a variety of provider types as important to achieving the overall goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law broadband programs. How can NTIA ensure that all potential subrecipients, including small and medium providers, cooperatives, non-profits, municipalities, electric utilities, and larger for-profit companies alike have meaningful and robust opportunities to partner and compete for funding under the programs?”<h2>Step two: Submitting letters of intent</h2>The second step in the process is for states to submit letters of intent to land this initial $5 million in funding for their planning efforts.<h2>Step three: Submitting a broadband plan to NTIA</h2>The third step in the process is for NTIA to review these plans. Once approved, the states and territories can access 20 percent of their allocation from their <a href="https://broadband.money/resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD grant</a> allocation.&nbsp;The agency noted that "state plans must be informed by collaboration with local and regional entities and will lay out how each respective state and territory will use the BEAD funding and other funds to bring reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband to all residents.”The agency also emphasized establishing strong partnerships between state, local, and tribal governments.The NTIA wrote: “Community engagement is critical to eliminating barriers to broadband access and adoption. NTIA views strong involvement between states and local communities as key to ensuring that the broadband needs of all unserved and underserved locations are accounted for in state plans submitted for funding.“What requirements should NTIA establish for states/territories to ensure that local perspectives are critical factors in the design of state plans?”The agency also asked the public how it could best ensure that “states/territories consult with Tribal governments about how best to meet Tribal members’ needs when providing funding for broadband service to unserved and underserved locations on Tribal lands within state boundaries?”Stay tuned for more on the NTIA’s BEAD, Middle Mile and Digital Equity NOFOs, the first two of which are expected to be published soon.

The Infrastructure, Investments and Jobs Act's BEAD notice of funding opportunity is likely to focus on states' efforts to solicit local communities' input.

Local coordination could be a strong theme in NTIA's BEAD NOFO

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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration held a <a href="https://www.internetforall.gov/webinars" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">webinar</a> on May 17 focused on the <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/Here-are-the-nine-steps-to-landing-a-grant-from-the-NTIAs-BEAD-NOFO" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Notice of Funding Opportunity</a>.&nbsp;The webinar highlighted three important items to keep in mind as states begin to receive money for broadband planning. The first, according to Evan Feinman, deputy associate administrator for BEAD, was for states to consider your office’s capacity.&nbsp;Each state will receive a minimum of $100 million. Very few states have the human resources required to adequately run a program of this magnitude, he said.The second is to build up research and data collections of broadband coverage at a state level. The Federal Communications Commission will soon release a new mapping system. It will be necessary, said Feinman, to “engage meaningfully” with these maps using state’s own research and data. Furthermore, <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/how-the-ntias-challenge-process-works-in-the-notice-of-funding-opportunity" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">states should have the necessary data to engage with internet service providers and the NTIA</a> as they determine who is served and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved</a>.Third, states should develop a clear-cut plan for outreach and communication support with stakeholders. Stakeholders include telecom providers, tribal governments, local governments, and community organizations.The planning step is a great point for stakeholders to become involved in the process, said Feinman. “There is an expectation that lives throughout this program that folks are going to engage really thoroughly and in an outgoing way with their stakeholders.” A <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/05/state-broadband-offices-need-to-increase-their-capacity-improve-data-and-communicate-well/">version of this piece</a> was also published on Broadband Breakfast.

Capacity, data and outreach are key to landing federal BEAD grants. 

3 things state broadband offices need to do to prepare for NTIA's BEAD grant program

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul's administration needs to "ensure that future state-funded projects are based on accurate broadband availability data," and that it should fund technologies that actually do provide high-speed, reliable internet service, because it hasn't been doing so despite millions of dollars in funding.That's according to a little-noted <a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/state-agencies/audits/2022/07/01/new-ny-broadband-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">audit </a>published earlier this month by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.&nbsp;“The New NY Broadband Program did not meet its goal to close the internet gap because of poor planning and execution,” DiNapoli said in a press release. “As my office’s audit found, the program took years longer than promised and supplied many communities with slow, satellite-based internet that is inadequate for today’s needs. The state is now embarking on another effort to provide all New Yorkers with broadband access called ConnectALL and it is my hope it learns from the issues we found in this audit so they are not repeated.”DiNapoli’s audit recommended that ESD and BPO:<ul><li>Work with ISPs to complete outstanding projects as soon as possible;</li><li>Use a disclaimer when reporting the percentage of broadband availability in the state to reflect limitations in the data’s accuracy; and</li><li>Ensure that future state-funded projects are based on accurate broadband availability data; and that technologies that provide high-speed, reliable internet are used.</li></ul>National Public Radio affiliate WBFO recently <a href="https://www.wbfo.org/2022-07-18/new-yorks-broadband-program-to-provide-service-across-the-state-is-behind-schedule-uses-an-inaccurate-tool-to-monitor-how-well-its-doing-and-is-getting-another-billion-dollars?utm_source=sendgrid&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Newsletters&amp;mc_cid=4a875cd440&amp;mc_eid=f63cc288fd" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">highlighted</a> the report and spoke with two county leaders whose geographies have been impacted by the faulty data and technology decisions. Those are Orleans County and Chautauqua counties.&nbsp;<blockquote>Chautauqua County Executive P.J. Wendel has a particularly choice words for the FCC's Form 477 data: “You gotta get sick and tired of fighting those, 'Yeah, well these are our numbers and we stand by them'" Wendel said. "Yeah, you can balance an elephant on a quarter, too, but that doesn't necessarily mean it could happen. Physics can tell you that.”</blockquote>Hochul's administration disagreed with DiNapoli's characterizations of its funding program so far. Felisa Hochheiser, New York's Director of Compliance for its economic development authority Empire State Development, said that satellite tech was only funded in areas where fiber deployment was prohibitively high and couldn't be provided at an affordable rate.&nbsp;And Empire State Development's Broadband Program Office has established a new broadband mapping and data collection program and is investing significant new resources in wireline rural broadband deployment, she wrote <a href="https://www.osc.state.ny.us/files/state-agencies/audits/pdf/sga-2022-20s19.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in a response</a> included in the audit. The BPO realized that the Federal Communications Commission's Form 477 data is faulty, she wrote.&nbsp;The comptroller's findings are concerning because Hochul announced that the state is putting another billion dollars into broadband funding this year under its <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-new-1-billion-connectall-initiative-bring-affordable-broadband" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ConnectALL initiative</a>. Her administration has come under fire for violating the Governor's promise for more transparency than her predecessor Governor Andrew Cuomo, who first announced a $500 million broadband initiative several years ago. Projects from that initiative are way behind and remain unfinished, DiNapoli's report noted.Broadband.money <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">projects </a>that New York State could receive another $672.8 to $756.4 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's BEAD program.Perhaps ESD's BPO (or even the counties) should look into using <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money's New York State broadband coverage map</a>, which use Ookla and MLab speed data and compares it with the FCC's form 477 data to illustrate where areas are <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved</a> and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/underserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">underserved</a> as defined by IIJA's BEAD broadband grant program.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Orleans_County_New_York_min_d4915a14fb.png"></figure>The map above, for example, shows this data comparison within a census block within Orleans, one of the counties named within the NPR affiliate story. It's also worth noting here that the IIJA's BEAD program <a href="https://broadband.money/ntia-bead-nofo/program-description" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">allows local entities</a> to challenge a state's planned funding allocations if they use their own verified data.&nbsp;

New York State needs to improve the way it administers broadband grants, according to a new audit from the state comptroller's office. 

New York State needs better broadband data, says comptroller

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State broadband offices are beginning to prepare in earnest for the challenge process under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. Now that guidance for the process has been provided by the federal government, states are now seeking to iron out the complexities of this process.As they do so, these state broadband offices should be aware of the opportunity to conduct an “area challenge” of service provider availability.&nbsp;Under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.internet4all.gov/bead-challenge-process-policy">model challenge process</a> – published on June 28, 2023, as a template for states – if six or more locations in a census block group allege the same technology from the same provider is not available or slower than state data indicates, an “area challenge” is initiated. This designates the entire block group as challenged.Normally, the challenger must provide evidence that their service is not available or worse than advertised in order to successfully change their location’s status in the state’s data. But under area challenges – for those states that make use of it – once the challenger provides sufficient evidence, the burden of proof switches to the provider, who must prove that it provides the reported service to the entire census block group.<h4>Detailed guidance on permissible challengers and allowable challenges</h4>The NTIA made clear in its June 28 guidance that challenges will be accepted from permissible challengers, which is limited to units of local and tribal government, nonprofit organizations and broadband service providers, to the state through a state-maintained online portal. The guidance includes the “BEAD Challenge Process Policy Notice” as well as the “BEAD Model Challenge Process”Those challenges that meet a minimum level of evidence must be rebutted within the rebuttal period or they will be considered sustained.&nbsp;The NTIA guidance provides a list of allowable challenges, which include identification of community anchor institutions, location eligibility determination, planned service, and enforceable commitments.&nbsp;Additionally, states must detail an approach that “ensures that sufficient opportunity and time is given to all relevant parties to initiate, rebut, and substantiate challenges.” They must also ensure their challenge process is transparent and detail in their plans to, at a minimum, publicly post documentation explaining the challenge process, publicly post all submitted challenges and rebuttals, and host a public-facing website featuring all the documentation.&nbsp;States are required to use the national broadband map as a starting point to identify all eligible locations within the state prior to conducting the challenge process. They may modify locations to reflect data not present in the national broadband map upon NTIA approval. They will not be allowed to add or remove broadband serviceable locations or change the definitions of unserved and underserved from those set in the national broadband map.&nbsp;<h4>Changes from April version of the NTIA guidance</h4>In April, the NTIA released a&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2023/05/louisiana-works-on-map-challenge-process-as-it-prepares-digital-equity-plan-for-next-week/">proposed BEAD Challenge Process Model</a> which outlined similar guidance with a shorter challenge process window of 90 days. The new guidance provides more detail into the requirements under each step of the challenge process.In particular, among the changes to the April guidance are that states “may rely on CAIs to identify their unmet broadband need. Where SBO capacity is limited, Eligible Entities should focus their efforts on enumerating those CAIs that are currently not served by gigabit broadband.” Additionally, the NTIA added this line: “If a provider claims gigabit service availability for a [community anchor institution] or a unit of local government disputes the CAI status of a location, the CAI may rebut” the challenge.Additionally, the NTIA makes clear that individual broadband users may be able to “submit challenges through their unit of local government or a nonprofit, preferably via a web portal. This unit of local government or nonprofit will then upload the challenges to the state challenge portal, which in turn notifies the broadband provider of the challenge.”Challenge processes must be completed within 120 days of commencement and allow challenges and rebuttals to be submitted for a minimum of 14 days.&nbsp;Upon completion of the challenge process, states must submit to NTIA for review the proposed final classifications of each unserved, underserved, and community anchor institution location.&nbsp;Federal Communications Commission’s “Fabric”The NTIA relies upon the FCC’s National Broadband Map for the allocation of $42.5 billion in federal funds for expanding broadband infrastructure from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. The money is being distributed to states based on the coverage available to their residents as recorded in the second version of the FCC map.For states looking to allocate their BEAD funds, a challenge process of their own is not only beneficial, but required by the NTIA.Challenges submitted to states will be used to create state-specific maps which each will use to plan BEAD projects. States have until December 27, 2023, to submit the first volume of their initial proposals, which must detail this challenge process.States have the opportunity to create their own challenge processesStates can create their own process from scratch or adopt the NTIA’s model challenge process. Several states have already released their volume one proposals.The area challenge mentioned above is an optional provision in the NTIA’s process that could significantly ease the burden on consumers and states looking to create the most accurate possible broadband maps.Under normal challenge rules, the challenger must provide proof that their service is different – usually worse – than state data suggests. This can involve a number of things, depending on what specifically is being challenged. For example, the service availability, speed, latency, and technology offered at a location, among other things, can all be challenged.A challenger might have to submit screenshots of denied service requests, speed tests, excerpts of their service agreements – again, among other things – to back up their claim. But even if that evidence is enough to uphold the challenge, it only changes the designation of their specific location.But what if an entire swathe of land is incorrectly categorized?&nbsp; By the typical challenge rules, everyone in that area would have to submit their own challenges and prove they were getting worse service than state records show.That’s where the area challenge comes in. As the NTIA notes in the BEAD Challenge Process Policy Notice, “If the challenger determines that an area served by a provider within a census block group should be reclassified as unserved or underserved in step (1), the Eligible Entity may issue an area challenge (i.e., may declare all locations by that provider within the area to be similarly unserved or underserved). All locations in that area enter the “challenged” state. Providers may rebut area challenges for some or all locations within the area.In the “BEAD Model Challenge Process,” the NTIA elucidates that “the broadband office will administer area … challenges…. An area challenge reverses the burden of proof for availability, speed, latency, data caps and technology if a defined number of challenges for a particular category, across all challengers, have been submitted for a provider. Thus, the provider receiving an area challenge… must demonstrate that they are indeed meeting the availability, speed, latency, data cap and technology requirement, respectively, for all (served) locations within the area or all units within an MDU.”This area challenge is optional and states are not required to use it. But for states that do implement the area challenge, it gives states the opportunity to reverse this burden of proof from the challenger to the internet service provider.Under the area challenge rule, if six locations in a census block group submit the same kind of challenge to the same technology from the same provider – six locations challenge DSL speed from one provider, for example, then the&nbsp;provider must prove that they serve the entire census block group as recorded in state data.This would prevent states and communities from having to crowdsource hundreds of challenges in a block group and reverses the burden of proof onto providers, who have the infrastructure to provide network diagrams and conduct performance tests across large areas with network management systems.The Challenge Process CoordinatorOne important tool in managing the challenge process is Ready.net’s&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/products/challenge-process-coordinator">Challenge Process Coordinator</a>, which sets the evidentiary standard for NTIA-acceptable and customizable data collection. The Challenge Process Coordinator is customizable for every challenge type, and only allows permissible challengers to create an account and submit challenges.&nbsp;Further, the&nbsp;CPC contains features that enable challengers to submit high quality challenges that meet the NTIA's standard and are easy to adjudicate automatically. This is because the data is not only completely customizable (and deduplicated), but also because gating is automatically applied to only permit locations that are appropriate for the challenge. For example, if provider A's cable is challenged, only locations receiving provider A's cable can be selected for that challenge - not provider B's cable or provider A's fiber.Additionally, the Challenge Process Coordinator breaks down the language into a series of simple questions that easily break down the complex guidance for challengers. This enables them to submit evidence that meets the challenge’s needs without any confusion. The tool also allows for integrated messaging, allowing the state broadband office to meet the messaging requirements for notifying providers when challenged.After the challenge window closes, the data is automatically extracted in the NTIA defined format to submit for final approval. This takes away an otherwise tedious process for the state broadband office. Upon approval from the NTIA, changes are automatically populated to the internal and public facing maps through the synchronized maps deployed for the office.

A guide to the evidentiary standard of the BEAD Challenge Process with an emphasis on the area challenge module for State Broadband Offices.

An Evidence-Based Challenge Process for State Broadband Offices

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Twelve states – Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming – have released volume one of their BEAD initial proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.Five – Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming – are still open for public comment.The NTIA requires states to submit their initial proposals in two volumes. Both volumes are due to the NTIA by December 27, 2023, 180 days after the formal allocation of BEAD funds on June 30.&nbsp;The first volume must include four pieces of information: existing broadband funding efforts, unserved and underserved locations, anchor institution definitions, and the state’s challenge process.The challenge process requirement calls for states to detail how they will accept and process challenges to location classifications and, crucially, data on broadband coverage. These state challenge processes are separate from the ongoing challenge process to the FCC’s broadband map and are mandatory for the disbursement of BEAD funds.States have access to the NTIA’s model challenge process to help them in this effort, and the agency encourages states to adopt the model process in full. All 12 states that have submitted volume one are heavily basing their challenge processes on the model.The model process outlines in detail a 90-day process with four phases. The NTIA allows this process to span up to 120 days, but states have not elected so far to take that extra time.<h3>Process begins with state broadband offices publishing a list of locations deemed eligible</h3>The process begins with state broadband offices publishing locations deemed eligible for BEAD funding by existing map data. These locations also have to be provided in volume one of the initial proposal.Challenge and rebuttal phases follow, in which challengers – limited to nonprofits, local and tribal governments, and service providers – submit challenges to the state on that eligibility, and service providers have a chance to rebut that challenge and prove their coverage is correctly recorded. In the final phase, broadband offices make final determinations on eligibility by sustaining or rejecting the challenges they’ve received.Acceptable challenge and rebuttal evidence include rigorous speed tests documenting low speeds or high latency and written documents from service providers informing customers that a specific service is not available in their area. The full scope of evidentiary standards for each challenge type can be found in the text of the model process, available for download&nbsp;<a href="https://www.internet4all.gov/bead-challenge-process-policy">here</a>.The model process outlines two optional provisions on how states can interpret FCC map data and make eligibility changes ahead of their challenge process.Most states are adopting at least one, electing to either consider locations the FCC marks as “served” – having broadband in excess of 100 Mbps upload and 20 Mbps download – as being “underserved” if the only technology available is DSL or to check coverage data against speed tests ahead of accepting official challenges.<h3>Vermont, Delaware and Ohio have added additional modifications to their proposals</h3>Only three are adding additional modifications: Vermont, Delaware and Ohio.&nbsp;All three states are modifying the model process to treat locations the FCC marks as served as being underserved if the only technology available in the area is fixed wireless cellular service. They cite the fact that cell speeds drop significantly with distance from a tower and can be throttled when networks are congested.Vermont is also adding a provision to treat served locations on the FCC map as “unserved” if there is evidence that providers in the area impose an “unreasonable capacity allowance (‘data cap’) on the consumer.” The state did not specify its threshold for determining unreasonableness.The model process also includes optional challenge types: MDU (multiple dwelling unit) and area challenges. These require providers to prove service for entire buildings or geographic areas if a certain number of challenges within that building or area are submitted.These modules are also popular with states who have released volume one, with all states except Montana and Utah explicitly adopting them.The existing broadband funding requirement calls for states to identify other existing broadband subsidy efforts within their borders. This includes both federal efforts like the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and state-funded initiatives.Meeting the community anchor institutions requirement involves identifying anchor institutions currently receiving less than 1 Gbps upload and download service. It also asks states to classify which organizations will get anchor institution status. This typically includes schools, libraries, and healthcare centers, but states can add other entities if they provide justification in their proposals.Five-year action plans are due 270 after states received initial planning grants. When states received these grants varies, but the last allocation was made on December 23, 2022.

Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming have released their initial proposals.

12 States Have Filed Volume 1 of BEAD Initial Proposals 

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There’s big changes coming for BEAD applicants after recent announcements from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on its controversial Letter of Credit requirement.&nbsp;Applicants, under new NTIA guidelines, will be eligible for a&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/funding-programs/policies-waivers/BEAD-Letter-of-Credit-Waiver?_gl=1*usoi1u*_ga*MTUwNjEwMjY0OS4xNjk4ODQ4NDY3*_ga_H50FXLW992*MTY5ODg1NzU3MS4zLjEuMTY5ODg1NzczMy4wLjAuMA..*_ga_55V70TEFYT*MTY5ODg1NzU3MS4zLjEuMTY5ODg1NzczMy4wLjAuMA..&amp;_ga=2.210884693.1559733915.1698848467-1506102649.1698848467">Letter of Credit Waiver&nbsp;</a>and other sources of funding, such as <a href="http://performance bonds." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">performance bonds</a>. Credit unions are also now able to provide letters of credit according to the new guidelines.&nbsp;“Applicants can waive their letter of credit requirement entirely if their state issues funding on a reimbursable basis,” John Windhausen, president of SHLB Coalition and a member of the Letter of Credit (LOC) Coalition who ushered the change, said. “This, in turn, minimizes the risk to the federal government of losing money, allows applicants to take full advantage of greater flexibility provided by some states and allows for greater competition.”&nbsp;NTIA’s decision to allow credit unions to provide Letters of Credits gives greater flexibility to applicants with limited access to financial institutions. “Credit unions are usually the best equipped and knowledgeable about these small communities,” attorney Phil Macres, who is also a member of the LOC Coalition, said.The Letter of Credit Coalition, a broad coalition of industry experts and organizations, was responsible for pressuring the NTIA to modify the requirement.&nbsp;These experts will be conducting a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broadband.io/c/broadband-grant-events/ntia-letter-of-credit-discussion">Letter of Credit Discussion&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;on the broadband community on Thursday, November 9 at 12 p.m. ET.&nbsp;<h2>Why’s this important?&nbsp;</h2>Under previous guidelines, applicants were required to obtain a Letter of Credit valued at 25% of the total grant amount from a bank with a Weiss rating of B- or higher. This not only excluded other financial institutions, most notably credit unions, but also tied up enormous amounts of capital limiting opportunity to a smaller pool of applicants.&nbsp;Connect Humanity&nbsp;<a href="https://connecthumanity.fund/why-the-letter-of-credit-requirement-could-sink-bead/">provides a clear example of the requirement’s cost</a>. An applicant seeking to apply for&nbsp; a $7.5 million grant would need to have $4.6 million, or 61 cents per dollar, set aside at all times in order to be approved.&nbsp;“This presented an enormous burden to smaller applicants, minority-owned applicants, women-owned applicants and made many financially prohibited from participation,” Macres said. “It was even a hurdle for some bigger companies who couldn’t afford to just have so much cash on hand.”&nbsp;<h2>What’s next?&nbsp;</h2>Letter of Credit Coalition members are optimistic that modifications to the requirement will spur competition and allow for a larger pool of applicants. This, in turn, means a greater number of projects slated for completion.&nbsp;Windhausen told us that he believes this would allow non-profits and others to be able to qualify for projects serving anchor institutions which are usually less attractive to bigger players.&nbsp;As the financial services sector faces uncertainty, there remains growing concern of the requirement that financial institutions maintain a Weiss credit rating of B- or higher. This especially as some of the country’s largest banks, notably Wells Fargo and Bank of America, fail to meet the standard.&nbsp;To learn more, please be sure to RSVP and attend our Letter of Credit discussion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broadband.io/c/broadband-grant-events/ntia-letter-of-credit-discussion">here</a>.&nbsp;

There’s big changes coming for BEAD applicants after recent announcements from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on its controversial Letter of Credit requirement. 

Learn More about BEAD’s Letter of Credit Requirement Changes

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Among the many people who could stand to benefit from the $42.45 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program">Broadband Equity Access Deployment (BEAD)</a> funding currently being awarded to states by the Biden Administration, are a number of residents in rural Washington State, who say cable giants have been so far unwilling or unable to build out reliable, affordable high-speed internet service offerings for them.A new article published this week by local outlets&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbian.com/news/2023/jan/23/can-a-42b-internet-expansion-plan-close-washingtons-digital-divide/">The Columbian</a> and Crosscut zeroes in on several of these residents in particular, describing their struggles to get service.&nbsp;One mother near Elma, a town of 3,400, lives just 75 feet from a connection box, but the report says a Comcast technician estimated the cost to connect her at $1,000-$2,000, which she doesn’t have — forcing her teenage daughter to rely on an unreliable portable hotspot from school and leaving her frustrated and behind on her coursework.&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits/washington/city/elma-broadband-audit">Broadband.Money</a>’s broadband audit of Elma, Washington, shows that the majority of broadband serviceable locations in the town — some 83.4%, are either&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location">unserved</a> (34.3%) or&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/underserved-location">underserved</a> (49.1%), with only 16.6% reliably served.&nbsp;The article’s author traveled with another resident to the parking lot of an elementary school, the only place where he was able to get reliable wireless internet service provided by a local public utility to send work emails from inside his parked vehicle.&nbsp;“To be honest, I started debating, maybe we’re going to have to move…or I’m going to have to get an apartment in town or something,” the resident told the reporter.&nbsp;Washington State does have a number of&nbsp; Public Utility Districts (PUDs) dating back to the 1930s and established by communities to provide them with the new technology at that time: electricity.&nbsp;Today, the PUDs still exist and are applying for broadband and other government funding, but at least eight projects have had their applications rejected after objections from Comcast and Rural Wireless LLC, another existing telecom company.Even those PUDs that have won funding may not be able to use it to build in the state in areas that existing ISPs claim they already provide service, but which residents complain it is nonexistent or spotty. The viable solution seems to require the state government to alter existing regulations that allow ISPs to block new broadband projects by PUDs.Read the full article on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.columbian.com/news/2023/jan/23/can-a-42b-internet-expansion-plan-close-washingtons-digital-divide/">Colombian here</a>.

Residents of Elma in Washington State struggle to access the internet. Our broadband audit quantifies the town's lack of connectivity.

Report: Private Telcos Thwart WA Public Utilities’ Plans For Rural Broadband

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Alaska is one of America's last frontiers in many ways. Broadband deployment is no exception.&nbsp;The vast state of 665,400 square miles is in dire need of better broadband, and it stands to leap ahead if state broadband leaders are able to win the appropriate amount of BEAD grants. The state published <a href="https://connectednation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CN_ALASKA_BB_PLAN_12-2019_07_FINAL-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this broadband report</a> last year to outline its needs.&nbsp;In in addition to Treasury and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/getting-ready-for-bead" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BEAD grants</a>, the state's 229 tribes are also eligible for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/resources/grant-programs/tribal-broadband-connectivity-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program</a> (NTCP.) &nbsp;But the needed amount of funding can only come if broadband builders use accurate maps that can tell them where the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's BEAD grant money should go.&nbsp;That's why Alaska's Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan are pushing the Federal Communications Commission to get its much-touted Fabric map right when they publish them this fall. The IIJA directs the NTIA to dispense broadband funding to state applicants according to a formula based on data from that map, which in turn is based on broadband coverage data submitted by internet service providers.&nbsp;They reiterated <a href="https://communicationsdaily.com/news/2022/08/10/Murkowski-Sullivan-Raise-Broadband-Map-Concerns-in-Alaska-2208090049" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">their concerns</a> this week at a broadband summit held in Fairbanks, Alaska this week, according to the trade publication Communications Daily.&nbsp;The publication reports that their statements "followed state officials raising concerns about holes in the FCC’s broadband serviceable location fabric to be used in upcoming maps.&nbsp;State, local, tribal and federal officials stressed the need for engagement and collaboration to ensure funding goes where it’s needed."This <a href="https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2022/08/09/alaska-ramps-up-effort-to-land-billions-in-federal-funding-to-close-digital-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Alaska Daily News story</a> quotes the Alaska Federation of Natives' Executive Vice President Nicole Borromeo acknowledging that “there will be a lot of competition for the money nationally.”&nbsp; &nbsp;<blockquote>“We want to see every penny we can up in Alaska,” Borromeo said, part of a panel during the summit that discussed tribal opportunities. “It’s a bit of a David and Goliath story. The only way we get to be Goliath is by working together.”</blockquote>But the state currently seems to<a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/2ef805eb0e2746598c3ed0638388de16" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> rely on that FCC data</a> to map its broadband needs.&nbsp;State, local and tribal officials, and local ISPs could all work together to figure out the <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">real amounts</a> that the state and tribal territories are due from the NTIA by using <a href="http://broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money</a>'s <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/alaska" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband performance maps</a> and forthcoming community <a href="https://twitter.com/jase/status/1558127104105086977/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband performance test toolkit</a>.&nbsp;

Alaska's congressional leaders are worried about the accuracy of the FCC's broadband maps. 

Alaska leaders worry about broadband maps

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Identifying <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location">unserved </a>and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/underserved-location">underserved </a>communities is the central challenge for policymakers when deciding where to allocate federal broadband funding flowing from the BEAD grants.&nbsp;To bring more precision to the process, Broadband Money uses multiple sets of data that measure network performance to build the Ready Speed Rank. We have combined datasets collected by <a href="https://www.measurementlab.net/">Measurement Lab</a> (MLab,) <a href="https://www.ookla.com/articles/how-ookla-ensures-accurate-reliable-data-2021">Ookla</a>, and the Federal Communications Commission’s <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/broadband-deployment-data-fcc-form-477">form 477 data</a>. The benefit of this approach is that it provides a multi-faceted view of geographic areas – instead of unchecked, self-reported data from providers that is submitted in the form 477 data collection process.&nbsp;Here’s how the Ready Speed Rank system is better than the FCC's when used as a sole source of truth.In this article, we compared the FCC’s form 477 data to the address level speed test <a href="https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/broadband-availability" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">survey data</a> collected by the state of Vermont. (Remember that the FCC’s form 477 data relies instead on block-level reporting from providers.) Then we compare the Ready Speed Rank to the FCC's form 477 reports.&nbsp;When we performed this comparison, we found that 41.5% (25,359) of the unserved addresses (service tier below 25/3 Mbps) in Vermont would be classified as "served" if we only relied on the FCC's form 477 data. In contrast, the Ready Speed Rank only shows 0.6% (371) of the unserved addresses from the Vermont survey within blocks that we define as served.<h2>Compare the FCC’s Form 477 block level speed report with the address-level speed survey from the state of Vermont.</h2>We first associate the address-level speed report data from the state of Vermont to US Census Block data. A total of 310,633 addresses were included in the Vermont study, among which 61,194 (19.7%) households are reported unserved (service tier below 25/3 Mbps.) For each census block, we obtain the FCC 477 data, including the consumer level's maximum download and upload speed.Fig. 1 shows a mapping comparison of the broadband services from FCC's form 477 reports versus data from Vermont's current address level speed survey.&nbsp;Table 1 summarizes the results. We show that around 41.5% (25,359) of "unserved” addresses are currently classified as "served” per FCC’s current 477 data.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/why_Ready_Speed_Rank_01_4942b0deb0.png"></figure>Fig. 1. Compare the FCC’s Form 477 report (census block level) and Vermont address-level speed survey data.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/report_ready_vermont_c1e2c7b8a5.png"></figure>Table 1. Percentage of addresses classified into different categories based on the FCC form 477 reports. Around 41.51% of currently unserved addresses (reported by Vermont Speed Survey) are within the "served" territory based on FCC's 477 records. Number in each row will add up to 100%<h2>Compare the Ready Speed Rank with Vermont's address-level survey.</h2>Ready Speed Rank is a metric that integrates FCC 477 form data and Ookla, and MLab speed test data. If the FCC’s 477 report indicates no provider in a census block, we assume the census block is “unserved”. If a census block is reported with upload and download speeds above 25 Mbps/3 Mbps by FCC 477, but MLab and Ookla imply otherwise, we consider this census block “likely unserved”. The Ready Speed Rank only considers a census block as "served" when all three data sources report that a census block is “served.” In this way, we mitigate the bias brought by potential sampling errors and different speed test methods. Again, Fig. 2a shows the Ready Speed Rank distribution in Vermont, and Table 2 reports the confusion matrix*.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/fig_02_f402767eb6.png"></figure>Fig. 2. Distribution of Ready Speed Rank<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/report_confusion477_vermont_f82392aa9e.png"></figure>Table 2. Compare Ready Speed Rank with Vermont speed survey. We can reduce the miss-classification of unserved addresses to 0.61%. By combining other metrics, Ready Speed Rank can capture unserved addresses under the “likely" and "arguably" categories.To conclude, by leveraging multiple data sources, Ready Speed Rank provides better estimates of the unserved and underserved communities. This is the first of our case studies to demonstrate how our team leverages data so that policymakers and grant seekers and grant makers can make better funding allocation decisions. &nbsp;<h4>Data Used in this Report</h4><ul><li>Vermont Address Level Speed Data: <a href="https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/broadband-availability" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><code>https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/broadband-availability</code></a></li><li>Category of served, unserved, underserved with FCC 477 (redistributed by NTIA): <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/census-block-lists-state-and-territory" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><code>https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/census-block-lists-state-and-territory</code></a></li><li>Ready Speed Rank &nbsp;</li></ul><h4>Footnote:</h4>*Confused? A “confusion matrix” is a data science term that summarizes the results of a classification task. Each address point could be classified as “served”, “underserved”, and “unserved” per Vermont’s speed survey and Ready Speed Rank. The matrix shows the proportion of addresses classified into the same class or different classes by the two methods.

Identifying unserved and underserved communities is the central challenge for policymakers when deciding where to allocate federal broadband funding flowing from the BEAD grants. The Ready Speed Rank pinpoints unserved and underserved communities.

Why Ready Speed Rank?

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Talk to any experienced broadband director, and they’ll tell you that the job of running a state broadband office amounts to much more than just a place to coordinate infrastructure development. Here are a few: A therapist’s office of sorts, where staff often hear from frustrated state residents about their connectivity woes; problem solver; tech education and customer service center; grant maker; urban planner; business and community matchmaker; geographer and economic development expert.It’s a tough job. But Veneeth Iyengar, Louisiana’s executive director for broadband development and connectivity, seems to relish it. That’s probably because he focuses on the reality powering the job: At its heart, building broadband infrastructure is about connecting people to each other and to opportunities.Stakeholder engagement is at the heart of everything his office <a href="https://connect.la.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ConnectLA</a> does. Iyengar and his staff constantly meet leaders and other members of local communities to learn about their needs. For instance, last week, Iyengar visited with mayors of towns/villages, community colleges and parish officials throughout North Louisiana.“We’ve taken the concept of “stakeholder engagement” and we’ve put it on steroids, because we’ve effectively visited almost all of the state’s 64 parishes, except maybe a couple,” he said in an interview with Broadband.money.Getting to know their “customers”Iyengar and his team Thomas Tyler Jr., ConnectLA’s deputy director, and&nbsp; Glen Howie, Jr., its senior policy analyst have traveled all over the state meeting residents and local leaders such as school superintendents, faith leaders, parish presidents, mayors, local public librarians, economic development specialists, healthcare providers, law enforcement and public safety officials.Louisiana is a state with a population of 4.7 million spread over about 52,000 miles. The median income for the state is $50,800 and about 19 percent of the&nbsp; population live below the poverty line. Governor John Bel Edwards is committed to a goal of “broadband for everyone” by 2029. This means providing universal access to broadband service with minimum speeds of 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload, scalable to up to 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload, for all Louisianans by 2029. Iyengar’s office reports directly to Louisiana’s Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne, and he meets with the governor himself on a regular basis.&nbsp;The state’s goal is to prioritize those with less then 25/3 speeds with 100/100 speeds, scalable if not 100/20 (in exceptional cases) as quickly as possble.&nbsp;&nbsp;The ConnectLA team brings a one page document to distribute to the meetings. That document shows which areas in the local community are unserved, which then prompts a conversation about ways to fix the problem in addition to identifying on a zip code basis how many folks benefitted from the EBB program versus a percentage that are potentially eligible in addition to the number of folks who might lack digital literacy skills on a per parish basis..These meetings spur the local leaders to action, and everyone then has a project to accomplish. Parish leaders are leading broadband teams to find connectivity solutions and to work on grant applications. Librarians are working on digital literacy programs. Faith based community leaders have&nbsp; committed to signing up eligible members for what was then the Emergency Broadband Benefit. More than a quarter of the state’s parishes assembled broadband teams to actively work on getting everyone connected.&nbsp;&nbsp;All this work is part of Iyengar, Tyler and Howie’s larger effort to stand up the state’s broadband office, which the state legislature created in 2020. The office, known as ConnectLA, began operations just over a year ago in March 2021. The&nbsp; Board of Regents/Board of Elementary and Secondary Education plus additional CARES money gave it $1.5 million for its operations over three years.The scope of work is clear. A McKinsey survey commissioned by the state found that around 1.5 Million may lack internet in Louisiana, 47 percent of whom are African American/Hispanic households either due to an access, affordability, literacy or a device issue. Seven hundred and forty-four thousand Louisianans lack digital literacy skills, the survey found.&nbsp;ConnectLA has worked to create its first grant program, which, inevitably perhaps, is called GUMBO. The acronym stands for “Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities.”The program offers a pot of $177 million in grants to commercial internet service providers. The money comes from the American Rescue Plan Act. The office received 158 applications, according to the published record of applications online. Applicants included everyone from AT&amp;T to municipal broadband providers to local companies like Cajun Broadband. The office has been through the application review and protest process. It will announce final awardees sometime this month.Preparing for IIJA BEAD NOFOAll this conversation and planning has enabled the ConnectLA office to plan for the future.“You can't just show up three months before a project, say, hey, the project's gonna come down, I need your help,” Iyengar told John Busby, Chief Marketing Officer for Centerfield, a Seattle-based digital marketing company on a recent podcast episode. “You need to make repeated visits to the same people, you need to coach them up. You need to mentor, you make yourself available, because if you put in the work on the front-end, when it comes time to execute on the back-end, it’s going to make your life a hell of a lot easier.”That’s all to say that now that it has created a grant program, talked to the stakeholders, and worked on mapping, it has done scenario planning and estimated how much it will receive from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act. Broadband.money, for our part, <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/louisiana">estimates</a> that <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/louisiana" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Louisiana</a> will receive $649,649,205. Iyengar himself thinks that’s an underestimatation. He says that “its likely we will commit and spend over a $1 billion to address the broadband problem over the next several years”.He says that he, Tyler and Howie are not waiting for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to come out before working on their grant application. They’re already on their third draft of their IIJA BEAD grant application.The office hasn’t just got its eyes on the IIJA though. Iyengar says that there are multiple sources of federal funding programs for broadband accessibility and affordability. Another big one for Louisiana is the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Currently, 13 companies have been awarded $342 million to serve 175,000 households in Louisiana.&nbsp;Additionally, Vice President Harris and Deputy Secretary Graves travelled to Sunset, Louisiana&nbsp; on the 21nd of March to announce a $29 Million grant&nbsp; (NTIA BIP program) to provide high speed internet to over 22,000 locations in several parishes in the Acadiana Region of LouisianaThe other benefit of engaging in all that outreach: local anchor institutions and their leaders have helped their constituents access their Affordable Connectivity Benefits. Louisiana had one of the highest penetration rates with&nbsp; more than 31 percent of eligible households enrolled in the program, according to BroadbandNow. Iyengar says that these institutions have been key in establishing digital literacy programs as well. He says the state ranked third in the country with more than 215,000 households benefiting from the ACP/EBB programWhat ConnectLA offersIyengar said that he looked to the states of Virginia and North Carolina for inspiration when setting up ConnectLA, saying that those state share similar socio-economic backgrounds as Louisiana.Like Virginia, Louisiana offers an informational Broadband Toolkit for parish leaders. It also urges local governments to appoint “Digital Navigators.” These are local leaders who have the authority to make things happen in local government and who can coordinate activities to implement broadband in a community. ConnectLA also has two interns. One Sydney McGovern, who helps with the office’s communications. She recently wrote <a href="https://connect.la.gov/news/blog-post/grosse-tete-feature-story/">this profile</a>, for example, of Grosse Tete a tiny village of 700 Southwest of the state capitol of Baton Rouge. It gives local governments an idea of how they might go about bringing better broadband connections to their areas.&nbsp;The other is Emma Chance. They both help with stakeholder engagement meetings.What might be of particular use for ISPs is the demographic map that ConnectLA has published on its Web site, which offers statistical profiles of the state’s 64 parishes. The map shows statistics regarding each parish’s level of broadband access, penetration, affordability and digital literacy rates.A background in financeSo what was Iyengar doing on a podcast about marketing anyway? Iyengar actually has a business background and worked in finance before he arrived in the public sector in 2018. He got a graduate degree in finance from Johns Hopkins University, served in the US Peace Corps in the Philippines, worked in various capacities in the world of finance and then joined Baton Rouge’s first female Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s administration in 2018 leading up Economic Development in her administration..In Busby’s podcast, he laughed when he noted that sometimes parish presidents are surprised when they call the ConnectLA office and find Iyengar answering the call himself on his cell phone. He’s set a goal of answering all questions that come into the office within 24 hours.He says that a lot of people just call up “to vent.”And Iyengar seems to be OK with that. It’s just one of the many roles he plays.

Establishing communications with local leaders is the key to success for Veneeth Iyengar, Louisiana’s executive director for broadband development and connectivity, and his team. 

Veneeth Iyengar and his team are striking up the broadband in Louisiana

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Broadband providers submitting coverage information to the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Data Collection database will be required to submit information on how they obtained the coverage information.That’s according to an FCC webinar on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.&nbsp;Governmental and third-party entities must provide information on the methodologies they used to collect, organize, and verify the data as well as the entities they collaborated with in the process.All providers must submit information on how they generated the availability data for each technology involved in the submissions. Included should be the distance from the aggregation point for each technology and the relationship between the entity and any other firm involved.Fixed wireless broadband availability data will require additional information including propagation modeling information, base station location and height, base station carriers, budget parameters, and clutter category data.Facilities-based fixed providers may report data by location list or coverage polygons representing the availability of the provider’s service through the acceptable formats. Mobile broadband providersFilers will also be required to submit the maximum download and upload speeds associated with the service offered to each location. <a href="https://help.bdc.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/6047589372059-Video-Resources">Video training</a> for completing the FCC’s BDC can be found at the FCC website.The FCC opened its new system to collect broadband service information from more than 2,500 broadband providers in June, marking the start of its efforts to establish new maps. Following the completion of the maps, government entities and internet service providers will be given a challenge window where availability claims may be challenged based on submitted data.

Governmental and third-party entities must provide information on the methodologies they used to collect, organize, and verify the data as well as the entities they collaborated with in the process.

Sources of broadband coverage information will be required by FCC

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Mike Duggan, the Democratic Mayor of Detroit, Michigan, delivered cautionary words this week to his fellow municipal leaders around the country during the <a href="https://www.usmayors.org/meetings/91st-winter-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting</a> in Washington, D.C.: He urged them to spend the money cities received as part of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2021/03/10/the-american-rescue-plan-passed-now-what/">the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)</a>, the big COVID-19 economic relief package passed in early 2021, before a potential clawback.&nbsp;“I would say to you that if you can responsibly speed up the obligations, I would say you do want to consider doing it,” Duggan was quoted by the outlet&nbsp;<a href="https://www.route-fifty.com/finance/2023/01/mayors-fret-over-possibility-arpa-clawbacks/381936/">Route Fifty</a>, which also attended the conference. “I hope eight months from now, 10 months from now, 60 months from now, we're not in a big fight to hang on to the obligated money,” he said.The ARPA money was allocated for a wide range of municipal and local projects and relief efforts: specifically&nbsp;<a href="https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/assistance-for-state-local-and-tribal-governments/capital-projects-fund">$10 billion was earmarked</a> for capital improvements projects, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2021/12/06/how-states-are-using-pandemic-relief-funds-to-boost-broadband-access">broadband expansion</a> to unserved and underserved areas.&nbsp;A year ago this month, the U.S. Treasury Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/more-broadband-projects-eligible-funding-under-new-arpa-rules">relaxed</a> the rules governing the use of the ARPA funds to allow for them to fund even more types of broadband projects, but tightened them in one way: requiring participants to participate in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/acp">Federal Communications Program’s Affordable Connectivity Program</a>, which provides $30-per-month discounts on broadband service to low-income households ($75 on tribal lands).&nbsp;However, merely participating in the ACP does not guarantee individuals will be able to access the internet services they seek:&nbsp;<a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/comcast-accused-of-wrongly-rejecting-customers-from-low-income-internet-offering">Comcast was recently accused of erroneously turning away ACP qualifying customers</a> from some of its low-income offerings in Massachusetts.The ARPA money was supposed to be good to spend through the end of 2026, but Duggan was skeptical it would actually still be available up until that time.&nbsp;Duggan specifically called out federal Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives, who retook the majority in that body following the 2022 midterm elections, and are now seeking major cuts to federal spending — which could put the unused ARPA funds back into the federal coffer.&nbsp;Francis Suarez, the Republican mayor of Miami, reportedly echoed Duggan’s concerns about potential ARPA clawbacks.&nbsp;The city of Detroit has been&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/detroit-residents-to-conduct-their-own-broadband-audit-after-historic-outage">exploring&nbsp;</a>the use of Ready.net’s <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-guides/community-kit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit </a>to land grant funding as it explores the idea of creating its own internet service provision.Broadband.money is an interactive geospatial platform that provides data, mapping, and self-service planning tools to broadband grant applicants and others who need to plan network builds.The platform includes more than 200 public and proprietary data sources. They include: American Community Survey data, the national address database, and more.&nbsp;The platform provides essential insights on broadband serviceable locations, existing network performance, anchor institutions and secondary addresses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the the US territories.&nbsp;Users can customize their views, filter by attributes, identify key stakeholders and create areas of interest for detailed insights and business intelligence analyses.&nbsp;They can use the platform to calculate rough estimates of the economics and grant needs of their target areas before conducting detailed engineering or financial modeling.For more information on how your city can quickly and efficiently create a feasibility study and apply for a grant, contact: sales@ready.net.

Detroit's mayor warns his peers to mind the fallout from Feds' fight over the debt ceiling

Detroit mayor sounds alarm on rescue plan funds being clawed back

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No matter where you go grocery shopping in the United States nowadays, whether it’s the biggest of chain supermarkets to the smallest of mom n’ pop shops, you can count on one thing: nearly all the packaged food that you can buy will have clearly displayed, black and white nutrition labels printed on it listing the calories, total fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, and other ingredients.&nbsp;These standardized nutrition labels were actually created relatively recently as a&nbsp;<a href="https://he.utexas.edu/ntr-news-list/food-labels-history">result of the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act</a>, designed to help consumers make fully informed shopping decisions, and to be able to accurately compare different food products to one another. Nearly all producers of packaged food in the U.S. must comply with these requirements. Now, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to apply a similar kind of labeling to a very different product class: Broadband internet plans.&nbsp;The FCC has been working over the last six years on developing a plan for what precise information the new “Broadband Nutrition Labels” would include. There was a vigorous commentary between advocacy groups on how the agency could best help consumers, and how, when, and where providers would be required to display such labels.&nbsp;The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021 further spurred the process, as it directed the FCC to require standardized broadband plan labels from providers. On November 14, 2022, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-requires-broadband-providers-display-labels-help-consumers">FCC voted to enact them through a new order</a>. There will be some additional modifications pending further commentary, but the basic framework has been established.&nbsp;But high-speed internet plans are very different than food. What exactly is required in the FCC’s new Broadband Nutrition Labels? Which providers must comply? What information must providers display, when, where, and what are the possible penalties for failing to comply? Read on to learn more.In the meantime, Ready.net is working towards helping providers follow the FCC's broadband nutrition facts label requirement. Providers will be able to incorporate the relevant subscriber plan information in a broadband nutrition facts label in our relevant products in the near future.&nbsp;Where did the FCC post the new Broadband Nutrition Label requirements?The full 87-page-long order document detailing all of the new standardized requirements, as well as various rationale and refutations toward organizations challenging the FCC during the public hearings and comment period held over the course of 2022, can be found on various pages on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-requires-broadband-providers-display-labels-help-consumers">the FCC website</a>.&nbsp;The full order is&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-86A1.pdf">here</a>.The hearings are available&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandlabels">here</a>.&nbsp;Who must comply with the Broadband Nutrition Label order?All providers offering fixed and mobile broadband plans for individual consumers and households — that is, any company offering broadband service delivered to a single location, like cable internet installed at your home or apartment from Spectrum or Optimum or smaller local providers, and mobile device plans for phones and tablets, like the 5G service on your smartphone from carrier companies such as AT&amp;T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cricket Wireless, etc.&nbsp;The notable exception to these requirements is for&nbsp;enterprise service plans: broadband access, fixed or mobile, that is only available to enterprise customers, such as businesses, nonprofits, schools, healthcare facilities, and other organizations. The FCC, for now, says that enterprise internet plans&nbsp;do not&nbsp;have to follow the Broadband Nutrition Labels.&nbsp;So, to review: for example, Verizon FiOS internet plans offered for households&nbsp;must comply with the new Broadband Nutrition Labels, while Verizon FiOS enterprise internet for organizations would&nbsp;not need to comply with them.&nbsp;Importantly,&nbsp;the order applies only to plans currently being offered to new customers and any new plans that may be offered by providers going forward. Older plans that have been discontinued, or current plans that are&nbsp;no longer available to purchase by new customers, do not need to have Broadband Nutrition Labels created for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, all Broadband Nutrition Labels must be retained by providers for a minimum of two years, according to the FCC.When do providers have to begin posting the Broadband Nutrition Labels?The FCC voted to adopt the new requirements in November 2022 and published a notice of its rulemaking in the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/16/2022-26853/empowering-broadband-consumers-through-transparency">Federal Register on December 16, 2022</a>, with the rule going into effect on January 17, 2023. Nonetheless, the agency is still leaving the door open for replies to its own replies to previous comments until <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/16/2022-26853/empowering-broadband-consumers-through-transparency">next week Tuesday, February 14, 2023</a>.&nbsp;Large providers are required to publish their labels within six months. Smaller providers are required to publish their labels within one year ('smaller' providers are defined as those with 100,000 or fewer subscriber lines).&nbsp;Where must providers post their Broadband Nutrition Labels?&nbsp;&nbsp;According to the FCC, providers must display the nutrition labels for any and all available plans on “both ISP websites and any other channels through which their service is sold, including ISP-owned retail locations, third-party owned retail locations, and over the phone.”While the FCC leaves it up to the providers to choose the exact location on their website or physical media to display the Broadband Nutrition Labels, and how large or small the font size is, “providers should ensure that the labels are prominently displayed on any device on which the consumer accesses and views the labels, including mobile devices.”&nbsp;Notably, the FCC says that as soon as a customer provides their service address to any provider or their representatives, the provider should then display the label of any associated plans that are offered at that location.&nbsp;What information must the labels include?&nbsp;Perhaps the most critical piece of information for providers to consider is the actual content of the labels. The labels follow a fairly simple and similar looking format as the FDA food nutrition labels described above, but with different categories, including (in the following order):<ul><li>The provider company’s name at the top</li><li>The name of the particular plan being offered (whether it is a speed name or a brand name like TurboNet, for example)</li><li>Whether it’s a fixed or mobile internet plan</li><li>The plan’s price — including whether it is an introductory rate, and if so, how long that price lasts and what the successive rate will be, and whether it requires a contract, and for what length of time</li><li>Additional charges, including one-time installation fees or equipment fees, early termination fees, and taxes applied</li><li>Discounts offered by bundling the plan with other services (such as TV or phone)</li><li>Whether or not it qualifies as part of the separate Affordable Connectivity Program</li><li>The typical download and upload speeds in megabits-per-second, as well as latency in milliseconds (how long it&nbsp;<a href="https://frontier.com/resources/what-is-network-latency">takes data to transfer</a>)&nbsp;</li><li>The limits on how much data the plan allows the customer to transfer/access every month, and any overage charges (in gigabytes and price-per-gigabytes, respectively)&nbsp;</li><li>Links to network management and privacy policies</li><li>Customer support phone number or website</li><li>A link to the fcc.gov/consumer site</li><li>The plan’s unique identification number</li></ul>What do the new Broadband Nutrition Labels look like?The FCC requires that providers all follow the same format when posting their labels, including the same fields, colors (black and white), and arrangement of information. This is to ensure consumers can accurately compare plans side-by-side. The FCC included the following example format — though note that the red text is simply to show where providers must input their own information in black. Importantly: the order states that the information must be “machine readable,” that is, scannable by a computer program using optical character recognition (OCR), presumably to allow for other apps and software programs to help consumers compare plans.&nbsp;<figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Broadband_Nutrition_Label_1_cead8c9e23/Broadband_Nutrition_Label_1_cead8c9e23.png"></figure>What are the penalties for providers that fail to comply with the Broadband Nutrition Label order?&nbsp;The FCC does not specify what fines, fees or penalties providers that do not comply with the Broadband Nutrition Label order will face, instead deferring to its existing authority and enforcement mechanisms.As the order states, “we find that our existing enforcement mechanisms should enable us to enforce our new label requirements, including the accuracy of the label’s content and the sufficiency of its format and display location. We thus will use the identical procedures to enforce the broadband label requirements adopted here.”But what are those “existing enforcement mechanisms” and how would they apply to providers that are accused of running afoul of the labels, either in completeness, accessibility, or accuracy?&nbsp;The FCC has its own Enforcement Bureau that conducts investigations and may issue subpoenas to organizations and individuals accused of violating its requirements. It also has an Investigations &amp; Hearings Division responsible for taking “enforcement actions” against violators, including “forfeiture orders,” essentially a fine, the value of which is “case specific.”In footnotes of the Broadband Nutrition Label order, the FCC notes that penalties for violators should be “sufficient to deter noncompliance,” yet not so minimal “as to constitute a cost of doing business for providers,” suggesting they could be high.&nbsp;How will the FCC evaluate internet service plans to ensure they are complying with the information listed on the labels?The FCC doesn’t state whether it will on its own run any speed or latency tests on providers to ensure they are complying with the information provided in their labels.&nbsp;However, the order states that the agency will accept and investigate individual complaints from consumers “as vigorously as we do other informal complaints.” Consumers can file complaints using the&nbsp;<a href="https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us.">FCC’s existing online forms here</a>.&nbsp;Other enforcement actionsThere’s a possibility that the labels make providers subject to enforcement actions from other government entities, however.&nbsp;For example, state attorneys general across the country have said that they’re investigating providers who have engaged in a number of practices, such as enforcing data caps.Also, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has launched an investigation into Optimum Altice for allegedly misrepresenting its internet services.“The overwhelming number of complaints relate to consumers who have not received advertised speeds for Optimum 300 megabits per second and Optimum 400 megabits per second, cable internet plans they paid for,” Tong&nbsp;<a href="https://ctmirror.org/2022/11/22/ct-optimum-altice-internet-service-investigation/">said</a>.

Providers need to inform new customers what they're receiving for their subscriptions. Here are the facts.

What the FCC's New Broadband ‘Nutrition Labels’ Require

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BEAM Director Sally Doty is using old fashioned charm and modern technology to get everyone in her state wired.

Mississippi’s Broadband Director Sally Doty uses data, charm, and legwork to expose broadband inequities

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Some people who have challenged the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map are being met with an unpleasant surprise: After completing the process, they’ve discovered that the FCC’s map publishes their submission online without first informing them prominently that it had planned to do so.&nbsp;“I submitted a challenge for my house which included my name, address, and a contact number. As I was filling out the form there was no heads-up this was going to be published verbatim on the map. Now when I search for my address I can pull up the whole thing, in all its personally-identifiable glory. I can see my neighbors' challenges, too, though they had the foresight to not give their identities away,” wrote the individual, whose identity won’t be disclosed for obvious reasons. (The individual gave permission to share this experience.)&nbsp;“It sure seems like the challenge form should have in big flashing letters: "the whole internet will be able to see what you're about to write here". What if someone included their Comcast account number? Someone with far too much time on their hands could do bad things,”&nbsp;The FCC only discloses that it “may” publish the details of your individually-submitted challenge information&nbsp;publicly online&nbsp;in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/BroadbandData/privacy">BDC Privacy Act Statement.</a>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Challlenge_Privacy_Act_Disclaimer_fa43b00fbb/Challlenge_Privacy_Act_Disclaimer_fa43b00fbb.png"></figure>That’s a hyperlink at the very bottom of its “Privacy Act Statement” at the bottom of the challenge form. It’s something that most people are unlikely to click on.That's in contrast to many state broadband map collection efforts, which often shield internet service providers and others from disclosing their business and service subscription information from public disclosure. And unlike the FCC's fabric map, do not make any ownership claims on the information.&nbsp;State broadband offices can take the lead on this issue when asking their residents to submit challenge information by collecting the information in bulk and then submitting the information in bulk to the FCC.&nbsp;For example, the office of <a href="https://broadbandms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi</a> doesn't collect people's names when collecting challenge information. Neither does the Washington State University Extension, which is helping the Washington State broadband office collect crowdsourced data to <a href="https://www.commerce.wa.gov/building-infrastructure/washington-statewide-broadband-act/fcc-broadband-mapping/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">assist with bulk challenges to the FCC Broadband Map</a>.Federal privacy law requires the federal government to tell citizens what information it collects about them and how it uses it. That’s the reason that the FCC’s broadband map comes with the Privacy Act statement attached.&nbsp;The FCC's map also comes with a number of other types of disclaimers, such as the fact that you, as the submitter of the information, are allowing “the FCC to retain full, unlimited rights to any information and/or data submitted to the FCC,” as well as to a third-party vendor.&nbsp;A FCC spokesperson did not respond to a query about these clauses. Broadband.money can help states to gather challenge information with its community broadband kit and cloud-based software system.&nbsp;

Some people who have challenged the accuracy of the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband map are being met with an unpleasant surprise: After completing the process, they’ve discovered that the FCC’s map publishes their submission online without first informing them prominently that it had planned to do so. 

Skip privacy worries with with batch map challenges

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A coalition of more than 100 schools, libraries, housing groups and the Kansas Office of Broadband Development <a href="https://www.educationsuperhighway.org/announcements/national-broadband-map/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">asked</a> the Federal Communications Commission's Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday to pause the challenge process for its broadband map and re-think the way it accounts for multi-dwelling units such as apartment buildings and community anchor institutions.&nbsp;“We hope the FCC will do this on its own, but we're garnering support from the Senate side,” said Scott Quinn, <a href="https://www.educationsuperhighway.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Education Superhighway</a>'s director of government affairs and policy in an interview.&nbsp;The coalition's communication was spearheaded by the national non-profit Education SuperHighway and the <a href="https://www.shlb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Schools, Health &amp; Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition</a>.Currently, the <a href="https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">FCC's broadband map</a> may only count one broadband serviceable location for a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) when there may be hundreds of families living in an apartment building. Both the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have asked the public and states to fact-check its map by submitting challenges. The deadline for the challenges is January 13th.&nbsp;The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant funding is allocated based on the number of unserved and underserved broadband serviceable locations each state has as a proportion of the rest of the country's locations. So millions of dollars that are meant to go towards closing the digital divide are at stake. &nbsp;The FCC's map is composed of self-reported data from ISPs. The coalition says that it's unfair to place the burden of proving ISP's claims wrong on low-income families living in apartment buildings.“It is naive and unfair to assume that millions of unserved households located in high-poverty areas will be able to mount a successful broadband availability challenge, especially in the limited amount of time that the FCC has allotted to submit challenges that can be taken into consideration by NTIA in the BEAD and [Digital Equity] allocation process,” wrote Evan Marwell, Education SuperHighway's founder and CEO and John Windhausen, the SHLB coalition's CEO.&nbsp;The leaders also worried about the FCC map's lack of accounting of broadband serviceable locations to community anchor institutions – especially to smaller schools, libraries and hospitals that don't subscribe to “enterprise” broadband services.&nbsp;The coalition pointed out that the map's approach conflicts with one of the conclusions of its' own reports and orders issued in January 2021.It also pointed out that the FCC map's current approach doesn't square with the IIJA's instruction that anchor institutions that don't subscribe to gigabit broadband networks should be considered “unserved” and thus eligible for BEAD grants.&nbsp;The coalition wants the FCC to assume that all MDUs are unconnected, and to make service providers submit challenges that include an accurate unit count, highest available speeds available to those units, unit-by-unit connectivity status, and and an accounting for the “total actual capacity currently provisioned to the building accounting for both infrastructure type and premise equipment and hardware, and artifacts proving that ALL units within a building have the infrastructure necessary to simultaneously qualify as connected (100/20Mbps) or under-connected (25/3Mbps), as defined by the IIJA.”&nbsp;The coalition also wants the FCC's map to automatically designate by default anchor institutions as broadband serviceable locations unless an ISP can show otherwise. And it wants the FCC to ensures that its focuses on MDUs wth high proportions of unserved housholds and those with household incomes that are at or below 150 percent of the poverty line, as specified in the <a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-05/BEAD%20NOFO.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NTIA's BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity</a>. &nbsp;The coalition noted in its letter that up to a quarter of unconnected households in the United States live in public and multi-family housing, and these are often constitute the lowest income families.Ready.net/Broadband.money's subscribers can <a href="https://ready.net/blog/announcing-serviceable-location-level-insights-secondary-addresses-and-anchor-institution-data-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">use our mapping data</a> to map secondary addresses found at MDUs and anchor institutions. This data can be use to challenge the FCC's map, which the FCC calls “fabric.”&nbsp;

A coalition of more than 100 schools, libraries, housing groups asked the FCC Chairwoman to rethink how its broadband map accounts for apartment dwellers and community institutions

Coalition calls for FCC  to rethink how it maps MDUs and Community Anchor Institutions

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During a recent<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9oSq09WeXo"> online discussion</a>, Shayna Englin, Director of the <a href="https://www.calfund.org/digital-equity-initiative/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California Community Foundation’s Digital Equity Initiative</a>, recounted how low income and immigrant neighborhoods in Los Angeles haven't, for a longtime, been able to subscribe to broadband internet plans.&nbsp;Non-profit organizations offering services in the area realized that their residents needed better broadband in order to take advantage of the basic healthcare and education services. Whenever clients tried to get the local large commercial broadband provider to provide affordable services, the response always was: “You have service.”&nbsp;The leaders of the neighborhood development project <a href="https://destinationcrenshaw.la" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Destination Crenshaw</a> took action to address this problem. They compiled a report with data gathered through a painstaking, organized community effort, and realized that specific areas were being<a href="https://www.governing.com/community/the-nuances-of-digital-redlining-explained"> digitally red-lined</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://thecounty.me/2022/09/15/news/business-news/county-partners-launch-broadband-survey/">Local entities</a> around the nation are conducting what effectively amount to what we are calling<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit"> broadband audits</a>. To prevent every locality from having to reinvent the wheel, and in an effort to ensure industry-standard best practices, Broadband.money is making a free <a href="https://toolkit.broadband.money/">broadband community kit</a> available so that you can generate your own broadband feasibility study.&nbsp;You’ll get best practices recommendations for browser-based speed test surveys, and the speed test result portion of the surveys will be fed back into our<a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals"> broadband grant maps</a>.&nbsp;In Los Angeles' case, the report is likely to generate significant interest because the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act<a href="https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-crackdown-on-digital-redlining-9090788/"> instructs</a> the Federal Communications Commission to create rules to end digital redlining.The data is likely to draw regulators' attention to focus on how digital redlining works, and how they can end the practice.&nbsp;It could also show local and state communities around the nation how to document the practice for themselves.&nbsp;“What we saw is that in higher poverty communities of color, communities with a high immigrant population, [they] were really consistently charged a lot more for the same service tiers as their neighbors in whiter, wealthier communities, which doesn't make a ton of sense from a business perspective,” Englin said. After asking around, the authors of the study were told that the service provider was likely engaging in the practice to disincentivize subscriptions to a service in an area with outdated cable technology that doesn't have the bandwidth to handle large volumes of traffic and subscribers, Englin said.&nbsp;The community survey also revealed that many low-income households weren’t taking advantage of the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) internet subsidy program because the large commercial internet service provider’s salespeople didn’t know what it is and how to enroll people for it, Englin said.&nbsp;The study also found that many of these low-income households didn’t understand their telecommunications bills, or that they had options to pick from a menu of services, and they didn't have to subscribe to an entire telecommunications package.&nbsp;The result is that these households don’t subscribe to broadband.&nbsp;“And so the actual availability is not there,”&nbsp; Englin said during a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9oSq09WeXo"> Benton Society panel discussion</a> on broadband mapping on Monday.&nbsp;“That's an example of where the infrastructure availability question, and the pricing and adoption questions really do intersect, and you can’t really contemplate that without those — the speed test data and the pricing data laid against availability data over and above what the ISP says."&nbsp;That's why it's so important to think in a holistic way about data gathering, and why speed tests are important when it comes to broadband mapping, Englin said.&nbsp;A study<a href="https://www.lightreading.com/digital-divide/study-highlights-impact-of-digital-redlining/d/d-id/779933"> published this August</a> from the University of Pennsylvania also showed how Philadelphia suffers from digital redlining.&nbsp;Yet the much-anticipated new national broadband map that the Federal Communications Commission has been charged with compiling will show that these neighborhoods do have broadband service.&nbsp;That’s because the maps will only reflect whether an ISP's advertised service is actually available for purchase, not anything else.&nbsp;“I want to make sure people understand and are clear that what we are collecting is availability data,” said Eduard Bartholme, the FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force’s senior outreach director, during the Monday discussion. “So while adoption, affordability and quality of delivered services are very important, they’re outside of the scope of what the FCC was tasked with under the Broadband Data Act back in 2020.”&nbsp;“I think another thing that’s really important for everyone to be aware of is that what we are collecting is the maximum speed that is offered for purchase at a location,” he elaborated. “So for example, our maps will show that a provider may offer 200 [Mbps] down over five … that’s what they’re offering for sale. That’s not the performance the consumer may find when they run speed tests at that location … but what the maps [reflect] is what’s available for purchase.”&nbsp;Local governments and other ISPs can challenge the claims of service providers’ coverage claims, and the FCC will ultimately adjudicate those claims, Bartholme said. He urged the public to go through the FCC’s relevant reports and orders to understand the adjudication process.&nbsp;Dustin Loup, the<a href="https://www.marconisociety.org/magazine/meet-dustin-loup-national-broadband-mapping-coalition-program-manager/"> Marconi Society’s National Broadband Mapping Coalition Program Manager</a>, moderated the discussion.In answer to Loup's question about whether challenge information would be published online, Bartholme said that the FCC's maps would reflect areas that were being challenged and that:&nbsp;“There is an adjudication process that the commission would undertake to ultimately determine the outcome of a challenge if there’s no ability for the person filing the challenge and the provider involved in the challenge to come together and reach an outcome by working with each other.”The FCC will also later allow consumers to “fact-check” ISPs’ offerings in their area. But it’s still unclear what the FCC will do with the information. ISPs will not be obligated to respond to the complaints.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sarah Morris, a senior advisor at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said that the NTIA had written its BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) hoping to incentivize service providers to upgrade their networks.“This is certainly a tension that we are aware of, and one that we tried to thread the needle very carefully to address in our NOFO,” she said. “We do see the need to incentivize where possible, or financially viable, future-proof builds, and that's what we are hoping to do.”The IIJA directs states to come up with their own challenge programs to enable local communities to challenge incorrect or incomplete information state authorities might have about local broadband needs.&nbsp;That process enables local governments, nonprofit organizations, or providers to challenge state and territories’ determinations of local areas’ connectivity and grant funding needs – as defined by the number of locations that are unserved and underserved in their IIJA BEAD grant funding application to the NTIA.&nbsp;The worry is that states may undercount the number of locations needing grant funding because of exaggerated coverage claims by monopoly incumbent providers, or because of other faulty data.&nbsp;&nbsp;The IIJA determines that locations are unserved if they have connections that can only manage speeds of less than 25/3 Mbps upload/download. Underserved areas are those locations that have connections that offer speeds of less than 100/20 Mbps.At least<a href="https://muninetworks.org/content/united-states-broadband"> 12 states have created their own</a> broadband maps. The NTIA is<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/NTIA-is-creating-state-level-coalitions-to-push-for-state-support-for-broadband-rollout"> mandating that states vigorously engage with local communities</a> to discover their broadband needs.&nbsp;That's why Broadband.money<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/mayors-broadband-grants-for-cities"> urges local government leaders</a>, community leaders, local broadband champions and action teams to conduct<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit"> broadband audits</a> with our free<a href="https://toolkit.broadband.money/"> broadband community kit</a>.

The gulf between theory and reality became apparent during a broadband mapping discussion between a grassroots non-profit and a Federal Communications Commission staffer 

Investigation in urban Los Angeles reveals need for broadband audits

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Biden administration officials recently gathered with state and local government stakeholders from around the country to discuss the Federal Communications Commission's Fabric map and broadband funding allocations.&nbsp;The two successive mapping workshops took place last week at the <a href="https://www.shlb.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Schools, Health &amp; Libraries Broadband Coalition</a>'s <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/join-broadband-mapping-experts-and-broadband-money-wednesday-afternoon-to-learn-from-the-best" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">10th annual AnchorNETS conference</a> in Crystal City, Virginia.&nbsp;Below are 8 top takeaways we came away with.&nbsp;<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Local governments must take an active role in determining the quality of the Federal Communications Commission’s Fabric map.&nbsp; The <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act </a>creates a formula for allocating the $42.5 billion in broadband grant funding. Every state and territory will receive at least $100 million.&nbsp; But the rest will be determined &nbsp;according to the ratio of state’s unserved locations to all unserved locations nationwide. These calculations will rely on the FCC’s <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/will-the-fcc-s-fabric-map-really-enable-communities-to-see-their-broadband-realities" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fabric map</a> for its data on locations that are considered served or unserved. &nbsp;  The Fabric initially relies on ISPs telling the FCC where they provide service. ISPs report the maximum advertised speeds of service to the FCC. This information is not independently verified by speed tests. &nbsp; &nbsp; The <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/PLAW-116publ130" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband DATA Act</a>, the law that requires the FCC to build the fabric and establishes a challenge process, uses those challenges as a correction mechanism for the initial reporting.&nbsp; “State, local, and Tribal governments, service providers, and other entities can begin to file bulk challenges to data in the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric), which serves as the foundation for the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) fixed availability maps,” <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2022/09/broadband-serviceable-location-fabric-bulk-challenge-process-webinar" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to </a>the FCC. &nbsp; This means that resource-strapped local governments will need all the help they can get within the next four months before the FCC publishes its maps and the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) starts using it to calculate its BEAD grant allocations.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “The accuracy of the information in these maps will determine how much money states are going to receive and that is huge — especially for unserved and underserved areas -- the same areas that have been neglected and left behind in the past because they have had the fewest resources to actually make sure that the accuracy of this information is where it needs to be,” declared Ovidu Viorica, broadband program manager for <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/new-mexico" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New Mexico</a>’s public schools during the workshop. &nbsp;  Added Kevin Sievert, program director of broadband deployment for <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/north-dakota" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">North Dakota</a>: “At the state level, we don't have the vision down to every local locality. So there really needs to be a kind of a groundswell of challenges and validation of this data in order for us to make it as accurate as possible.” &nbsp; That’s why Broadband.money created the <a href="https://broadband.money/community-broadband-kit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Community Broadband Kit</a>. Local governments can use this free resource to create their <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">broadband audit</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li><li>There’s still time for local governments to advocate for themselves, and to frame the terms of discussion over the best ways to get their communities broadband access. &nbsp;  “A lot of the responses from the NTIA and the FCC indicated that there are a lot of things still in the works,” noted Stephanie Jane Edwards, the North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office’s broadband mapping and data lead. “And that means that we still have a great amount of opportunity for advocacy on what we want to see, and more specific answers about timelines and granularities.” &nbsp; Many state and local officials (and others) had peppered the two administration officials at the panel with questions about the nature of the FCC’s fabric, what kinds of challenges are allowed, the differences between a challenge and a crowdsourced report from a consumer, the openness of Fabric data, and the role of community anchor institutions, among other things.&nbsp; Nick Alexander, a senior NTIA telecommunications policy analyst, and Kirk Burgee, the FCC’s wireline competition bureau chief, were not able to answer several of the questions immediately. &nbsp;</li><li>Nobody really understands the terms on which the FCC’s Fabric data can be used.&nbsp; This leads to the next big takeaway from SHLB’s AnchorNETs 2022 mapping workshop: Nobody really understands the terms on which the FCC’s Fabric data can be used because the Fabric is governed by a secret procurement contract. &nbsp; &nbsp; Both Alexander and Burgee were repeatedly asked questions about how state and local governments and the public can use Fabric data, and the terms on which it can be accessed. The answers they gave all boiled down to: “It’s complicated.”&nbsp; At one point, Alexander said: “There's a complicated kind of partnership chain that is a function of the license agreements.” &nbsp;  This hobbles local governments because they need to navigate a bureaucratic system to even access basic information they need to conduct analyses of their own communities’ needs. &nbsp; Dustin Loup, the Marconi Society’s National Broadband Mapping Coalition Program Manager, told workshop participants that he has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the the FCC’s contract with mapping vendor CostQuest.&nbsp; He was told that the terms of the contract would be redacted. &nbsp; “Because of the restriction on [allowable] uses [of the data] and the restricted access, it's very difficult to provide support at the local level,” he said. “It also makes it difficult to do things that should be done in the coordination process, like a local governments should be able to check some of the broadband serviceable locations against the public utility information, and say: ‘Oh, what they're all these residential electric connections?’”&nbsp; That kind of analysis could enable a local government to challenge the accuracy of the Fabric. “But they're not allowed to share it this way, because it's so restricted,” Loup said. “And all of this ties back to the fact that this is a proprietary locked down dataset that we're kind of forced to help build, and ISPs are forced to submit to it.” &nbsp;  Kelleigh Cole, Utah’s former broadband outreach director, threw out this hypothetical during the mapping workshop: “So say that I take my state map, I've seen the Fabric, I make adjustments to my state, not addresses but maybe I adjust polygons or I make some change [and] trim a state map because of whatever I've seen on the Fabric. Am I violating the license? Is that okay to do? " There is no clear answer.&nbsp; Cole is currently director of strategic initiatives at the Utah Education and Telehealth Network. &nbsp;</li><li>The FCC’s Fabric will only reflect very limited information about broadband availability and will not reflect the digital divide&nbsp;&nbsp; “On the fixed side, we're not accepting speed tests to show that service is not provisioned at a location,” the FCC’s Burgee said during the mapping workshop.&nbsp; &nbsp; The IIJA focusses funding on unserved, underserved, and high cost areas, which require broadband grantors to understand the performance of networks in order to properly direct funding. &nbsp; But the Fabric will only reflect advertised availability, not verified performance levels. Recent <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6165cb6ecbf6d70401a212f6/t/6345ca9c147af0682276fb3d/1665518251184/Broadband+Pricing+Disparities+Report+-+Oct+2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">investigations </a>by the <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6165cb6ecbf6d70401a212f6/t/6345ca9c147af0682276fb3d/1665518251184/Broadband+Pricing+Disparities+Report+-+Oct+2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">California Community Foundation</a> and the non-profit investigative newsroom <a href="https://themarkup.org/still-loading/2022/10/19/dollars-to-megabits-you-may-be-paying-400-times-as-much-as-your-neighbor-for-internet-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Markup </a>have shown the importance of the role that socio-economic data and speed test information is in trying to determine where to focus resources to improve access to under-resourced areas. &nbsp; <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-grant-portals" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money’s broadband grant maps </a>are designed to provide communities with this information. &nbsp;  For his part, Burgee acknowledged the utility of additional information that’s necessary to figure out whether low-income populations are able to get reasonable terms of access to broadband, but said that it wasn’t something that would be incorporated into current FCC maps. &nbsp; When asked at the mapping workshop whether the FCC would include affordability and reliability factors in the Fabric, Burgee said: “In a perfect world, we would have all that data. It's it adds a layer of significant complexity to do that. We weren't tasked with it with the broadband data. It's not to say it couldn't become a part of the collection or different collections in the future.”  That echoes what another FCC spokesperson said recently: &nbsp;“I want to make sure people understand and are clear that what we are collecting is availability data,” Eduard Bartholme, the FCC’s Broadband Data Task Force’s senior outreach director, said during a recent Webinar. “So while adoption, affordability and quality of delivered services are very important, they’re outside of the scope of what the FCC was tasked with under the Broadband Data Act back in 2020.”&nbsp; &nbsp;</li><li>It will be up to ISPs to resolve consumer challenges that report broadband availability inaccuracies in the Fabric.&nbsp; &nbsp; Here’s how the consumer challenge process will work, as described by Burgee:&nbsp; “A consumer submits a challenge to give us evidence that the service is not consistent with what's been filed. That information is transmitted to the provider (that is relevant to that provider,) which has 60 days to admit the accuracy of the challenge, or they can dispute it. If they dispute it, there's a 60-day period that commences, during which the provider is required to work with the challenger to clarify any misunderstandings to make sure that everybody has the full facts. And hopefully that will resolve a lot of challenges.” &nbsp;</li><li>The FCC will publish a broadband funding map by March 2023 so that broadband grant-making entities can co-ordinate funding between different programs and agencies. “It basically is intended to reflect areas where there has been firm commitments from funding agencies,” Burgee said.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li><li>Challengers are encouraged to submit challenges to the accuracy of a reported “broadband serviceable location” if even just one unit of an apartment building can’t get the level of service reported by a provider.  “Generally, a multi tenant dwelling is a structure that will be considered as a broadband serviceable location, and we identify the number of units. That number can be challenged. If a resident of a unit within that structure is not able to get the service as reported, that would be a legitimate challenge and we could potentially call into question the reporting for the entire structure,” Burgee said.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li><li>Schools, health facilities and libraries — basically any community anchor institution, should make sure that they understand what kind of broadband service their institution subscribes to, and make sure that they communicate with the FCC about it, or they will be omitted from the Fabric by default.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Broadband DATA Act — the law behind the creation of the FCC’s Fabric – specifies that the FCC collect information only for “mass market” broadband service, and not “enterprise” subscriptions that many institutions subscribe to, Burgee said.&nbsp; Therefore many CAIs are not included in the Fabric. But as New Mexico’s schools Broadband Program Manager Viorica pointed out, many small CAIs might subscribe to retail or mass market kind of internet services. &nbsp; “That's something that can be brought to our attention, as part of the challenge process. If the evidence is compelling, we would change that categorization,” Burgee said.&nbsp; That change would mean that the Fabric would include that CAI as a broadband serviceable location that’s eligible for broadband funding.&nbsp;</li></ol>

The FCC's secret procurement contract puts local governments in an unfair "hurry up and wait" position as they work to land funding to close the digital divide.

​​Broadband.money’s Top 8 Takeaways from AnchorNETS' 2022 Mapping Panel

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/Tamarah_Holmes_Headshot_750c8c687f.png"></figure>&nbsp;Dr. Tamarah Holmes is someone who communicates in exclamation points.It’s hard not to be infected with the Virginia Broadband Director's enthusiasm as she talks about funding projects across her state's “mountains and valleys." Her charisma and energy are evident in conversation and even through the Broadband Office’s 24-page “<a href="https://www.commonwealthconnect.virginia.gov/broadband-toolkit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bringing Broadband To Your Community: Guide for Local Leaders</a>,” which is part of a larger “broadband toolkit” that the office makes available online. The guide is a detailed and strategic “how to” manual for local governments looking to bring subsidized broadband networks to their constituents.Her energy is needed: Holmes’ office will be working hard over the next few years to distribute more than a billion dollars. Broadband Money <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">estimates</a> that Virginia will receive more than $958 million from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act and more than $219 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for broadband grants. When Holmes began working at the broadband office in 2019, she had $1 million at her disposal.Created in 2019, Virginia’s Office of Broadband is housed within the state’s <a href="https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/broadband" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Department of Housing and Community Development</a>. That puts Holmes and her staff of 13 in a prime place since lawmakers’ goal is to get the money into the hands of local communities with shovel-ready solutions to expand access to broadband. Holmes’ background is in community development, and she still has her heart there. She thrives on connecting with her fellow Virginians, whom she calls “my friends, my neighbors, my family.”As a community development practitioner, Dr. Holmes is interested in communities’ needs on a holistic basis. She’ll often inquire about the needs of communities outside of the conversations she has about broadband connectivity.“I'm not a one track mind,” she said in an interview with Broadband Money. “So what keeps me up is really not a worry, but how can I as a as a community development practitioner, not only come in and do my job to bring access for broadband to folks, but also how can I make sure that our agency is working with those communities that need our help?”<h3>Push for universal broadband coverage</h3>Virginia’s push to get universal broadband coverage by 2024 comes from the top. Former Governor Ralph Northam established initiative 10 year strategy in 2018 and later accelerated the effort to 2024, in part because of the success of the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, the Commonwealth’s primary grant program to expand broadband access. The governor hired two broadband advisors in his office to strategize about how to achieve the goal of getting universal coverage to &nbsp; Virginia’s most hard to reach places.VATI supplements broadband providers’ construction costs to unserved areas. These are areas that lack access to speeds of 25 Mbps (Megabits per second) downloads and three Mbps uploads.&nbsp;The program requires 20 percent match, half of which must come from the broadband providers. The other half could come from a county or other public funds.&nbsp;Holmes estimates that over 70 counties out of the state’s 95 counties have reached universal coverage and the remainder are working on projects to get to universal coverage. These counties have achieved this by cobbling together funding both from the federal government as well as from the state.&nbsp;Last August, Northam and the General Assembly approved nearly $700 million in American Rescue Plan Act monies to broadband development: $479 million of that comes from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and $219 million comes from the Capital Recovery Project. The state used the VATI grant making process to deploy these funds to ready-made projects. The money will support 35 broadband projects to reach universal broadband access in 70 Virginia localities, and is estimated to provide broadband access to over 278,000 households. This was in combination with the annual $50 million state general fund money that the General Assembly dedicates to VATI.Holmes said that she couldn’t comment in detail on Virginia’s plan for Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act (IIAJ) money yet, as the plan is still under development with the new administration coming onboard this past January. The state is also still developing its broadband availability map with Virginia Tech. That is scheduled to go live in April.“We will meet the requirements for in the IIJA, which is the same thing we did for the ARPA funding,” she said in an interview.The state’s legislators are already on it. Both the State’s House and Senate have passed a bill earlier this year that tasks the DHCD with providing a roadmap and recommendations for delivering affordable broadband to the area’s most in need. Deadline: December 1.&nbsp; (At the same time, the application deadline for the next round of VATI funding is this upcoming August.)Holmes’ office is currently working with Virginia Tech on the development of a new statewide broadband availability map. The map is scheduled to go live in April. Her office is also developing a public broadband dashboard. It will allow the public to track how the broadband development funds are being spent and construction progress. She estimates that more than 50,000 Virginians still lack access to broadband.The logic behind the universal access ethos in Virginia is that the state wants local governments to be efficient about how they bring broadband to their communities. Virginia stresses that it doesn’t want providers to “cherry pick” locations because that means that areas that are left behind are some of the most costly to provide access from a financial perspective. To this end, applications that result in local areas getting universal coverage are more likely to get funded.<h3>Help for local applicants</h3>Local governments in Virginia may be able to rely on Holmes’ office as if it were a public consultant. The office has three engineers with expertise in wired and wireless technologies. It’s also staffed by planners with GIS expertise. So local officials at school districts, counties, towns, cities or planning district commissions who are looking for ISPs to work with can use those engineers to evaluate the proposals they receive.“Every year, my GIS planners reach out to the 95 counties and ask them a set of questions about broadband and we triage it,” Holmes explained to Broadband. Money in a Zoom meeting.This way, the state has an updated glimpse of which counties really need broadband. Holding up a map, she shows where the planners are reaching out to find out the locality’s status. Then they hand those findings over to the engineering staff.The office has also put together a 24-page guide that’s written in a user-friendly, colloquial way, filled with Q&amp;A zingers like “Isn’t Elon Musk or some other tech person going to handle this?” (Answer: “… there is currently no silver bullet technology in the pipeline …”) and “We feel a little like the latest fad diet when we say this, but this program works — but only if you put in the commitment and effort …”More importantly, it’s a succinct document that lays out a step-by-step process for local governments to follow when applying for funding and planning broadband projects. &nbsp;“I like to say that we walk alongside them as they’re working out what their proposed project will be,” Holmes said during the interview. “We don’t give them answers, but we can basically walk them through the process as they’re building their applications because as a e a community development agency and that is a normal course of business for us.”The office even goes through grant applications with groups that failed to land the money to figure out what elements of the applications need improvement.<h3>Planning</h3>Grant applicants should pay close attention to their maps when submitting their applications. Everything should be clearly labelled.&nbsp;Provide as much detail and context as possible so that the broadband office can tell how many locations will be covered, and what kind of internet connection will be made available to those locations.&nbsp;To get regions universally covered, Holmes’ office recommends considering partnerships with ISPs that have won money through previous funding sources. The advantage: VATI funded projects can accelerate development of other federal projects because VATI timelines are shorter.An analyst in a “how to” video for Holmes’ office also points out: “Having more passings in an application will help you with scoring, but you’re also scored pretty heavily on cost per passing… which is your total request for VATI funds divided by your number of locations to be provided broadband access in the per application.&nbsp;That also provides an opportunity to include some of the costs that it’s going to take to reach those areas that received funds through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which we know weren’t funded at the level needed to build out those areas with just the RDOF funding.”(For more on how this can work in practice, watch the office’s “<a href="https://dhcd.virginiainteractive.org/2022-vati-how-apply-webinar" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How to Apply</a>” webinar.)One thing that gets Holmes talking is the state’s law on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption. She says that her life as a director changed radically and streamlined operations when the state passed a law that provided broadband providers the ability to seek FOIA exemption when submitting proprietary materials as a part of the office’s programs. What this does is protect companies’ proprietary, competitive information from being accessed by stakeholders asking for the information through Freedom of Information Act requests.This worry has led, famously, to bad mapping data on the federal level and poor planning. Washington State also has such a law. Its broadband plan also mentions how useful this has been for the planning process as companies feel safer providing the information to public officials who will only use that information in order to better target grant awards.<h3>Local connections</h3>Holmes said that her office acts as a kind of a matchmaker for broadband service provision.What she means is that her office actively encourages local officials looking for broadband expansion for their areas to reach out to broadband providers and vice versa.&nbsp; “We used to joke in the beginning that we did a lot of eHarmony connections, like ‘Meet folks in the local government!’”Often local government officials haven’t reached out to find out what local ISPs’ expansion plans are, or ISPs haven’t reached out to their local governments, they found.“We often connect them with the great folks at the companies, so that they can have a frank conversation about what's been happening in a locality, what are the areas that still lack coverage, and then hopefully they will identify some strategies to address the need in their respective communities.”<h2>What you should know: Application advice, tips and scoring criteria</h2>Project description and need: Up to 85 points Project readiness: 40 points Budget and cost appropriateness: up to 135 points Commonwealth priorities: Up to 40 pointsProject description and need: Overview, area map, demographics, existing providers if any, any existing federally funded projects. Project overlaps: 10 percent allowed for wired projects; 20 percent allowed for wireless.Passings form: Total number of passings per projectRDOF passings form: Passings in projects funded by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund must be listed independently on the RDOF passings formProject details: Does the project cover 95 percent of the locations in a region? What kind of speeds will be offered in a network?Project Readiness: What’s the status of development? Who is on your project management team? Provide a timeline and construction schedule. What is your organization’s level of experience? What is the status of your matching funds? Does your project have any non-match leverage, like volunteer help?What are your marketing plans for the network? Virginia looks for active marketing efforts. The state broadband office wants specifics on how your project will market internet service locally. Will you be hosting town halls? Sending out flyers? Putting on door hangers at people’s doors?What kind of digital literacy marketing will your project be engaging in? Talk to libraries and schools. Think about partnering with them in your applications. &nbsp;Budget and cost appropriateness: What is your budget narrative and what are your project costs?Local impact: Will your project have a partner with a large local institution that could have a big impact on the area, like a university or an electric utility?Digital equity: What efforts are you making to ensure low to moderate income households will have affordable access?Attachments: Make sure you include all attachments required by the application – including attachments to show that there’s no federally-funded &nbsp;projects in the area. Make sure all attachments are clearly labeled.Freedom of Information Act exemptions must be explicitly requested in applications. And you must explicitly specify which materials and data you want exempted. Provide as much detail as possible. Do not submit any materials you want exempted until you have received a written determination from the DHCD.<h2>Other tips from DHCD on using its Centralized Application Management System (CAMS:)</h2><ul><li>Create your application early on as a working document. I.e. Get started early and keep working on it and revising it.</li><li>Set up profiles. Read the “User Guide.”</li><li>Do not share passwords. The system assigns roles to people. So do not try to all log in as the same person – it might affect what you’re able to do in the system.</li><li>Save your work often.</li><li>Google Chrome is the recommended browser. If you use another browser, the system may not save the work properly and hours of data entry could be lost.</li><li>Make sure you watch the office’ “How to Webinar” for other esoteric tech quirks of the CAMS system that, if not heeded could sabotage your application by not saving the information correctly.</li><li>Do not get a consultant to submit your application. The primary applicant must submit it.</li></ul><h2>General tips and questions:</h2><ul><li>Make sure you understand the questions. Call the office if something is unclear. For example, the terms “digital literacy” and “digital equity” are two separate issues. So make sure that you answer both questions separately.</li><li>Give yourself and your team some time to go away and come back again to read your application again to make sure that it is clear, and makes sense.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li></ul>

Virginia Broadband Director Dr. Tamarah Holmes walks us through her office's pioneering broadband grant programs. 

Virginia’s Dr. Holmes Is On The Case: Solving The Mystery of the Missing Broadband Connections

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Kansas has a new director of its Office of Broadband Development. The state's Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland recently appointed Jade Piros de Carvalho to fill the role.&nbsp;She comes from the independent rural internet service provider <a href="https://ideatek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ideatek</a>, where she was its director of industry and community relations for six and a half years. She is also the mayor of Hutchinson, a city of 40,000 northwest of Wichita. &nbsp;“I will be in charge of administering broadband acceleration grants as part of the 10-year Kansas Comprehensive Transportation Plan passed in 2020. It will distribute $5 million the first year and $10 million annually the next seven,” she <a href="https://www.hutchnews.com/story/news/2022/06/06/hutchinson-mayor-jade-piros-de-carvalho-join-commerce-department-oversee-kansas-broadband-expansion/7481783001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told </a>The Hutchinson News.&nbsp;Ideatek received one of those grants in early May. It was also one of the ISPs that participated in the recent <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/09/fact-sheet-president-biden-and-vice-president-harris-reduce-high-speed-internet-costs-for-millions-of-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announcement </a>from the Biden administration that it had brokered a deal to provide free and discounted internet service to low income Americans.&nbsp;Piros de Carvalho sounds perfect for the role: She was in charge of Ideatek's advocacy efforts for broadband expansion, as well as digital equity. And as mayor, she takes a strong <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xatz5u_AS0&amp;t=216s" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">interest </a>in Hutchinson's general infrastructure.&nbsp;You can find out more about Kansas' broadband profile and explore its current broadband coverage and demographic data through our Kansas state <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/kansas" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">profile page and portal</a>. &nbsp;

Ideatek exec and Hutchinson Mayor Jade Piros de Carvalho is Kansas' new broadband director. 

Ideatek's Jade Piros de Carvalho is Kansas' new director of Office of Broadband Development

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It’s no secret. At broadband.money, we’re pumped for the upcoming Mountain Connect. Why?<ol><li>Alan Davidson, NTIA Administrator, is Mountain Connect 2022’s Keynote Presenter.&nbsp;<a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/alan-davidson-keynote-mountain-connect" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Read more about this on our community page</a>. &nbsp;</li><li>It’s one week after NTIA releases it’s history-making BEAD NOFO. From where we sit, that’s the largest single-day event in the history of the broadband industry. The “starting gun” for what can and should become a precipitous end to our nation’s digital canyon. Mountain Connect is the perfect time and place to dive in. &nbsp;</li><li>Mountain Connect is the largest independently produced broadband conference in the United States. <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/jeff-g">Its founder</a> co-organizes it with a talented team each year as “a labor of love, a chance to give back to the industry that gave [him] so much.” Industry association events are essential. Vendor conferences are (almost) always fun. But there is something borderline magic about neutral, cross-sector broadband gatherings like Mountain Connect. To make the most of our nation’s historic public investment requires rigorous cross-sector collaboration. It’s going to take all walks working in concert to get the job done. Mountain Connect is the perfect time and place to dive in.&nbsp; &nbsp;</li><li>The roster is insane. Many of broadband’s best and brightest will be there. Some of the smartest, hardest working people in broadband go to Mountain Connect to talk solutions. Past attendees describe Mountain Connect as a “must attend” event. Policymakers, broadband investors, builders, techies – all walks in broadband go to Mountain Connect to learn, share, and grow. &nbsp;</li><li>It’s in the freakin’ Rocky Mountains. In May. In an intimate lodge, nestled in some of our nation’s finest scenery. &nbsp;</li></ol>Things we predict for Mountain Connect 2022 Attendees<ul><li>Rich, cross-sector conversations</li><li>Many partnerships and cross-sector partnership models will take root</li><li>Quality memories with friends old and new</li><li>A live demo of the broadband.money platform</li><li>Stand up paddle boarding jam sessions</li><li>Strange stickers</li><li>Surprise announcements</li><li>Maybe ice cream &nbsp;</li></ul>We hope to see you there. Learn more and save your spot here:<a href="https://mountainconnect.org">https://mountainconnect.org</a>

We're excited about Mountain Connect, the largest independently produced broadband conference in America. One week after @NTIAgov's history-making BEAD NOFO. In the beautiful Rocky Mountains. With hundreds of the brightest in broadband. And maybe ice cream. 

Mountain Connect 2022: A “Must-Attend” Event

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It’s time for every American to get involved and actively push for better broadband connections.Having access to basic, affordable internet became a matter of survival during the pandemic — and<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/16/schools-internet-inequality-coronavirus/"> </a><a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/9/10/21426810/internet-access-covid-19-chattanooga-municipal-broadband-fcc">not everyone got by</a>.That’s why everyone, including state, local and national media, local internet service providers, and government officials, should tune in and pay close attention to what NTIA Administrator<a href="https://www.commerce.gov/about/leadership/alan-davidson"> Alan Davidson</a> has to share with us when he comes to speak at the<a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/alan-davidson-keynote-mountain-connect"> Mountain Connect 2022</a> conference on Tuesday, May 24th.You can check out the <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-events/alan-davidson-keynote-mountain-connect">details of the event here</a>.&nbsp;Alan will explain what comes next after the<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/"> National Telecommunications and Information Administration</a> fires off its starting gun in the national race to make internet access ubiquitous, reliable, and affordable for all.The<a href="https://mountainconnect.org"> Mountain Connect 2022</a> conference will be one of the first<a href="https://mountainconnect.org/venue/"> places</a> where you can get a front row seat to talk with the man with a plan to deploy nearly $50 billion of new broadband grants aimed at ending America’s digital canyon once and for all, as Broadband Money Co-Founder Jase Wilson puts it.&nbsp;As he writes:&nbsp;&nbsp;<blockquote>NTIA’s programs will unleash more broadband funding over the next few years than all prior U.S. broadband funding programs combined. In the right hands, such resources could kick off nothing short of a new chapter in American dynamism. NTIA’s historic announcement is the “starting gun” for states, local governments, and network builders.&nbsp;&nbsp;</blockquote>It’s crucial that we get it right this time, after<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/frontiers-bankruptcy-reveals-cynical-choice-deny-profitable-fiber-millions"> decades</a><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/29/fcc-broadband-maps-biden-523425"> of</a><a href="https://conexon.us/conexon-blog/sunk-costs-a-cautionary-tale/"> failure</a>. It's why Congress gave this job to the NTIA and came up with this new way of distributing broadband funding in the first place.&nbsp;Otherwise,<a href="https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/28/big-telecom-convinces-missouri-lawmakers-to-block-funding-for-broadband-competition/"> bills like this might become law</a>.As writer and digital activist Cory Doctorow<a href="https://doctorow.medium.com/all-broadband-politics-are-local-e103967a0f0c"> says</a>: "We need to counter that pressure.<a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/12/every-state-has-chance-deliver-fiber-all-broadband-future-2021-review"> Residents of every state</a> need to call their state legislators and demand participation in this universal broadband."The right providers, under the <a href="https://broadband.money/annotated-resources/annotated-guide-to-iija-broadband-programs">Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act</a>, includes local ISPs working in concert with local anchor institutions, government agencies and other local members of the community. Specifically, the law mentions that “cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private companies, public or private utilities, public utility districts, or local governments” cannot be excluded from being awarded the money.&nbsp;Come and join us to set a new agenda. Learn about how the IIJA works, and how Alan wants to work with you to put it into action. Come to meet the many local government officials and infrastructure professionals working hard to build this future.&nbsp;As Cory says in his own piece, "this is one of those rare moments where individual action can make a huge, lasting difference. All the pieces are coming together for a new broadband future for the nation, one where public provision and management ends decades of gouging, underinvestment and naked contempt from the universally loathed (and loathesome) telecoms sector."Find out how these pieces are coming together, how funding works, and how Broadband Money and its grant application, ISP management and mapping tools can help you -- whether you're a government official, regional ISP or other kind of entity looking to improve access.&nbsp;And then get active and participate in the process of making sure that all this money goes to the highest and best uses.So come and be a change-maker, learn how to land the funds, and get organized. Come join us at <a href="https://mountainconnect.org/">Mountain Connect</a>!

Come and be a change-maker, learn how to land the funds, and get organized. Come join us at Mountain Connect!

Join us at MountainConnect 2022, and learn what local ISPs must do now to bring affordable internet access to everyone

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Ready is pleased to announce that Scott D. Woods will join the company as Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships on June 3. He will also open an office for Ready in Washington,D.C.Scott joins us from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where he was appointed as the inaugural Director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives in the administration’s Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OIGC).“Ready is a great company and its software product ReadyBOSS is one that will revolutionize the approach for developing and managing broadband projects in accordance with grant rules,” he said. “It’s the best way to make the most out of all of the historic funding that's out there.”While at the NTIA, Scott also served as a principal liaison between the BroadbandUSA and OIGC program offices, and key strategic partners and external stakeholder groups. This included representatives from state and local governments, telecommunications companies, for-profit and non-profit corporations, and colleges/universities.Scott is a broadband funding, implementation and stakeholder engagement expert and a key member of the OIGC leadership team responsible for implementing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 grant programs and the historic $65 billion broadband funding program authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).His expertise and devotion to increasing broadband access and digital inclusion has helped transformed the lives of many communities throughout the U.S. through programs such as the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), BroadbandUSA Technical Assistance Program, BroadbandUSA Workshop Webinars, HBCU College Partnership Program, Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program, and the launch of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives; and through his influence among national, state and corporate decision makers, and his on-the-ground work building community-based broadband coalitions.Scott has long advocated for better broadband maps, data collection and utilization and in his role at NTIA, has used the agency’s broadband data, mapping and visualizations under the National Broadband Availability Map to make better broadband funding and digital equity programmatic decisions.Scott is truly excited to take the next step in his career.&nbsp; At Ready, he will be more closely aligned with local communities to position them to get funding. He will further work with local communities, local and state leaders and Internet Service Providers to use ReadyBOSS’s data visualization, demographic, investment mapping software to develop winning grant proposals and manage the entire lifecycle of projects - from implementation, reporting and completion. He’ll hold “office hours” online, where he will meet with community stakeholders so they can talk about how to get started and what to do.“Whether I'm in the community, talking with state and local government leaders, or talking to Internet Service Providers, the number one question that I get across all of those stakeholders is: Where do we begin?“ReadyBOSS is that starting point for these stakeholders. They can use it to ascertain the data that's in their jurisdiction, service-area footprint, or planned areas for implementation or expansion.”“Scott is a unicorn. There are few, if any, people in this country with Scott's&nbsp; experience in helping communities close the digital divide,” said Ready Co-Founder postgres Faloon. “Our goal is to use the Ready platform to amplify Scott so that any community or operator can have access to him and his unique insights to guide them on their broadband journey.”Scott received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Urban Studies from Morehouse College; a Master of Arts in Public Policy (M.P.P.) from American University; and Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Howard University School of Law.Ready is a company that makes the Ready BOSS software system. It enables internet service providers and local communities to use interactive maps to create proposed broadband coverage areas and then to create corresponding grant applications. It also helps applicants to find match capital. The system also helps ISPs manage subscribers, plans and revenue, monitor and manage their networks, and seamlessly offer Affordable Connectivity Benefits. And, it helps grant awardees manage their extensive reporting requirements.&nbsp;&nbsp;For more information, or to schedule an interview, call Sarah Lai Stirland at: 831-295 8046 or email her at sarah@broadband.money.

Ready is pleased to announce that Scott D. Woods will join the company as Vice President of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships on June 3. He will open an office for Ready in Washington,D.C. 


Senior NTIA Executive Scott D. Woods To Join Ready as VP for Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships

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The quest for a better broadband map didn’t begin yesterday.&nbsp;But the combination of an engaged community of academic researchers, and the momentum behind the urgent need to “truth check” the claims of internet service providers brings us to a propitious moment for our country.Beginning on Friday, September 16, 2022, <a href="http://www.tprcweb.com/50th-anniversary-celebration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">TPRC50</a> opens here in Washington, D.C.&nbsp;Officially the <a href="http://www.tprcweb.com/2022-program-overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">50th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy</a>, TPRC is the “must-attend” gathering of all the broadband and telecommunications geeks. It’s been around since the very foundation of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.In fact, NTIA — which is the executive-branch agency responsible for the administration’s telecom policy — had just formed at the time of the first Telecommunications Policy Research Conference on November 17, 1972.This persistent crowd has been considering telecommunications innovation, public utilities, radio frequency spectrum and media ownership for a half-century now. The <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a114ff5dc6de6ca8f06129/t/62a7767812b5863a8a173795/1655142009144/TPRC+1972+Program.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">first conference program</a> seems refreshingly topical.Besides being a persistent crowd, TPRC’s strength is its inclusive nature. The crowd that attends this academic conference caters equally to industry and to the university and non-profit community.This year - with the rollout of the largest federal funding in broadband infrastructure history - the need for TPRC is urgent and vital.&nbsp;NTIA is leading the charge with an unprecedented amount of $42.5 billion in broadband infrastructure funding for last-mile internet deployment. Participants in the <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Grants Community</a> should take advantage of this opportunity to bring the passion and the expertise of TPRC to bear on the broadband data and measurement problems that must be solved to successfully role out the <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/infrastructure-investment-jobs-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.</a><h2>How TPRC has traversed the issue of broadband data in the past</h2>My own history with TPRC goes back some time, but not quite 50 years. I began attending TPRC in 2006, and it was at the events in that year, and the years that followed, that I teamed up with my TPRC-ers to launch a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to get access to broadband data.I’ve <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/06/broadband-mapping-coalition-seeks-to-bring-openness-back-to-internet-data/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">been a strong advocate</a> of the importance of public and open broadband data for more than 15 years. (See <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2009/02/infrastructure-investment-decisions-need-transparency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">“U.S. broadband infrastructure investments need transparency</a>,” ArsTechnica, February 10, 2009.) That op-ed recounts our efforts to obtain FCC Form 477 data in 2006 and 2007, followed by founding BroadbandCensus.com in January 2008 to crowdsource the collection of broadband speed and availability data.The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 opened up even more opportunities for critical thinking about the kinds of broadband data necessary for a national broadband building.&nbsp;The ARRA was the largest federal investment of broadband funds, up until that point. And, at the 2009 TPRC, one of the highlights was an informal session on “<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2009/09/beer-and-broadband-mapping-at-the-top-telecommunications-policy-conference/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Beer and Broadband Mapping</a>”&nbsp;I had the great pleasure to team up with the now-late Charles Benton, who emphasized this vital principal: Broadband data needs to be publicly available in order to be verified and scrutinized.This issue never seems to die. <a href="http://www.broadband.money" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband.money</a> is working with the <a href="https://broadbandmappingcoalition.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband Mapping Coalition</a>, an arm of the digital equity group <a href="https://www.marconisociety.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Marconi Society</a>, to promote the public’s engagement with the Federal Communications’ Fabric mapping initiative. The goal is to make sure that the process is truly open to public oversight and input as the U.S. Commerce Department implements the largest expenditure of federal broadband funds in history.<h2>What to look for at this year’s TPRC</h2>As is typical, TPRC in 2022 is broken into a half-dozen track or topics, including “Broadband,” “Spectrum, “Digital Economy, “Privacy,” “Internet Inequalities” and others. The “Broadband” segment this year is particularly rich, with nine sessions.With an eye toward those in the Broadband Grants community who are most interested in “Broadband Performance,” Broadband Competition,” and “Broadband Technology and Policy,” I’ve linked to highlight several core sessions.&nbsp;The Broadband.Money team will be focusing our coverage of TPRC this year on these sessions. (But we invite members of the community attending TPRC <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">to post</a> as well!)<h2>Broadband Performance</h2>On Friday at 11:05 a.m., David Reed of the University of Colorado at Boulder will moderate a session on core aspects of broadband data, including broadband labels and metrics for broadband access, including a presentation by MIT’s David Clark and MIT’s Sara Wedeman.A follow-up session on the same topic will be moderated by Bob Cannon of NTIA, and will feature research on quality in competition among ISPs, of whether “your mileage my vary” on consumer internet performance, and on crowdsourcing quality of service measurements, on Saturday at 11:05 a.m.<h2>Broadband Competition, Broadband Technology and Policy and COVID</h2>Sessions on these above topics are also critical for members of the TPRC attendees who are part of the Broadband Grants Community.&nbsp;A session on “COVID Impacts on Communication” will highlight broadband infrastructure and school district policies by Kenneth Flamm on Friday at 4:05 p.m.&nbsp;And a discussion of “Best Practices for Collecting Speed Test Data” will be part of a discussion on Saturday at 9 a.m.&nbsp;And don’t miss Technology Policy Institute’s Scott Wallsten’s moderation of a session, also on Saturday at 9 a.m., on “Broadband Technology Policy” that includes a spatial analysis of Wi-Fi locations, delivering affordable and universal broadband and the changing role of internet protocols.<h2>What Broadband.Money and TPRC attendees can should bring to the research table</h2>Broadband.money is joining the discussion this year by bringing you our <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research and data visualizations</a> in the form of <a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-map/virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our maps of internet performance and demographics</a>. They show where investment is needed independently and in comparison to the data provided by internet service providers themselves.For an example of how this works, please take a look at <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/these-two-organizations-want-to-help-us-agree-on-what-the-digital-divide-really-means-at-stake-billions-in-broadband-grants" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this blog post </a>by Broadband.money’s Director of Digital Community Sarah Lai Stirland — who will also attend this year's conference. Please feel free to stop by and introduce yourself.

The 50th TPRC is the “must-attend” gathering of all the broadband and telecommunications geeks.

50 years in the quest to understand broadband deployment

50-years-in-the-quest-to-understand-broadband-deployment

Issues of both digital equity and broadband mapping permeated a Saturday afternoon capstone discussion at TPRC on lessons learned from past federal broadband deployment efforts.The two-day academic conference TPRC, originally the Telecommunications Policy Research Conference, is <a href="https://broadband.money/blog/50-years-in-the-quest-to-understand-broadband-deployment" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a major gathering event for academics, policy-makers and industry officials focused on communications and internet policy</a>.&nbsp;The most sizable discussion point at the event was on broadband. At the September 17, 2022, panel session, experts explored how prior deployment efforts will fare under the bipartisan infrastructure law.“There was a lot of elbowing in the vendor community [for mapping over] what terrain was open for bids,” said Sharon Strover, a professor at University of Texas at Austin who was involved in the broadband programs under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.“It was warfare. I have seen that same thing over again” in current discussion of broadband mapping, she said.At least three of the other panelists directly addressed question about mapping, which looms large in discussions surrounding the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.<h3>States have been increasing their capacity for broadband grants</h3>Panelists were not optimistic about the successful deployment of updated broadband maps by the Federal Communications Commission. Those maps will determine in which states BEAD funds are spent.&nbsp;Still, the spirit of the session suggested optimism that the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has learned lessons from past broadband projects.Now, NTIA is running the $42.5 billion BEAD program, which is the largest part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $65 billion in broadband funding.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/bbm-public-bucket/TPRC_panel_8085737044.jpeg"></figure>Moderator Alexis Schrubbe (left), and panelists Johannes Bauer, Sharon&nbsp;Strover, Angela Siefer, Anna Read, Joshua Edmonds, and Francois Bar (left to right)Whether the FCC succeeds or not in its quest for improved maps, state broadband offices will be responsible for implementing the BEAD program, and “states are well positioned” to handle that responsibility, said Anna Reed, who leads the broadband access initiative at the Pew Charitable Trusts.Both immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of it, states have been increasing their capacity by creating some form of broadband offices within state government, Reed said.&nbsp;And while some state program had significant broadband funding, until the pandemic the majority of them did not.&nbsp;Federal laws passed in 2020 and 2021 have given the states what they needed — broadband money — to close the gaps among those who lack internet service and the ability to make use of it. “States were never going to have the level of funding to close [the digital divide] at any real speed,” she said.<h3>Digital equity cannot be disentangled from broadband infrastructure</h3>No matter the role of federal and state broadband maps in the deployment of BEAD, one issue that won’t go away is ensuring digital equity.In particular, it is vital that the nation spend federal funds well by ensuring “equitable access to and use of [broadband] technologies,” said Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. She said her group has nearly quadrupled in size since the beginning of the pandemic.As BEAD programs roll out, Siefer encouraged policy-makers, advocates and academics to ensure that they are interacting with bona-fide community members working on digital equity and digital inclusion efforts. She cited the NDIA community’s more than 900 affiliated organizations as a model to look to.And yet broadband infrastructure cannot be separated from the role that is being played in digital inclusion, said Joshua Edmonds,&nbsp;speaking on the panel about Detroit’s work with both&nbsp;broadband infrastructure and broadband adoption and use.“We can’t coupon our way to digital equity,” said Edmonds, who has been at the City of Detroit’s Office of Digital Inclusion and the city’s Connect313. It was announced on September 19, 2022, that <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/joshua-edmonds-leaves-connect313-to-join-cleveland-based-nonprofit" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Edmonds will become the CEO of Cleveland-based non-profit DigitalC</a>.

At a Telecommunications Policy Research Conference session on lessons learned from past broadband deployments, panelists link role improving infrastructure with digital equity.

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