Broadband Speed Definition, Boom in Fiber Deployment, $7.6 Billion in New Stimulus Bill

March 4, 2021 – In a bipartisan letter Thursday, Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Angus King, I-Maine, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., urged the Biden administration to update federal standards for high-speed broadband to reflect modern uses and align those standards across the government.

In the letter to top administration officials, the senators called on federal agencies to update broadband program speed requirements to reflect existing and anticipated uses, from two-way video conferencing to smart grids to artificial intelligence.

The senators also urged the officials to work together to align the definition of what constitutes high-speed broadband across federal agencies to replace the patchwork of standards that exist today.

“In the years ahead, emerging technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, health [internet of things], smart grid, 5G, virtual and augmented reality, and tactile telemedicine, will all require broadband networks capable of delivering much faster speeds, lower latency, and higher reliability than those now codified by various federal agencies,” the senators wrote in a statement.

“Our goal for new deployment should be symmetrical speeds of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps), allowing for limited variation when dictated by geography, topography, or unreasonable cost,” the letter reads. “While we recognize that in truly hard-to-reach areas, we need to be flexible in order to reach unserved Americans, we should strive to ensure that all members of a typical family can use these applications simultaneously.”

The current Federal Communications Commission minimum standard for high-speed broadband is 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload.

“Over the next five years, if current trends hold, data needs are expected to increase annually by at least 25% per year, according to the International Data Corporation. The goal of universal service requires that all Americans have affordable broadband with the technical capacity to meet those needs equitably,” the letter reads.

“We need a new approach. We urge you to work together to establish one consistent, modern baseline definition of high-speed broadband service and underlying infrastructure specifications across the federal government and a coordinated approach to deploy funding efficiently where it is most needed,” the letter reads.

FTTH infrastructure to see major boom next five years, RVA says

In RVA’s recent 2021-2025 Forecast Report, the marketing research firm predicts over $60 billion investment in fiber-to-the-home infrastructure in the next five years.

Barring significant unforeseen economic or other disruptions, nearly every type of U.S. provider, including all size telephone companies, cable companies, rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, and competitive providers will be investing heavily in fiber. Most of this build will be making fiber available to new homes for the first time, but some will be creating fiber competition for homes that already have a fiber provider.

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure is a direct fiber cable to the home, rather than connecting to a node outside the home and using older technologies to deliver the data to the home.

This strong FTTH investment cycle is being driven by several factors, RVA’s statement reads. Based on RVA research for the Fiber Broadband Association, FTTH offers the best consumer user experience versus other broadband delivery methods such as cable coax, telecom DSL, wireless, or satellite in terms of reliability, speed, and latency.

For service providers, FTTH has the advantage of lowering operational costs and decreasing churn, or the rate at which customers switch providers. Service providers are clearly realizing that it is in their best interest to move to fiber, it reads.

Stimulus bill includes $7.6 billion for Emergency Connectivity Fund

The latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package includes billions of new funding for broadband and other technology projects, according to an article from Nextgov.

“The largest single tech investment in the House bill would direct about $7.6 billion to the Emergency Connectivity Fund, which supports broadband capabilities and remote learning in schools nationwide,” reports Nextgov.

The bill also looks to provide $2 billion additional funding for infrastructure for the federal unemployment insurance system, run by the Department of Labor. “The system came under scrutiny by the agency’s inspector general in February after an ongoing audit of CARES Act funds found the federal government had doled out at least $5.4 billion in fraudulent unemployment claims,” Nextgov reports.

Much of the technology upgrades included in the bill does not have specific appropriated amounts.

The large funding bill passed the House of Representatives in February with zero Republicans in favor and is currently being reviewed in the Senate, which has not yet set a date for a vote.