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Commerce Secretary Raimondo Emphasizes Affordability, Fiber in Infrastructure Bill Press Briefing

Raimondo said to expect relatively quick turnaround on broadband affordability and job creation, longer timeline on fiber buildouts.

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2 years ago

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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo

WASHINGTON, November 11, 2021 – At a White House press briefing on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasized broadband affordability and fiber infrastructure when speaking about the $65 billion in broadband funds allocated in the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act, which passed the House Friday night.

While a chunk of the money will be at the discretion of the states, which will determine the kinds technology for their region, Raimondo mentioned fiber several times during the conference. She noted that “laying fiber across America” will “take time” – specifying that burying the cable in difficult topography like mountains could take years – but it will also be “creating jobs at every step of the way.”

Raimondo, who’s press conference represented another victory lap for the administration since the passage of the measure on Friday night, gave an idea of what her department expects to see from the bill, which had already passed the Senate in August and is now on President Joe Biden‘s desk for signing: a relatively quick turnaround on broadband affordability and job creation, but a longer timeline for fiber buildouts.

Experts that Broadband Breakfast has hosted have largely agreed about the importance of fiber, but some have also suggested that fixed-wireless and other technologies, like low earth orbit satellites, will be important to fill any leftover, hard-to-reach areas.

She said her department has been “planning for months” to tackle the bill. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency of the Commerce Department, will receive some $42 billion of the broadband money to distribute.

“It will not be easy. This will be technically difficult,” Raimondo said, according to a transcript. “It’s an implementation challenge. But it is necessary. It is necessary.”

Each state will receive a base $100 million, Raimondo confirmed, with the remaining money allocated “based on need, based on how many underserved households there are in that state.” She said the department will be working closely with, and using the maps of, the Federal Communications Commission to ensure the money doesn’t go to overbuilding. (The FCC is currently going through an overhaul of the mapping system that led to the agency revisiting the outcome of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund reverse auction.)

She also said there will be a “tremendous amount of federal oversight and transparency” on state use of the money, saying the department will have “very strict criteria to make sure that we achieve the goals of affordability and access.” It is expected that state implementation of the funds will begin “well into next year.”

The department, Raimondo said, has been speaking with governors, mayors and tribal leaders about implementing the plan, suggesting it will “significantly ramp up that engagement” now that the bill is official. The bill will also ask each state to provide the government with a plan for implementation of new internet infrastructure to ensure all residents can receive high-speed internet.

The bill will offer grants to states for broadband data analysis and mapping, low-cost broadband in multifamily residential buildings and other broadband expansion efforts.

Impact on jobs

Raimondo said it was crucial for the bill to have money for workforce training, as some have urged Congress to come up with a plan to address underskilled labor when it comes to broadband expansion.

“Today, we don’t have enough trained people. No, we don’t,” Raimondo said in response to a press question. “But some of this money will be used for workforce training so that we can train folks and, in the process of doing that, diversify, you know, the ranks of electricians and technicians and folks who are, you know, deploying the fiber in America.”

The Commerce Secretary later said that, “I promise you this: A year from now, many, many people will be working in high-quality jobs because of this package.”

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Reporter T.J. York received his degree in political science from the University of Southern California. He has experience working for elected officials and in campaign research. He is interested in the effects of politics in the tech sector.

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Sen. Ted Cruz Warns of Potential Waste in BEAD Allocations

The conservative critic of the broadband program highlighted inaccurate FCC mapping data in a report.

Published

6 days ago

on

September 15, 2023

By

Photo of Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Gage Skidmore

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2023 – Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warned in a report on Friday of potential waste in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment funds.

Part of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act, the program allocated over $42 billion for expanding broadband infrastructure in areas with poor internet access. That funding was awarded to states in June based on the number of those areas listed in the Federal Communication Commission’s National Broadband Map.

The 20-page report from Cruz’s office highlights how it believes the map is inaccurate, and claims that it disproportionately benefited states with fewer unserved areas – those with no meaningful internet access – than the map shows. It points to Washington, D.C., where the FCC’s map shows a third of the district’s unserved areas within the National Zoo, and notes the high allocation per unserved map location.

D.C. received fewer BEAD funds than any state – just over the minimum benchmark of $100 million set out in the program – but its small size and dense population gave it over $540,000 per location, opposed to the national median of $5,600.

The broadband map is also considered by some state broadband offices to be inaccurate. The commission has released an updated version since the allocation of BEAD funds based on challenges to its coverage data and is requiring states to accept local challenges before awarding any grants with BEAD funds.

Cruz also noted in the report that some areas slated to be served by other federal funding programs are marked as unserved in the FCC map. Funds under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, Capital Projects Fund, and ReConnect Program have been awarded for providers to build infrastructure in areas that are still currently unserved, meaning BEAD funds were allocated based in part on areas that will receive broadband anyway.

The report calculated 85,000 of the 3 million unserved areas slated to be served by BEAD will already have been given service by another federal program.

The report also criticized BEAD’s preference for fiber infrastructure, saying alternative means of providing internet like satellite and fixed wireless could serve hard-to-reach areas for less money.

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Funding

Broadband Breakfast Webcast of BEAD Implementation Summit Available for $35

Space is extremely limited for the in-person event; Zoom in instead with the Broadband Breakfast community.

Published

1 week ago

on

September 11, 2023

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WASHINGTON, September 11, 2023 – The Broadband Breakfast community is pleased to announced that those outside of Washington will be able to participate remotely in the BEAD Implementation Summit on Thursday, September 21, via a live webcast.

Participation in the webcast, via a live Zoom webcast, is available for $35. Breakfast and lunch are not included in the live webcast.

However, both in person and live online registrants for the BEAD Implementation Summit will obtain access to the complete videos of the BEAD Implementation Summit, a pathbreaking event tapping into the energy surrounding the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

As state broadband offices work to prepare their five-year plans for the BEAD program, this timely event will discuss the challenges, controversies and solutions surrounding this historic push for universal high-speed connectivity.

Evan Feinman, deputy associate administrator for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, will be the keynote speaker at Summit.

The event, hosted by the Broadband Breakfast community and featuring an in-person and online streaming component, will feature four panels on the most relevant and topical issues regarding BEAD Implementation. Among the panelists who have confirmed include state broadband leaders like North Carolina’s Angie Bailey, New Jersey’s Valarry Bullard, Arkansas’ Glenn Howie, Virginia’s Dr. Tamarah Holmes, Maine’s Andrew Butcher and Illinois’ Matt Schmit.

New panelists and keynote speakers are being added frequently to the program.

The complete program – including both in-person and online registration options – is available at the BEAD Implementation Summit. In-person event registration is available for $245.

“The BEAD Implementation Summit will drill into the particulars of BEAD implementation as states are looking at the largest-to-date federal investment in high-speed internet infrastructure, said Drew Clark, editor and publisher of Broadband Breakfast. 

The event will take place at Clyde’s of Gallery Place at 707 7th Street NW, Washington. 

Register now to hear what federal and state government officials, plus industry and non-profit groups, have to say about the next steps in this historic broadband funding. In addition to discounts on events and access to premium videos, Broadband Breakfast Club members have access to comprehensive monthly exclusive reports that delve into key topics pertaining to Better Broadband, Better Lives.  

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Funding

Treasury Approves $167 Million for Oklahoma Broadband Expansion

The state plans to serve 20,000 locations with 100 * 100 Mbps broadband.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

September 8, 2023

By

Photo of Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the treasury

WASHINGTON, September 8, 2023 – The Treasury Department approved on Friday over $167 million for broadband infrastructure in Oklahoma.

The money will fund the Oklahoma Broadband Infrastructure Grants Program, a state effort to subsidize broadband projects in areas that are expensive to serve because of low population density or geographic obstacles.

The state estimates that 20,000 locations will be served with OBIG-funded projects, about 13 percent of the areas lacking broadband in the state. 

Projects supported by the fund will be required to deliver speeds of 100 Mbps upload and download. That’s faster than the FCC’s broadband benchmark of 25/3 Mbps.

The money comes from the $10 billion Capital Projects Fund, established with the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The fund provides money for projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring.

More than $8 billion in CPF funds have now been awarded. Many states, territories, and tribal governments are using the money to finance broadband development projects.

Some state officials say the CPF is better suited to reach high cost areas because of its “sliding scale” model. States can provide matching funds for up to 95% of project costs with CPF money, compared to 7% under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

Providers that build CPF-funded projects are required to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program, a monthly internet subsidy for low-income households. It provides $30 a month to most recipients and $75 per month to residents of Tribal lands.

The $14 billion ACP is set to dry up in 2024. It is unclear whether Congress will renew it.

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