<h2>Telehealth takes center stage</h2>Because the pandemic is continually forcing closures and stay-at-home orders, the expansion of <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/craig-settles-is-here-to-discover-what-you-and-your-community-needs">telehealth services</a> has become a critical, normalized service this year as remote health care is a safer, more efficient way to deliver high-quality care.Broadband service is now important to maintaining overall health––healthcare specialists have <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/senate-committee-hears-broadband-affordability-regulatory-flex-key-to-reducing-inessential-hospital-visits/">defined</a> broadband services as a social determinant of health. Expanding <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4848328/">telemedicine across rural and Tribal communities</a> remain barriers to better health outcomes for vulnerable populations.The pandemic prompted Congress to extend <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/telehealth-has-potential-to-shift-medical-focus-to-preventative-care-and-wellness/">waivers</a> that allowed patients to take advantage of telehealth services. Domain area experts say the waivers encouraged the growth of telehealth systems, and that investment in telehealth is <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/telehealth-has-potential-to-shift-medical-focus-to-preventative-care-and-wellness/">necessary</a> to improving them.Broadband access and affordability often restrict vulnerable communities’ ability to take advantage of telehealth services. This year saw massive investments focused on funding telehealth subsidies for patients in need.In December alone, the Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-announces-43-million-in-covid-19-telehealth-subsidies/">announced</a> more than $42.7 million in COVID-19 Telehealth Program awards for health care providers spending on telecommunications information services and devices.The awards also reimburse health care organizations for innovative ideas that connect patients to quality care with broadband.For example, the Westchester County Health Care Corporation in Valhalla, New York, was awarded $1 million for the purchase of remote monitoring software and video equipment, which will allow for the creation of a “tele-ICU” for the provision of remote care for hospitalized patients.In October, a Senate subcommittee heard <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/senate-committee-hears-broadband-affordability-regulatory-flex-key-to-reducing-inessential-hospital-visits/">testimony</a> that permanent regulatory flexibility allowing free or subsidized telemedicine services for patients would have a positive impact on patient care. It may have a cost benefit too: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr estimated that widespread telehealth availability could save the health care system $305 billion a year.<h2>The FCC’s new Affordable Connectivity Fund</h2>The Federal Communications Commission served as an accelerator to better connect communities during the pandemic through its <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/05/fcc-launches-emergency-broadband-benefit-program/">Affordable Connectivity Program</a>.As families and students struggled to stay connected to work and school during the pandemic, the FCC has taken historic steps to assist families can’t afford to pay for internet service and devices.Originally established as the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/05/fcc-launches-emergency-broadband-benefit-program/">Emergency Broadband Benefit</a>, the Affordable Connectivity Program is the nation’s largest broadband subsidy program to ever be enacted. The Emergency Broadband Benefit was replaced by the Affordable Connectivity Program after the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November.The Affordable Connectivity Program transformed the Emergency Broadband Benefit into a long-term program that provides discounts for families to purchase internet service and devices. Households can also receive discounts to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet for their home.The Affordable Connectivity Program enrollment period opens on December 31, 2021, allowing families to start the new year with the opportunity to receive new devices for the home.However, a long-standing challenge has been informing the community about these benefits. Policy experts agree that these benefit programs are not reaching the intended audience.A November report showed that areas with low broadband adoption are less likely to enroll in the program.“If leaders want to connect the unconnected, in addition to low income groups, other programs will be needed. EBB isn’t targeting these low-adoption communities,” <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/will-rinehart-early-reports-show-the-emergency-broadband-benefit-is-not-reaching-its-intended-audience/">said</a> Will Rinehart, senior fellow at the Center for Growth an Opportunity.FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/09/outreach-most-valuable-thing-for-emergency-broadband-benefit-program/">agreed</a> on the need for emphasizing outreach. “There was no funding to help a lot of these non-profit and local organizations around the country get the word out [about the program],” Rosenworcel said during a September event hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance about the broadband affordability divide. “And I know that it would get the word out faster if we had that opportunity.”<h2>Digital equity and inclusion</h2>The past year was significant for its focus on digital equity and inclusion.The closing of many public institutions because of the pandemic has forced lower-income communities into isolation without sufficient devices or technology to stay connected.Organizations such as the <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/">National Digital Inclusion Association</a> have decried a type of discrimination known as “digital redlining” in which internet service providers <a href="https://www.digitalinclusion.org/blog/2017/03/10/atts-digital-redlining-of-cleveland/">discriminate</a> in broadband deployment, maintenance, upgrade, or delivery of service in lower-income neighborhoods. Because communities of color are more likely to have slower and less reliable internet service, policy leaders have been active in finding solutions.To combat this alleged practice, Rep. Yvette Clark <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/bill-to-address-digital-redlining-exclusivity-agreements-between-providers-and-buildings/">introduced</a> the Anti-Digital Redlining Act on July 30. The bill finds that lower-income residents pay the same for DSL internet as fiber customers, while wealthier residents receive much better internet service.The text of the bill also acknowledges that disparities in internet access “impose significant costs” on the government to choose between “either offering non-digital means of interaction or excluding residents without access to high speed, reliable broadband access.”The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 addressed this issue by tasking the FCC with promulgating rules against "digital discrimination."The IIJA instructs the FCC to enact rules within two years to ensure that all Americans have equal opportunities to subscribe to high speed Internet access regardless of income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, place of national origin.The law also instructs the commission and the attorney general to ensure that deployments don't discriminate based on "an income level of an area," or the race or ethnicity composition of an area, or based upon "other factors the commission determines to be relevant based on the findings in the record developed from the rulemaking."And the FCC has come come up with model rules and best practices that states and localities can emulate to prohibit discrimination.Lastly, the law instructs the FCC needs to revise its complaint process to accept complaints about discrimination.The law allocated $2.75 billion to the Digital Equity Act, which <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/bill-to-address-digital-redlining-exclusivity-agreements-between-providers-and-buildings/">establishes</a> the federal definitions of digital inclusion and digital equity.The Digital Equity Act’s two programs and three grant funds will supply money to the states in order to do digital equity work. For example, the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program gives block grants to states for broadband infrastructure deployment and other digital inclusion activities.BEAD money can be used for installing internet Wi Fi infrastructure or providing reduced costs broadband within multifamily residential buildings, according to the National Digital Inclusion Association Policy Director Amy Huffman.So that means deploying broadband to public housing units, providing adffordable "Internet capable devices" and promoting broadband adoption among those residents as well, she said in a December presentation.IIJA grant recipients will also be required to provide low cost or "affordable" broadband subscription options.<h2>Satellite broadband takes flight</h2>Apart from the high-profile space launches this year, the broadband industry is both excited and skeptical about satellites playing a greater role.In late 2020, the FCC voted to adopt rules making it easier for satellite providers to obtain licensing to deploy satellites faster. In February, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched 120 Starlink broadband satellites on two February missions, bringing the total number of satellites to over 1,700.Low Earth Orbit satellites, which can bring broadband to rural communities, could connect harder-to-reach communities faster than laying fiber. By May 2021, SpaceX announced it had over 500,000 orders for the Starlink service.Other companies are also jumping into the satellite business: the FCC <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/boeing-gets-approval-for-leo-satellites-esri-pilots-broadband-data-program-facebook-investor-calls-metaverse-dystopian/">approved</a> Boeing’s request to launch 132 satellites for its broadband internet network, and Amazon’s satellite imitative Project Kuiper <a href="https://www.verizon.com/about/news/5g-leo-verizon-project-kuiper-team">partnered</a> with Verizon in October to launch an internet service for underserved and unserved communities.However, these massive investments didn’t come without controversy.Apart from <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/critics-concerned-infrastructure-bill-money-will-go-to-satellites-harm-fiber-builds/">concerns</a> about Starlink’s capacity to deliver long-term, high quality service that complies with IIJA, public telecommunications policy leaders say the 12 GigaHertz (GHz) band, the portion of spectrum that Starlink uses for its services, should be shared with 5G operators to deliver internet to lower-income communities.Research commissioned by RS Access in August <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/08/spacex-engineers-clash-over-whether-12-gigahertz-band-can-be-shared-with-5g-operators/">concluded</a> that the mid-band spectrum can be shared between 5G and satellite broadband operators and finding that the 12 GHz spectrum is “highly favorable for 5G,” and “can rapidly accelerate 5G deployment nationwide.”Next year regulators and policymakers will continue the battle to determine who, if anyone, will have greater control over the 12 GHz band.<h2>Will the ‘homework gap’ persist in a world of online education?</h2>Last year’s initial COVID lockdown left many families unprepared and unconnected to devices or internet access and the “homework gap” persisted.In fall 2021, many schools embraced a “hybrid” in-person, virtual schooling model. Around this time, Pew research found that lower-income parents were more likely to say their children did <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/10/01/what-we-know-about-online-learning-and-the-homework-gap-amid-the-pandemic/">homework on a cellphone</a> and could not complete homework because they did not have computer access at home.Some students have been using public Wi-Fi because they could not connect reliably at home. The FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund was authorized to help close bring devices to students who lack them.Originally launching in June as part of March’s <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/broadband-grant-resources/broadband-grant-guide">American Rescue Plan Act</a>, the FCC has committed $3.8 billion of the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-more-than-7-billion-emergency-connectivity-fund/">$7.17 billion program</a> to provide funding for schools and libraries to buy equipment students to learn remotely.The total amount committed to go to support 9,000 schools, 760 libraries, and 100 consortia for nearly 8.3 million connected devices and over 4.4 million broadband connections, the agency <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj1zYWe7ov1AhVAknIEHSq4Dm0QFnoECAgQAQ&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs.fcc.gov%2Fpublic%2Fattachments%2FDOC-378776A1.pdf&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Vw5ilKzkTQYMmYyZnSq86">said</a> last week in a press release.Last week, the FCC <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-commits-another-603-million-in-emergency-connectivity-fund-money/">committed</a> another $603 million in Emergency Connectivity funds to connect more than 1.4 million students across all 50 states.A version of this post originally appeared at <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/year-in-review-key-developments-for-broadbands-impact-in-the-u-s/">BroadbandBreakfast.com</a>.

High-speed internet access has never seemed more essential than in the days of another year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read about broadband's impact in enabling benefits through expanded internet access.

2021: Key Developments for Broadband’s Impact in the U.S.

2021-key-developments-for-broadband-s-impact-in-the-u-s

The following are five key themes from 2021 that will have repercussions for next year.<h2>Biden’s historic infrastructure bill</h2>Biden signed into law the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/house-passes-bipartisan-broadband-infrastructure-bill-but-without-reconcilation-measure/">Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act</a> in the middle of November, which allocated $65 billion for broadband. The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration will oversee the distribution of some $42 billion of that pot to the statesThe bill, which was <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/house-delays-infrastructure-vote-chinese-equipment-ban-comcast-losses-honoring-evan-kwerel/">stalled</a> for months by Democratic Party negotiations over the timeline to pass the legislation in addition to Biden’s social spending reconciliation package, will represent a key mechanism to increase the affordability of high-speed Internet to hard-to-reach communities, in addition to provisions for clean energy and maintenance on physical transportation.Biden’s legislation was called “once in a generation,” and amounts to one of the most expensive infrastructure investments in U.S. history. The Benton Institute for Broadband and Society <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/11/congress-oks-42-billion-to-deploy-100mbps-broadband-in-unserved-areas/">called it</a> “the largest US investment in broadband deployment ever.”<h2>Eyes on public-private partnerships, efficiency and maps</h2>One key player in the distribution of the funds is former governor of Rhode Island and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who was confirmed by the Senate to head the department in March.Raimondo takes on a lead role in making sure the bills funds are used effectively and that newly funded projects are rolled out smoothly.In her statements around the bill’s passage, she has emphasized need for government to work together with the private sector, for the Federal Communications Commission to continue facilitating and increase efforts for <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/localize-broadband-infrastructure-expansion-commerce-secretary-raimondo-says/">granular mapping</a> of broadband availability across the nation so that areas most in need can be properly targeted for projects, and to <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/11/commerce-secretary-raimondo-emphasizes-affordability-fiber-in-infrastructure-bill-presser/">push for fiber</a> connectivity to ensure best outcomes for consumers.Another likely key player is Alan Davidson, who was nominated by Biden to assume the lead role at the NTIA. He has <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/alan-davidsons-ntia-nomination-clears-commerce-committee-on-to-senate-floor">yet to be approved by the Senate for that position</a>.<h2>The growth of Covid welfare programs</h2>In March, Congress passed Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide the U.S. economy with a $1.9 trillion stimulus for COVID-19 pandemic relief.ARPA was among the largest stimulus plans in U.S. history, which provided grants to state and local governments through its Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.Several entities used these funds to strengthen broadband infrastructure in their communities, including several across Illinois through the state’s <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/university-of-illinois-extension-announces-collaboration-to-expand-community-broadband">ARPA Accelerator program</a>.The bill also provided local governments funds that could be used for broadband development through the Capital Projects Fund.Additionally, ARPA funded the Federal Communications Commission’s $7.17 billion <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-commits-another-603-million-in-emergency-connectivity-fund-money/">Emergency Connectivity Fund</a> to provide tools and services necessary for remote learning to schools and libraries so that they can connect more students in need.The fund covers reasonable costs of laptop and tablet computers, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connectivity purchases. The program is consistent with the vision of Biden’s pick to head the FCCJessica Rosenworcel, who was <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/rosenworcel-confirmed-rohingya-meta-class-action-ftth-builds-increase-wow-offers-1-gig/">confirmed by the Senate this month</a>. Rosenworcel has spent her career addressing this issue and is widely recognized as the first to coin the term “<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/10/national-non-profit-to-launch-joint-initiative-to-close-broadband-affordability-and-homework-gap/">homework gap</a>” to describe the challenges disadvantaged students face in completing school assignments due to digital connectivity barriers.<h2>Supply chain woes</h2>By mid 2021, global supply chain issues, which held up supplies and created product shortages, began to mount and push deep into the back half of the year.The technology and broadband industries were impacted by these conditions, as they did not have the necessary materials to manufacture products and they additionally faced an international workforce shortage.One critical area of concern is fiber builds. Dean Mischke, vice president of Finley Engineering Company, which builds out telecommunications infrastructure, warned companies that they need to get ahead of <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/companies-need-to-get-ahead-on-inventory-to-escape-supply-chain-disruptions/">supply purchases beyond next year to secure key fiber supplies</a>.In Vermont, a public-private partnership came together to purchase thousands of miles of fiber cable at a fixed cost from a cooperative, which said it is <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/vermont-public-private-partnership-buys-stretch-of-fiber">expected to see its cost rise by 35 percent due to supply chain issues and inflation</a>.With federal money raining down on the states, these issues will be a focal point for 2022.As if that wasn’t enough, the tech and wireless world saw critical shortages of semiconductor chips. In our ever-more online world, any shortage in essential parts for digital devices is going to be a problem. And it’s been a problem for many months. The a bipartisan bill was introduced to combat the shortage back in June 2020.Commerce Secretary Raimondo said that Biden plans to address the shortage by incentivizing domestic production of chips.The trade war between the U.S. and China is commonly cited as another cause of the shortage. Just this month, the U.S. Department of Defense <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/senate-commerce-urges-facebook-probe-chinese-export-restrictions-microsoft-iot-security-survey/">restricted exports</a> of critical technology to a leading Chinese semiconductor manufacturer due to its alleged ties to China’s military.The ongoing issues have contributed to inflationary pricing among commodities such as groceries and gasoline, the prices of which have peaked in recent months.<h2>U.S. gets tough on Chinese telecom</h2>Throughout the year, the U.S. government took several steps to cut ties with Chinese telecom companies it believes to be aligned with the Chinese government.A recent Washington Post investigation found that large telecom equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies has been more involved with Chinese government surveillance efforts than previously revealed. The corporation had previously denied involvement and said it only sells general purpose networking gear.Huawei was a big target for the U.S. government, along with several other equipment manufacturers, including ZTE. And axing Chinese companies from the U.S. market represented one of the only common goals of both the Biden and Donald Trump administrations.In June, the FCC voted to stop authorizing equipment from manufacturers such as ZTE and Huawei, and in July to rip and replace from U.S. infrastructure that same equipment – a move that cost $1.9 billion.In October, Congress with near unanimous support passed a bipartisan bill prohibiting the FCC from “reviewing or issuing new equipment licenses to companies on” the list of companies that it considers security threats. Moreover, at the beginning of this month, the Biden administration <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/biden-acts-on-surveillance-florida-broadband-maps-free-state-wants-constitutional-spectrum/">announced initiatives</a> with international allies to track and combat surveillance in authoritarian countries such as China.Followed soon after was the DoD’s restrictions on trade to the Chinese semiconductor industry were announced.The Biden administration’s action on China finds bipartisan support.A version of this <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/year-in-review-key-developments-in-digital-infrastructure-with-ramifications-for-next-year/">story</a> first appeared on <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/">BroadbandBreakfast.com</a>

Five key themes from 2021 that will have repercussions for next year's digital infrastructure plans

2021: Key Developments in Digital Infrastructure with Ramifications for Next Year

2021-key-developments-in-digital-infrastructure-with-ramifications-for-next-year

Alaska’s remoteness might lead the state to receive a majority of federal government funds allotted to broadband for Tribal communities.“Alaska is going to be one of the highest areas of need,” said Hallie Bissett, executive director of the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association, speaking at a Congressional Senate Indian Affairs Committee <a href="https://www.indian.senate.gov/hearing/roundtable-discussion-closing-digital-divide-native-communities-through-infrastructure">hearing</a> Wednesday.As many as 233 of Alaska’s native communities do not have access to broadband at 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download x 3 Mbps upload service, she said. “That’s unserved, everybody. Unserved. Not underserved.”The committee’s Wednesday hearing on “<a href="https://www.indian.senate.gov/hearing/roundtable-discussion-closing-digital-divide-native-communities-through-infrastructure">Closing the Digital Divide in Native Communities Through Infrastructure Investment</a>” aimed to collect feedback on distribution of Tribal broadband funds.'More money needs to be spent on better broadband access for education in Tribal communities. Manuel Hart, chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc, Colorado, said, “We’ve had to put in hotspots where parents can bring their students to the parking lot just to access the internet.”Hart said his communities have no access to <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/federal-court-blocks-social-media-law-illinois-broadband-initiative-fiber-leads-for-telecom-giants/">fiber</a> and need fiber to every home in his community.Panelists also discussed access to <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/telehealth-has-potential-to-shift-medical-focus-to-preventative-care-and-wellness/">telehealth</a> as the <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2021/12/fcc-announces-43-million-in-covid-19-telehealth-subsidies/">pandemic</a> continues.William Smith, a veteran and a spokesperson from the National Indian Health Board, said that if the government fiscally bolsters telehealth programs within Tribal communities, residents will be able to save money and access the healthcare they might not otherwise receive.A version of this post, by Theodora Soter, originally <a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/01/alaska-predicted-to-receive-a-majority-of-tribal-broadband-funds/">appeared</a> at BroadbandBreakfast.

Alaska’s remoteness might lead the state to receive a majority of federal government funds allotted to broadband for Tribal communities.

Broadband Grant Expert

Broadband Breakfast

Lessons

Articles

Enroll for free today