Infrastructure Bill Gets Agreement, Fiber Connect Wraps Up, Washington Community Broadband

July 29, 2021—The White House announced Thursday that a bipartisan group in the Senate has arrived at a finalized infrastructure bill that will include $65 billion of investment in broadband.

Though the final amount remains unclear, senators in this group have stated that the bill will likely come out to approximately $1.2 trillion in total and confirmed the amount for broadband infrastructure. President Joe Biden initially announced $100 billion for broadband in March, but that was negotiated down by the Republicans to $65 billion.

The White House also stated that the bill would require funding recipients to offer affordable plans, improve transparency, and facilitate price comparison shopping for consumers.

Details are still scarce, but the statement also indicated that the bill would pass the Digital Equity Act to end digital redlining and create a permanent program to assist in closing the digital divide for low-income households.

During Fiber Connect 2021, experts speculated that the Emergency Broadband Benefit would likely serve as a template for such a piece of legislation.

According to reporting by Fierce Telecom, the bill would also devote $40 billion to infrastructure deployments and $11.75 billion to continue funding the EBB. Despite the fears of some operators to the contrary, Fierce Telecom also reported that wireless carriers will be eligible for funding.

Fiber Connect 2021 wraps up

Between July 26 and July 28, the Fiber Broadband Association held its Fiber Connect event in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

As one of the earliest conferences to pick back up as an increasing number of people get vaccinated, Fiber Connect became a bellwether for the attitudes and energy for in-person events. More than 2,000 people registered for the event, and the FBA was required to close registrations ahead of the event to prevent overcrowding.

The standing-room-only tradeshow featured dozens of exhibitors from across the telecom sector. Every sector of the industry from data analysis consultants to electrical co-ops to internet service providers were present for the show.

The conference also hosted a series of panels and addresses that featured speakers such as the FBA’s own Garry Bolton, Matt Collins of Calix, and President and CEO of Windstream Tony Thomas. These and other heavyweights in the industry discussed myriad topics ranging from open access to the industry’s potential post-pandemic recovery.

Washington bill removing barriers to community-led broadband efforts goes into effect

Washington State’s bill to remove barriers to community-led broadband builds went into effect this past Sunday.

The bill would undo decades-old regulations that pigeonholed the capabilities of community broadband developments. And while community-owned public utility districts have been allowed to build-out and deploy broadband infrastructure in Washington, they were forbidden from serving as ISPs to the regions they served. Only established incumbents and other for-profit entities were allowed to take advantage of the infrastructure.

Under the new law, PUDs would be allowed to “construct, purchase, acquire, operate, and maintain telecommunications facilities.”

The bill passed in the House on April 24 and in the Senate the next day. Both votes were divisive—with the votes for the final amended versions going 65 to 32 in favor in the House and 27 to 22 in favor in the Senate. It was signed into law on May 13 and was slated to go into effect on July 25.