Democrats Celebrate E-Rate, Remote Alaska Gets Broadband, Openreach and ADTRAN in UK

February 11, 2021 – Democratic Senators applauded Wednesday increased spending on subsidized internet devices and access as part of the House’s coronavirus relief reconciliation proposal.

Senators Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, and Congresswoman Grace Meng, D-New Yorkapplauded the inclusion of the Emergency Educational Connections Act and more than $7 billion in funding for the E-Rate internet subsidy program for schools and libraries in the relief bill.

The lawmakers’ legislation funds elementary and secondary, as well as tribal,schools and libraries to provide Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and internet-enabled devices, including internet service through such equipment to students, staff, and patrons.

“We are excited to see our legislation that funds K-12 distance learning included in the latest coronavirus relief package unveiled by the House of Representatives,” said the lawmakers.

“The reconciliation package reflects what we all know: that we cannot afford to wait another day to connect online our nation’s most vulnerable children to their teachers and classmates and to ensure the ‘homework gap’ does not continue to grow into a damaging learning and opportunity gap as the pandemic continues.

“We call on our colleagues in both the Senate and House to include this funding in the final package and quickly send it to President Biden’s desk for his signature.”

Markey is the author of the original E-Rate program, which was created as a part of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey, spoke at the INCOMPAS 2021 Policy Summit, emphasizing his committee’s focus on broadband deployment, adoption and affordability. The committee will hold a Thursday markup session on broadband funding.

“We welcome the efforts of Chairman Pallone and members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to advance legislation that will promote home broadband adoption and help schools that remain closed fulfill their educational mission through remote learning,” said a Thursday statement from NCTA, the Internet and Television Association.

“With added resources, we look forward to seeing such collaborative efforts intensify so we can shrink the homework gap, help teachers and students stay connected, and bring the benefits of broadband to new families across America.”

Remote Alaska Gets Broadband

The northernmost city in the United States, Utqiagvik, Alaska, which sits above the arctic circle, has received broadband connection thanks to the collaborative efforts of two broadband companies, Quintillion and Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative.

“Today we are proud to begin the launch of our Home Internet 25+ in Utqiaġvik, Wainwright, Point Hope and Nuiqsut,” said ASTAC’s Jens Laipenieks in a statement. “This new offering will provide the speeds needed for families who continue to work and do schooling from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Utqiagvik is part of the North Slope Borough in Alaska, which ASTAC reports is 85% connected to fiber broadband.

According to a Telecompetitor article, ASTAC has laid over 62 miles of fiber networks and Quintillion has laid over 1600 miles along the Alaskan coast, bringing broadband to some of the most remote locations in the world.

“Quintillion is proud to partner with ASTAC to bring fast, reliable, and affordable internet to these North Slope communities,” read a statement from George Tronsrue, CEO at Quintillion. “Our subsea fiber network was built to help improve the lives of rural Alaska residents. These new services will do that and come at a time when they are needed more than ever.”

Another small town in northern Alaska, the off-grid indigenous village Tatitlek, received broadband connection recently as well, as reported by Telecompetitor. Because the village is so remote, the broadband provider Copper Valley Telecom used barges and helicopters to lay the network.

Openreach connects first customer on ADTRAN’s gigabit-capable optical solution

ADTRAN announced Wednesday that Openreach switched on its first live subscriber with the ADTRAN SDX series fiber access platform and the Mosaic Cloud network automation platform.

Openreach has been building its broadband connections to businesses and residents throughout the UK through its Full Fiber broadband program.

Openreach said introducing ADTRAN’s SDX and Mosaic platforms into the network is intended to streamline the current delivery of fiber services and the future introduction of higher speed symmetric services with next-generation fiber technologies.

This benefit is key, Openreach said, as it looks to achieve its ambition of making its gigabit-capable Full Fiber broadband network available to 20 million homes by the mid-to-late 2020s.

Millions of premises will be able to benefit from a range of competing service providers using Openreach’s new digital network, it said. More than 660 retail carriers across the UK rely on Openreach to deliver reliable wholesale capacity to support a broad portfolio of dynamic services to enterprise, small-to-medium businesses and residential customers.

“We’re fully committed to building the UK’s leading ultrafast, ultra-reliable Full Fiber broadband network and to reinforce our vital role in keeping the nation connected,” said Peter Bell, Openreach’s director of network technology.