Surfing the Broadband Bit Stream

NTIA has now given 48 states the green light to start their required BEAD challenge process to refine the list of locations that will be eligible for BEAD funding. The starting point for the states is the FCC’s National Broadband Map, based on its Broadband Data Collection (BDC), with the state-run challenge process providing stakeholders the opportunity to make updates and corrections.

The FCC fleshed out the details of its broadband data collection in 2020-early 2021. When the FCC adopted its BDC rules, no one anticipated that so much money would ultimately be riding on what it means for broadband to be “available.” The landmark Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which decreed that the FCC’s National Broadband Map would be the basis for allocating $42.5 billion in BEAD funding among the states and territories, didn’t become law until late 2021.

As I’ve explained in FCC comments, the current system is stacked against parties seeking to challenge areas that are reported in the BDC as served. Even though NTIA is giving states more flexibility to develop their own ground-truth that varies from the FCC map, it still is hard to mount a successful challenge. The burden is on the challenger to present evidence that something doesn’t exist.

The federal Affordable Connectivity Program is winding down as its funding ends, and it may leave millions of Americans unsure how they'll pay their internet bills next month.

Advocates for better Internet access are breathing a sigh of relief in New York as the State Assembly nixed a budget bill amendment that would have undermined the state’s municipal broadband grant program.

Photo-filled look at the many days of prep and three days of immersive programming that went into creating Tribal Broadband Bootcamp 11 at RantanenTown Ranch.

As the municipal broadband movement continues to gain momentum, here is a new fact sheet that highlights the dramatic surge in the building of publicly-owned, locally controlled high-speed Internet infrastructure. We also unveil a new map of municipal broadband networks across U.S.

Starlink rival Astranis has a new satellite designed to beam over 50Gbps of internet capacity to Earth, or about five times more than the company’s current satellites.

US-based Astranis today debuted Omega, which it says is "pound-for-pound the most powerful communications satellite," for higher geostationary orbits — or about 22,000 miles above the planet, 60 times further than a typical Starlink satellite. 

AT&T is facing an avalanche of class-action lawsuits for last month's data leak, which initially appeared to ensnare as many as 73 million users. 

A week ago, we reported on one of the first class-action lawsuits stemming from the breach. But since AT&T disclosed the incident on March 30, plaintiffs have filed approximately 30 lawsuits in Texas — where the carrier is headquartered — which allege a breach of contract.

PCMag only looked through a dozen of the complaints to avoid racking up court fees. But in those we viewed, the plaintiffs called for a class-action lawsuit against AT&T, claiming that the carrier failed to safeguard customers' personal data, including phone numbers, addresses, and in some cases, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. 

This week in broadband builds: Brightspeed heads to Beaufort County, South Carolina; Surf Internet breaks ground in Michigan; Spectrum launches in multiple RDOF areas; Fidium Fiber expands in Maine – and more.

DirecTV says the Federal Communications Commission is relying on a faulty interpretation of the Communications Act in its quest to ban pay TV ‘junk fees’

More than a year after the FCC lost its auction authority, the agency has opened a proceeding on how to sidestep the problem. Now, Verizon, Federated Wireless, NCTA and others are speaking out.

Privacy-focused company DuckDuckGo is launching a tool to remove data from people-search websites, a VPN, and an identity theft restoration service.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on whether to restore net neutrality during its open meeting April 25, which it said would bring back a national standard for broadband reliability, security and consumer protection. The proposal, from chair Jessica Rosenworcel, would ensure that broadband services are treated as an essential resource deserving of FCC oversight under Title II authority. Three commissioners (a majority) have already indicated their support for the measure.

Company points out that proposed ban would run afoul of the First Amendment.

Cable One's Sparklight and Altice's Cebridge will default on RDOF commitments in Louisiana. Those locations are 'now eligible for other funding programs' and the 'carriers will be subject to penalties,' said the FCC.

Most Utahns probably agree that government should stick to essential government services and stay out of enterprises that are better performed by the private sector.

Yet, across the country and right here in Utah, more and more governments are building government-owned internet networks, despite numerous private-sector providers being available.

The number of government-owned networks is increasing by the day, and taxpayers, not users, are often footing the bill.

Government-owned broadband networks cost millions of dollars and divert essential funding away from services that really matter to the public — services such as police and fire, roads, water and sewer.

Hello, and welcome to this week’s installment of the Future in Five Questions. This week I spoke with Chris Dixon, the Andreessen Horowitz general partner and author of blockchain treatise “Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet,” which I covered in Wednesday’s edition of DFD. Fielding our weekly questionnaire, Dixon defended what he calls the “productive use of blockchains,” discussed why he thinks that a correctly arrayed set of incentives can power a better internet, and argued for clearer blockchain legislation from Congress. This conversation was edited and condensed for clarity:

What’s one underrated big idea?

The thesis of my book is that the productive use of blockchains, as opposed to the speculative use, is underrated. The internet has become increasingly consolidated, there are roughly five companies that control 95 percent of the money, traffic and flow of the internet.

SpaceX has thus far ignored a group of professional satellite dish technicians attempting to partner on Starlink installations for consumers and business.  

The technicians this week officially launched the Starlink Installers Association, with the goal of establishing a working relationship with SpaceX. However, the association is running into SpaceX's own efforts to offer professional installs at a price technicians say is too low.

"We kind of expected more from [SpaceX CEO] Elon Musk, and we kind of feel he is not directly aware of how this situation is going down,” says "Geo Tech," owner of GeoCom Communications, who spearheaded the association’s creation.

A Pennsylvania bill seeks to emulate the federal Affordable Connectivity Program by providing a $30 per month subsidy for internet costs.

Photo: Gigi Sohn speaks at Community Broadband Action Network 2024 Spring SummitThe Best of Times and The Worst of Times: The State of Public Broadband TodayThe following remarks were delivered on April 9, 2024 at the Community Broadband Action Network 2024 Spring Summit by AAPB Executive Director Gigi Sohn.Thank you, Curtis and Jon for inviting me to speak today. This is my first time in Iowa, and I am honored to be speaking in the state with the highest number of municipal broadband networks.

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association today released the following statement from CEO Shirley Bloomfield regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) draft order on net neutrality:

The FCC's net neutrality order will not require broadband providers to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, drawing criticism from advocates of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Meanwhile, a separate effort in Congress could force a vote on ACP funding.

With the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) nearing its likely demise, Comcast said it will offer several cost-saving home broadband, Wi-Fi and mobile programs to support its 1.4 million ACP recipients.

Transparency advocates say that Eric Schmidt's pursuit of “personal” connections with AI companies in China represents a concerning conflict of interest.