Women Dems Speak Up for FCC’s Jessica Rosenworcel, UTOPIA Fiber’s New Funding, Starlink Speeds Double

February 23, 2021 – A letter signed by 33 Democratic women urging acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to be nominated as the first woman to permanently chair the agency was sent to White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain on Monday.

Leading the letter of support were Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., senior member of the energy and commerce subcommittee on communications and technology, and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., co-chair of the Democratic women’s caucus.

They emphasized how Rosenworcel’s has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate twice, her previous works in the agency and several of the actions she has taken since becoming acting chairwoman.

“Rosenworcel has spent years raising the important voices and unique needs of women that have been ignored for far too long in technology and telecommunications policy,” they said, adding “women make up half of our country’s population. We’re entrepreneurs, policymakers, mothers, consumers, patients, and professionals, and our needs have been ignored across every sector of society.

“In her eight years as a Commissioner of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel has elevated the voices and needs of women.”

The letter also emphasized Rosenworcel’s work elevating the voices and needs of women and women entrepreneurs, her work on the Lifeline internet subsidy program for low-income households, advocacy for domestic violence survivors, closing the homework gap, telehealth, maternal mortality, and net neutrality.

“Importantly, Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel inspires our daughters by showing them that they can succeed and thrive in technology policy, a role she has played long before being appointed to her current seat,” the members said. “For years she has hosted a podcast where she interviews women technology leaders, and she has spoken openly about how working mothers can be policy leaders.

“Her words and actions show our daughters that there is a place for them in technology.”

UTOPIA Fiber raises largest funding round of $52.5 million

The Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency, known as UTOPIA Fiber, announced that it has raised $52.5-million in funding  to expand UTOPIA’s network to the original coverage area of 11 cities. This is the largest funding round in the agency’s history and the third in the last 14 months totaling $113 million.

The community-owned fiber-optic network is the largest and most successful open access network in the United States. Since 2011, the majority of the company’s fiber’s growth has come from its synergistic relationship with Utah Infrastructure Agency, a sister agency to UTOPIA. Both companies are legally separated entities but operate as one integrated system.

“What we’re seeing with this latest round of funding is stronger-than-ever demand for high-speed fiber networks,” said Roger Timmerman, UTOPIA Fiber’s executive director. “The $52.5 million provides the capital to build out the remaining areas of our original 11 cities and to add customers throughout our coverage area. We continue to have the best partners in the business, who have worked tirelessly to get us to this point.”

UTOPIA Fiber reaches 130,000 homes and businesses, offering 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) residential and 100 Gbps commercial – the fastest internet speeds in the United States . Its growth continues to bring competitive services from 14 internet service providers at the fastest speeds and best value. Its net neutrality model ensures no throttling, paid prioritization, or other provider interference, the entity said.

“The pandemic has shown us just how important fast, affordable, and reliable broadband service is,” Timmerman said. “We believe publicly-owned Open Access fiber networks are the future of American internet connectivity and are excited to be at the forefront of that movement.”

Starlink speeds expected to double

On Twitter, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his Starlink broadband service is expected to double its download speeds to 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) with 20 milliseconds of latency by later this year.

He also said the low-earth orbit satellites, which number in the mid-one thousand, will grow to cover the entirety of the earth by next year.

“Most of Earth by end of the year, and all by next year, then it’s about densifying coverage,” he said. “Important to note that cellular will always have the advantage in dense urban areas. Satellites are best for low to medium population density areas.”

Startlink has been expanding its beta service in the United States and Canada, with download speeds reported between 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps and between 20 and 40 milliseconds of latency – the time it takes devices and machines to communicate with the satellites.

According to a SpaceX FCC filing, the Starlink network currently has more than 10,000 users everywhere it operates. In December, it won nearly $1-billion of the $9.2 billion in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program.