DALLAS, March 29, 2023 — As state broadband offices and internet service providers prepare for an unprecedented wave of federal funding, they face several critical decisions about how to best construct next-generation networks while maximizing adoption and sustainability.

Industry leaders at Connected America on Tuesday agreed that fiber deployment should be prioritized with other technologies supplementing as needed, although some differed over where that line should be drawn.

“The public policy goal is to push fiber as far as we possibly can,” said Scott Woods, vice president of Ready.net and former senior executive at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

“As a neutral host provider, we look at this from the lens of building the elements that can ultimately serve the end user,” said Victoria Lambeth, founder and CRO of ZenFi Networks. “And in many cases, that means delivering fiber all the way to the [premise], but in some cases that may be using a host of alternative solutions… it’s not one size fits all.”

Dense urban environments with plenty of fiber can still struggle to connect a significant unserved and underserved population, Lambeth added. For example, nearly one-third of New York City households lacked in-home broadband in 2021, according to city data.

While panelists discussed the many challenges associated with closing the digital divide, they also expressed optimism about the historic federal funding supporting broadband deployment and adoption.

Service providers have a responsibility to be “good shepherds of these once-in-a-lifetime but finite dollars that we’re being given,” said Esther Northrup, assistant vice president for market expansion at Cox Communications.

“It’s on us as an industry to be very thoughtful about how we’re deploying our own capital dollars in order to serve our customers, but ultimately to serve those communities,” Lambeth agreed.

Woods noted the importance of being realistic about the timeline for broadband deployment, urging stakeholders to not “think we can do it in three years, when in actuality it’s going to take 10 or 15 or 20 years.”

“Let’s be intentional about how we go about making sure our plans are defensible, making sure the costs are justified and making sure that we have a plan to ensure that no other community has to go through not having connectivity during a pandemic,” he said.

This planning process should involve careful consideration of the data, Woods added. “We really have to get into the granular level to determine where broadband is and is not so that we can effectively and efficiently be able to invest the resources.”

On a broader level, panelists discussed the need for community and private sector involvement to ensure network longevity.

“There are so many other layers of services, digital literacy services, that need to be layered on top of that in order to maximize that investment for the community,” Lambeth said. “We often talk about the physical nature of connectivity, but at many points, it’s this affordability [and] adoption issue that ends up being the greater issue.”

Private sector involvement will also play a key role in enabling continued deployment beyond the expiration of federal funding, Woods said.

HICKORY, N.C., March 29, 2023 – Network connectivity manufacturer CommScope announced Wednesday an increase in fiber cable output expected to go directly into 500,000 homes per year.

The company said it will concentrate nearly $50 million toward the production to drive broadband infrastructure in rural areas. It announced a new fiber cable called HeliARC that it said is smaller and lighter weight that will allow for faster installation to rural homes.

“We will produce more cost-effective and easier-to-deploy fiber-optic cable, add new jobs and simultaneously strengthen the supply chain in America,” said CommScope president and CEO Chuck Treadway in a press release.

Meanwhile, in Catawba County, N.C., optical communications manufacturer Corning also held an event Wednesday to announce the formal opening of its newest optical cable manufacturing campus, also focused on rural and underserved communities.

Corning noted that its investments in manufacturing will “help meet the rising demand for broadband connectivity driven by public and private.”

Standing in front of warehouse workers with machine whirring, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is touring the state’s facilities, said “That is the sound of made in America.”

The announcements are being paraded by the White House as a key part of its strategy to not just connect the entire country with high-speed internet, but to ensure that the infrastructure supporting it is made primarily inside the country.

In his State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden emphasized that his administration would focus on ensuring that fiber cables that go toward federally-funded projects will be made in America. Following the address, the White House Office of Management and Budget released a document proposing rules for implementation of the Build America, Buy America provision in the infrastructure bill.

Critics responding to the proposal have said if waivers are not granted for certain parts of the fiber optic cable, it could jeopardize the four-year timeline for builds using money from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The money is expected to be allocated to the states by June 30.

Earlier this week, the White House announced the “Investing in America” tour starting Tuesday in Durham, North Carolina, to highlight key components of the infrastructure bill and the semiconductor-focused Chips and Science Act.

On Tuesday, Biden toured a Wolfspeed semiconductor factory in Durham. The company in September announced plans to invest $5 billion over 20 years in Chatham County.

DALLAS, March 28, 2023 — Industry experts at Connected America on Tuesday agreed that reaching each individual consumer is the key to a full-fiber future, noting that factors such as affordability and digital literacy go hand-in-hand with last mile deployment.

“Fiber to the home is truly full fiber — and that means every individual unit, whatever that might be,” said Erin Scarborough, senior vice president for broadband strategy at AT&T. “Connectivity to every single human is really what we’re talking about.”

Universal technology access can empower learning and development everywhere from college dorm rooms to prison educational programs, Scarborough added.

Bringing fiber to multi-dwelling units presents a challenge in that it requires the participation of building owners, said Bryan Rader, MDU president for Pavlov Media.

However, Rader argued that fiber installation ultimately benefits the owners as well as the inhabitants. “If you look at any of the studies in the apartment ownership industry today, the number one amenity is internet,” he said. “And if you don’t have great internet — or fiber internet — residents will actually pick a different address.”

An ideal full-fiber future would include at least two provider options for each household, said Raj Singh, CEO of Velankani Communications Technologies, Inc.

In order to encourage competition and investment, government funding programs should set flexible requirements, Scarborough said.

In addition to expanding broadband access, Scarborough emphasized the importance of actively considering affordability and adoption.

“For every human that or household that doesn’t have access to broadband today, two more don’t subscribe,” she said. “And why is that? Well, it’s likely because of affordability.”

Rader noted that digital literacy is a critical factor in adoption. “Success is connecting the customer, educating the customer, making sure they know how to utilize the fiber — that’s the missing piece,” he said.

Panelists acknowledged the role of other technologies in areas where last-mile fiber deployment would carry an extremely high cost. Achieving universal connectivity will require a “cocktail of technologies” — including 5G and fixed wireless in addition to fiber — as well as partnerships between public and private entities, Scarborough said.

But the experts largely agreed that fiber comes with unique benefits, such as long-term sustainability. Even when the initial buildout costs are high, the goal of careful fiber deployment is to create “a pathway with some foresight that allows you to upgrade, change, absorb things that you didn’t foresee,” said Scot Bohaychyk, solutions manager at Emtelle.