“The goal for President Biden and the Congress is ensuring that this money is spent on products made by American workers,” William Arbuckle, Policy Advisor, NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce told Fiber Connect attendees in his keynote address. “That’s sort of the crux of it, that infrastructure money, in every case or as many cases as possible, is spent on products made by American workers. The Buy America Act requires that all the iron, the steel, the manufactured products, the construction materials that are used in infrastructure projects and funded with federal dollars, and this includes the $42.45 BEAD grant program, are produced in the United States.”

Arbuckle said the starting point for BABA, or “Buy America” as he called it in his remarks, was that any project funded through the Bi-partisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) would have to have “the vast majority of stuff” it used to be made in the U.S. “It’s easy enough to say that if it can be made in America, it should be made in America. And that is our broad commitment,” said Arbuckle. “But we know that the reality is often more complex.”

NTIA’s William Arbuckle outlining BEAD’s Build America, Buy America requirements at Fiber Connect 2023. (Source: Doug Mohney)

NTIA has been conducting a supply chain analysis for BEAD deployments, mapping out the jobs that will be created, who makes the equipment involved and where it is made, and the ramifications of making any particular piece of equipment in the U.S., including the time, cost, and commercial feasibility of manufacturing within the country. Arbuckle and his team held nearly 250 distinct meetings with different teams to understand the logistical challenges of complying with BABA.

“Two years ago, we heard concerns about the lack of availability of electronics that would be compliant with the Buy America preference, and specifically how the integrated circuits are almost uniformly made in Southeast Asia,” said Arbuckle. “This was something that we heard about, conversation after conversation, if you’re going to move electronics to the U.S., we have this big challenge, especially around the circuits.”

Arbuckle discussed NTIA’s proposed BABA waiver, released the day before his keynote, and its impact and necessity in striking a “firm, but also pragmatic balance” to expand domestic manufacturing and leading to jobs creation in the U.S. while ensuring that high-speed broadband networks are built in a timely manner.  

There are two distinct documents that apply to BABA provisions, one final document from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that is designed to boost the use of American-made goods and sets a standard for construction materials. “If you are determined to be a construction material, you need to be made in the U.S.,” said Arbuckle. Optical fiber is defined as construction material, with a targeted narrow waiver for non-optic glass inputs which can be used as an input to the preform material. 

Build America Buy America provisions are described in OMB and Department of Commerce directives. (Source: Doug Mohney)

The second document is the proposed NTIA waiver, which provides specific guidance for the BEAD program, with descriptions of what materials and good will won’t be accepted for purchase, including the complexity of figuring out how to handle electronics gear. 

“When it comes to electronics, we found that there’s some classes and categories of electronics that are currently manufactured outside of the United States, but for which there is an economic case for onshoring the assembly,” said Arbuckle. “What we’ve done at NTIA is we propose to waive all electronics for the BEAD program, with the exception of four categories of electronics.”

Optical line terminals (OLTs), OLT line cards, optical pluggables that are used for OLTs, and optical network terminals (ONTs/ONUs) being purchased with BEAD funding all will have to be made in the United States. NTIA is providing specific guidance as to the manufacturing process that must occur in the U.S. for those four categories to be BABA-compliant, with a two-part test to be applied. The first part is if the item was manufactured in the United States. The second part is if the components of the product equal a 55% domestic content threshold, with one caveat. 

“We heard though, from many of you, that the integrated circuits or chips in this equipment makes up the majority of the value of these components,” said Arbuckle. “While the Biden-Harris Administration is deeply engaged in efforts to bring back semiconductor manufacturing to the U.S., we have determined that for the time being, we’re going to waive that 55% component test. To reiterate, electronics need to be made in the U.S. We’re waiving that second test around the 55% domestic content threshold, and that’s due to the difficulty of sourcing those integrated circuits.” 

In addition, each BEAD project will have the opportunity to apply for a De Minimis waiver for certain items, such as lashing wire and other materials of what Arbuckle described as a “catch all category of other network equipment” to make sure network builders have some flexibility to meet deployment goals and budget. Enclosures and electronics are exempt from the De Minimis waiver, and must be made in the U.S. 

The final version of the NTIA BABA waiver policy should be available this fall once adjustments are made from the comments period that ended on September 21, 2023. 

“Last but not least, under this Buy America approach, based on the analysis that we do when we estimate that on a per project basis, we think that close to 90% of BEAD equipment spend will be on American made products and materials,” said Arbuckle. “That means more good jobs, domestically, more successful local businesses and as we saw during COVID, a more resilient domestic supply chain. That is what this [NTIA] rule set is designed to develop.”

Arbuckle noted that a number of network companies were increasing their U.S.-based manufacturing in response to BEAD BABA requirements. “I was in Hickory, North Carolina, several months ago where Corning and CommScope announced an investment in their fiber optic cable facilities, hundreds of millions of dollars, hiring hundreds of workers,” he said. “We’ve gone to Jackson, Tennessee, to visit Prysmian. In the last month, we’ve been in Wisconsin where Nokia announced onshoring electronics. We were in Alabama where Adtran announced expanding manufacturing and onshoring. We are seeing companies step up and I would say I am very confident that there are more companies that are going to be announcing domestic manufacturing expansion onshore in the near future. This is not ‘pie in the sky’ thinking. We are seeing companies stepping up and beginning to improve their supply chains.”

Policy experts from both associations realized that there would be an ongoing need to provide updated information as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published its original BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and provided revised and more detailed recommendations and guidance to states over time, based upon public comment and feedback. The Playbook would be updated in modular fashion over time as NTIA released this information.

Topics covered in the latest “3.0” update and discussed through joint blog posts and webinar conducted by NTCA and FBA on October 11, 2023, include commentary, broadband coverage challenge process, the Extremely High-Cost Threshold, letter of credit requirements, NTIA Cybersecurity and Supply Chain requirements for the BEAD program, and permitting. 

At the time of the webinar, over 20 states had submitted to NTIA their initial BEAD Volume One proposals and a handful also supplied their more detailed Volume 2 implementation proposals. “Almost across the board, they’ve really well done,” said Tom Cohen, FBA’s head legal counsel. “They pose a lot of interesting questions they have to sort through and NTIA now is reviewing.” Many of the points discussed were “balancing issues,” tradeoffs between cost of construction and delivering coverage to as many unserved as possible while upgrading underserved locations. 

Definitions and Challenges

One of the balancing issues Cohen spoke about was defining unserved and underserved households in Volume 1 of the BEAD proposals, and how to fashion service areas for Volume 2. The definitions provide part of the framework for BEAD applicants to challenge the process of how states allocate funds.  

“For example, you can treat all DSL as underserved,” said Cohen. “We all know that DSL is a technology that is distance sensitive. The farther you get away from the central office, the more speeds go down. You can call for rigorous speed tests dealing with other locations. If you are dealing with technologies that are somewhat flawed in terms of their ability to constantly deliver performance, such as fixed wireless, why aren’t we putting fixed wireless in with DSL, and start placing them as underserved?”

Volume 2 of the BEAD proposals goes into how states define service areas for projects, requiring officials to trade off between using arbitrary political boundaries such as census blocks, counties, or other definitions for ease of use and the way operators will plan the most efficient way to build and operate a network. 

“This becomes an issue, because if you lose the [building] efficiency, you have less money for BEAD awards,” said Cohen. “If you lump in a few very or extremely high-cost locations into that political boundary, that changes the business case a lot. We urge states and NTIA to think about this, because if you deter bidding by the way you set up service areas, naturally the price goes up and service providers don’t match as much. If you are going to use arbitrary political boundaries, you make them as small as possible, say census blocks, but pull out the very highest cost [locations] and deal with them separately.”

Extremely High-Cost Threshold Math & Planning

Getting the Extremely High-Cost Threshold right will be a challenge that affects coverage. In the October FBA/NTCA webinar, Michael Dargue of Cartesian noted that the cost of deploying fiber steadily creeps up until the last percentages of locations rapidly become more expensive to provision. 

“We’ll see the classic hockey stick, where the cost rapidly increases as you edge towards 100% coverage,” said Dargue. “We’ve got this inflection point whereas you get further to the right, you get closer to hitting that steep gradient on costs. It’s really important that we get the optimum zone where we maximize the reach of fiber and we don’t miss locations which are viable, but we don’t stray into this too-high zone. The Threshold is serving two key points. It’s giving the state the decision about whether to prioritize fiber or not. This also signals to providers about what technology they should be building for certain locations.”

Set the Extremely High-Cost Threshold point too low and there’s a risk that locations which would have been affordable for fiber will miss out and will get an inferior technology that doesn’t have the ability and capacity to grow over time, requiring larger future investment to be upgraded. If the threshold is set too high, increasing the cost per location and the average cost to service an area, states may find providers are unwilling to provide the 25% minimum match amount and unwilling to provide a proposal for BEAD funds. 

A few Extremely High-Cost locations within a census block group or other type of project service area can significantly drive up the average cost of providing service to all locations, leading to state officials concluding that all the locations in that area are too expensive to serve with fiber. Intelligently identifying those more expensive locations and handling them separately enables the deployment of fiber in an appropriate and economical fashion. 

Low-Cost Option and Affordability

Creating physical access to high-speed broadband networks is only one part of puzzle in closing the digital divide. Households need to be able to pay for service plans. “Affordability is an important piece of the puzzle,” said Michael Romano, Executive Vice President, NTCA. “You’re not just building networks for the sake of building them. They’re for use by consumers of all kinds throughout these areas.” 

As a part of BEAD grant funding, service providers need to provide a low-cost option for consumers. “It’s geared towards low-income households, because NTIA keeps on talking about its connection to the [FCC] Affordable Connectivity Plan,” said Cohen. “Anybody who gets funding needs to provide a plan for consumers who are low income so that they can afford the service.”

Building an operational business model dependent upon the ACP is problematic, since funding for the program runs out next year. “Unless Congress appropriates [more] funds for it, it gets a little tricky to deal with the low-cost requirements,” said Cohen. “Providers and eligible entities are going to have to wrestle to come up with something that is reasonable, because this is the revenue side of the calculation. If the revenue side is depressed, it changes the business model. You can’t afford as much match or you need to have more money coming in.”

Cohen encouraged service providers and state officials to define low-income households and what kind of affordable plan they should be getting. Middle-class households and affordable plans for that income group can help contribute to service provider’s business case, but states need to “show their work” in calculating how they arrive at their figures, rather than simply throwing out a figure. 

Rural areas face additional challenges on service plans that will affect business plans, said Romano, because of the higher cost to provide service to less densely populated areas. “Service providers are still going to have operating expenses,” he stated. “It’s a two-hour truck roll both ways in some rural areas when you have an operational issue, whereas the apartment building behind me here in Arlington, Virginia, has a five-minute roll from the central office. It’s a very different operating structure.”

Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Provisions

With cyberattacks an unfortunate part of today’s broadband arena, the BEAD NOFO requires fund applications to attest to either having an operational cybersecurity and supply change risk management plan or one that can be implemented before receiving any grant. The plan must reflect the most recent version of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and NIST guidance for supply chain risk management. 

“Do we have to comply with every single thing in the NIST cybersecurity framework?” said Tamber Ray Regulatory Counsel, NTCA, during the webinar. “For small companies especially, that’s an overwhelming concept for them to take on. The answer quite simply is ‘No.’”

However, the Draft 2.0 NIST Cybersecurity Framework has six functions that do need to be addressed in any BEAD cybersecurity risk management plan, including the newly added function of Govern. “That was a recognition that you must have the executive team on board. You must have the top of the company understanding and being an active part in cybersecurity at a company in order for it to be effective,” stated Ray. 

In writing up a supply chain management plan, BEAD applications should be aware of two specific points. “No company should be entering into any sort of contract with any companies on the FCC’s Covered List,” said Ray, referring to a list of foreign telecommunication services and equipment manufacturers that are banned from doing business in the United States. “Beyond that, simply having companies look outside of themselves, look at their vendors to make sure that they’re getting updates when software releases are available and that they’re in a position to make sure that their equipment is up to date as much as possible, so they’re doing proactive steps to protect against any sort of supply chain attacks that might be coming their way.”

Permitting Best Practices

The first Playbook 3.0 module released this summer, the “Permitting: Access to State and Local Rights-of-Way and Infrastructure” document discusses how to think about and implement best practices for working with the permitting process at the state and local levels. “Permitting is a really important piece of the puzzle,” said Romano. “You need to be ready to go and permitting can certainly be a long pole, especially in certain regions where you can’t build for a good portion of the year.”

States are supposed to provide information and details in the BEAD Volume One proposal on how they plan to reduce costs and barriers associated with permitting. “They need a roadmap, a strategy, a plan of attack to help address those issues within the state,” Romano stated. “One good practice, for example, is identifying those state permitting agencies that are likeliest to have a significant role and articulate the plan for coordination with those agencies.” 

Other best practices recommended in the Permitting module include creating a single point of contact within the state for permitting to act as an owner and advocate for permitting issues across state agencies, encouraging state agencies to be transparent in their fees, for permitting fees to be cost-based and close to the actual expense necessary for issuing them, and common permit application forms to the largest extent possible. 

“The higher those permitting fees, the more of a dent they make in the business case for potentially deploying service to more locations,” stated Romano.

Quarterly Overview

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Grants 

Initial proposals for BEAD have begun to stream into the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). While we assess these initial Volume One and Volume Two submissions, FBA continues to advocate on critical aspects of these proposals to ensure that all unserved and underserved locations are connected to high-performance, affordable broadband infrastructure, with a preference for fiber. Some of this advocacy includes expanding the Letter of Credit (LOC) requirement, clarifying the application of Build America, Buy America (BABA) provision for fiber, and improving the Extremely High-Cost Threshold.

BEAD Letter of Credit Requirement

FBA sent NTIA a letter requesting that they reconsider the irrevocable standby Letter of Credit (LOC) requirement for subgrantees receiving support under BEAD. Many FBA members will face challenges raising the collateral to meet this requirement and it will likely cause providers to divert capital away from fiber deployment. FBA supports assuring that all parties have the financial capabilities to complete projects, but the proposed goes beyond what is necessary to achieve that goal. We are most concerned that requiring a LOC will minimize competition and participation in the BEAD program ultimately disadvantaging communities and their residents.

Build America, Buy America (BABA)

On August 22nd, NTIA issued a proposed waiver for the BABA requirements. FBA and our members reviewed the waiver and submitted comments to NTIA about it. The proposed waiver is broken down into three parts, addressing optical fiber and fiber optic cable (considered construction materials), electronics, and enclosures (both categories considered manufactured materials). FBA has weighed in with recommendations on all three of these areas and our members have submitted their own individual comments. Our proposals included a limited waiver – “for non-optic-glass inputs (e.g., an overclad cylinder) to preforms used to manufacture optical fiber and fiber optic cable in BEAD program projects.” This need is due to supply chain concerns at peak building times. We also suggested the waiver include a more precise definition of the “covered” electronics or clarification of the scope of the waiver. We recommended the Commerce Department issue a more expansive nonavailability waiver for enclosures. Should Commerce decide not to adopt such a general waiver for all enclosures, FBA proposed that the Department provide a limited waiver that permits multiple options for achieving compliance. All submitted comments are currently being reviewed by NTIA.

BEAD Threshold Financial Model

FBA, in partnership with research firm Cartesian, unveiled a financial model in August 2023 that helps states calculate their extremely high-cost per location threshold (EHCT) for fiber broadband deployments using their BEAD funding. The sophisticated tool leverages geospatial analysis to build a financial model that states can use to develop their own cost thresholds for fiber deployments. NTIA’s BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) directed states to expend program funds for all-fiber deployments except in the highest-cost areas, where alternative broadband technologies can be used. Importantly, no single EHCT threshold will universally meet program goals for each state’s specific allocations because the economics of deploying broadband technologies vary greatly across the country. 

The model allows states to test various inputs and visualize the implications of different thresholds. It considers the extent of fiber coverage, the extent of alternative broadband technology coverage, and whether any funds remain. What is most valuable about this model, is that there are many ways to calculate a cost per location and to maximize fiber coverage for the greatest population while still ensuring universal connectivity.

Broadband Infrastructure Playbook 3.0

In August, FBA in partnership with NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association and Cartesian, launched a series of new modules for FBA’s Broadband Infrastructure Playbook. These modules were developed to further assist state broadband offices in their ongoing development of BEAD infrastructure funding administered by NTIA. FBA published “Playbook 3.0” modules on the following topics: Permitting, Extremely High-Cost Threshold, Challenge Process, and Cybersecurity/Supply Chain. These Playbook 3.0 modules are fundamental to key elements of each state’s BEAD funding implementation plan, and a resource to ensure that each state broadband office gets these critical policy elements right. Additionally, this group hosted a webinar on these important topics in mid-October that may still be viewed on the FBA website.

A Full FCC

In September, Anna Gomez was confirmed to be an FCC Commissioner, bringing the Commission to full capacity. Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks were both also reconfirmed for additional five-year terms. FBA supports the confirmation of all three nominees. The U.S. remains in the midst of an enormous investment cycle to bring high-performance broadband service, especially fiber connectivity, to every household, business, and anchor institution, as well as to support 5G/6G, smart cities and grids, and other advanced technologies and applications. A full complement of FCC Commissioners will be critical to ensure a functional and effective regulatory landscape.

Title II Reform

In early October, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to reclassify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act. The NPRM was voted on and adopted at the October 19th FCC Open Meeting by a 3-2 vote. There will be a 60-day initial comment period and FBA will participate in this comment process. FBA has always and continues to maintain that there must be a measured approach to regulation in this space, ensuring that the market is able to function in order to continue extensive investment and deployment of our nation’s critical fiber broadband infrastructure, as well as affordable connectivity for all Americans.

Under the Dome

In September, the federal government avoided a shutdown at the 11th hour by passing a stopgap bill that was signed into law by President Biden just before the expiration of current appropriations. At the time of this column being drafted, uncertainty is the theme of this Congress and that shows no prospect of abating. 

Rural Broadband

The House Energy & Commerce Committee’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee held a hearing on rural broadband and broadband funding on September 21, 2023. FBA submitted a letter for the record to voice our support for increased coordination and funding for broadband deployment and adoption programs to ensure unserved and underserved locations in all areas, including rural communities, have access to high-quality and affordable fiber broadband services.

Permitting Legislation

In September, Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) introduced the CLOSE THE GAP Act. This bipartisan bill brings solutions to the table that will contribute to long-needed reforms to help streamline permitting and facilitate fiber broadband deployment. FBA fully supports this legislation and hopes to see similar solutions introduced in the House and ultimately enacted into law.

Fiber Broadband Association Public Policy Leadership

The FBA Public Policy Committee is led by co-chairs Chris Champion, Vice President, Government Affairs, C Spire; and Jordan Gross, Manager of Federal Government Affairs, Corning. Ariane Schaffer, Government & Public Policy, Google Fiber, is the FBA Board Liaison. If your company is interested in joining the public policy committee, please email mmitrovich@fiberbroadband.org to join.

“The Status of U.S. Broadband” annual report is built on consumer research, with the study focusing on internet use among U.S. online customers. The 2023 edition, conducted in May 2023, had a sample size of 4,000 households. Mike Render, Founder and CEO of RVA, presented findings from the study on the October 11, 2023, episode of FBA’s Fiber for Breakfast podcast.

“People see broadband or high-quality internet as extremely important in their lives and increasing over time,” said Render. Overall interest in broadband has gone up from 60% to 75% since 2019, when the first RVA consumer survey was conducted.  

The survey asked households to indicate their interest in potential broadband applications, ranging from medical and safety to using VR to work remotely. Individuals highly valued high-speed broadband to provide access to medical care (71%), independent living for seniors (70%), and home safety (69%) among the highest applications, with more exotic uses such as being able to inhabit and socialize with a remote Avatar-esque robot cited by more than a third of the respondents surveyed. 

Clean Clothes and Broadband

RVA examined the relationship between reliable high-speed broadband and other amenities sought in single family homes and apartments and came up with some interesting results. “We ask people every few years about what’s important when you buy a house,” said Render. “The laundry room always comes out number one, very high-speed broadband is number two. Broadband beats hardwood floors, a great kitchen with granite countertops, and all those other things.” The laundry room came in at 69% while broadband rated very important at 65%.

The exact same results emerged in the multiple dwelling units (MDU) space of apartments and condominiums, with an in-unit washer and dryer being the number one feature most desired and high-speed broadband coming in second. “It’s more important than good parking, soundproof walls, storage space,” said Render, with the in-unit washer/dryer at 59% while broadband was ranked at 52%. 

Fiber’s Gains in 2023

Over the last two years, fiber has gained a net change of 15% over other types of broadband connections in operation as consumers change their providers, while cable modem took a net 14% decrease in usage between the gains of fiber and fixed wireless, a point Render said was more evidence of fiber’s gains since the media is only available in less than half the country.

Overall, fiber holds a 23% market share, compared to cable’s 47%, with other types such as wireless and satellite at 17% and DSL at the bottom with 13%. “You can see over time as fiber continues to grow in market share, cable is starting to dip.” 

While fiber is gaining in market share, it is also providing gains in value to the housing market.
“For single-family homes, you’re adding almost 5%, which is the highest number we’ve seen,” said Render. “People are seeing it is important and they’re willing to pay some extra price for fiber.” MDU condo owners receive 3.2% additional value by having fiber available while renters will pay nearly 13% more for units that have fiber broadband.

Fiber is perceived to be the best delivery method for broadband, according to the survey. “Sixty-three percent, nearly two-thirds of everyone says fiber is the best, with cable second and fixed wireless third,” stated Render. “Fiber’s mindshare has never been higher. We know this from the greatest movement to fiber during broadband churn. We know it from the real estate premiums that we saw and the greatest percentage calling fiber best, so the consumer is getting it. This matters because the market share move to fiber will probably be faster and deeper than most expect.”

Render expects the fiber shift to happen more rapidly than most predict due to the increasing number of public and private fiber networks being built over the next five years. “Service providers are anecdotally telling us that they’ve never seen getting to their first 20% uptake rates faster than it’s happening currently. So we expect that the sheer take was going to happen fairly quickly.”

The growth in fiber leaves cable companies dependent upon legacy coax plants and vulnerable, with the lagging deployment of DOCSIS 4.0 only expected to start later this year or early next year insufficient to counter the surge. “It will be a next step in their case to try again, to move fiber deeper in many cases, but it’s still coax for the last leg. It improves the upload speed and reliability somewhat, but it probably is not going to be sufficient.”

Render said that cable companies simply advertising gigabit speeds is not enough to get past fiber’s reputation of speed, reliability, and latency, leading many operators to transition over for cost savings and competitive reasons. “I’m going to have fiber from Cox, so you know cable companies are getting into the game, but for the biggest ones, it’s hard for them,” said Render. “They’re steadfastly trying to hold to coax as long as they can, but I think it’s going to be more difficult than they think.” Fiber may pass cable’s U.S. market share within the next seven to ten years, Render speculated, but RVA will have to conduct some more research to be confident of that timeframe. 

Building new broadband access networks with anything other than fiber “with rare exceptions” using government funding is “irresponsible,” stated Render. “There are mountaintops and so forth out there, so there’s a reason to get fiber closer, but not all the way. But generally, the public gets it that it’s important if we’re spending government money. We want to spend to build something that’s going to last. When the Rural Electrification Administration came with funding to do electricity, there were options of putting in a pretty windmill that would cost less. It would have powered light in a room and maybe a radio, but it certainly wouldn’t have handled everything that came out over the next 80 years. They were smart to go all the way to the best solution.”

“When fiber leads, the future follows. Our PoC Showcase is a great example of the capabilities that fiber can deliver and the markets that fiber will disrupt next,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “These PoCs are an exciting representation of our members’ ability to redefine what is possible when fiber is the enabling infrastructure that allows any industry, business, or market to go further, faster.”

Three POCs won awards for being the most innovative, best community, and game-changer solutions presented at the show.

Most Innovative Award   
“Multi-Vendor Middle Mile Use Cases Enhancing PON Infrastructure via Infinera’s XR Optics Point-To-Multipoint, Automated by netFLEX®,” presented by Infinera and LightRiver. 

The two companies showcased a multi-vendor FTTX PON network implemented with a 400G DWDM Middle Mile point-to-multipoint solution from the router to the OLT, illustrating how service providers can mix and match various network elements while using advanced network intelligence to discover, monitor, and troubleshoot them as needed.

Infinera and LightRiver accepted the award for Most Innovative PoC.

Best Community Impact Award 
“Get Ready for The Next Generation of Applications by Deploying a Disruptive Broadband Architecture” presented by Ciena.

This PoC explored how service providers can rethink their network architectural approach, leveraging disaggregation and virtualization, to push network access closer to the user to deliver and scale capacity where needed. Featuring contributions from Plume and Heights Telecom, Ciena demonstrated how it can provide end-to-end services from the network core to the edge while working with third-party solutions to deliver the best customer experience.

Ciena won the Best Community Impact Award for its PoC demonstration at Fiber Connect 2023.

Game Changer Award 
“Superior Network Performance – Every Way You Slice It” presented by Nokia. 

Nokia’s PoC explored how operators can guarantee quality of service with complete granularity across the network from the IP core to a user appliance in the home. With this level of control, operators can use their fiber network for anything and generate new revenues with guaranteed performance for any service type.

Nokia’s PoC demonstration at Fiber Connect 2023 won the Game Changer Award.

Additional PoCs presented at Fiber Connect 2023 included: 

“Digital 3D Georeferenced Fiber Network Roll-Out Management and Documentation,” presented by DeepUp. 

“Enhancing the Customer Experience and Streamlining Operations with Cloud-Based Provisioning, Billing, and Orchestration,” presented by Ting Internet and Wavelo.

“Leveraging Fiber to Efficiently Capture Small Businesses in Your Markets,” presented by Calix.

“Enhancing Fiber Reach with Ultra-High Capacity mmW Radios at Network Edge,” presented by Ceragon. 

All PoC demonstrations were evaluated live at Fiber Connect 2023 by industry analysts examining the merits of the presentations. 

“We’ve been in business about five years,” said John Meyer, Chief Marketing Officer, Gateway Fiber. “The first two years were focused on building one or two very small communities without the support of a private equity partner. Since then, we’ve gone from serving 1,000 homes to serving tens of thousands of customers, starting from scratch with fiber to the home and focusing on reinventing the relationship people have with their internet service provider.”

Gateway Fiber’s approach starts with simple transparent pricing and quality customer service and builds upon that approach by “acting and thinking local,” said Meyer, by being an active participant in the community through sponsorship dollars and various give-back initiatives, all the while building up its internal capabilities and customer support team to scale as the company continues to grow.

Gateway Fiber moves into Minnesota Source: Gateway Fiber.

Money to build first came through seed funding by the company’s founders, followed by Crosstimbers Capital Group investing private equity in 2020. CBRE Investment Management acquired the equity position in 2023. Grants have been awarded through ARPA and NTIA federal programs for a total of $35 million.

“The grant portion is not how we’re funding our growth,” said Meyer. “It’s subsidizing areas where the economics are not as attractive as a business to build. Through those [federal] funds, we can deploy our resources and help serve those homes, extending our network into more rural areas. Many of these communities have been screaming for us — or anyone — to come. Deploying fiber optic internet to their houses is a big deal and it’s changing their lives.”

Gateway recently added a 2 Gbps tier to complement its 300 Mbps, 600 Mbps, and 1 Gbps offerings. Services are delivered with Calix equipment with Wi-Fi included and provisioned using Plume, with its suite of parental controls and monitoring and security features. “We try to pack in as much as we can into our flat-rate, all-inclusive monthly broadband service prices starting at $65 per month.”

Add-on services available on the residential side include VoIP and third-party streaming options. “We’re acting as the conduit for helping people migrate away from their tangled web of bundled contracts for phone, broadband, and TV,” said Meyer. “We have partnered with DirecTV and MyBundle.TV to deploy additional streaming options. We don’t want to be in the TV business. We want to be an educator and a value-added partner to our customers to help them cut the cord and find ways to save money.”

Success in Missouri has led Gateway to take the next step by launching services into Minnesota, with its first deployments into the northern suburbs of Blaine and Coon Rapids and the first customers expected to be lit up before the end of the year. “We have developed a very capable, and of course I’m biased, an industry-leading new market selection team and that team helped us identify our new state.”

Adtran

The Huntsville, Alabama-based company announced it is investing up to $5 million dollars at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Huntsville to increase U.S. production capacity of advanced telecommunications equipment, specifically to expand the current production of OLT equipment and to prepare to onshore the manufacturing of ONTs. The company expects the creation of up to 300 high-quality jobs adding to the company’s American workforce of more than 1,400 employees.  

Calix

Calix is working with several U.S. manufacturing solutions companies, including Jabil, Gemtek, and Hisense Broadband, to ramp up equipment production of ONTs, OLTs, and optical modules. San Jose-based Calix will make an initial investment of $4 million to $6 million and conduct an ongoing spend for operations of $10 million to $15 million per year, with the funding going to hire more than 100 U.S. workers in manufacturing, operations, engineering, quality assurance, and administrative roles, with additional jobs expected to be created during the duration of the BEAD program.

CommScope

The company plans to invest $60.3 million over the next four years to expand its manufacturing facilities based in North Carolina, resulting in increased production and the creation of at least 250 new jobs. CommScope currently has the capacity to manufacture drop cable at a rate of approximately a billion feet per year in its U.S. facilities, with the increase including loose tube production and additional fiber cable counts and styles needed for rural deployment. 

Corning

In August, Corning formally opened its newest optical cable manufacturing campus in Hickory, North Carolina. The new facilities will add hundreds of new jobs to Corning’s existing North Carolina workforce of more than 5,000 employees and the new campus is a part of a series of investments by Corning totaling more than $500 million since 2020.

Nokia

Nokia announced in August that it is partnering with Sanmina Corporation to manufacture broadband network electronic products at Sanmina’s Pleasant Prairie facility in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, bringing up to 200 new jobs to the state. It also announced it is partnering with Fabrinet, a global manufacturer of precision optical products, to produce multi-rate optical modules at Fabrinet’s facility in Santa Clara, California. Products Nokia will manufacture in the U.S. with Sanmina, Fabrinet, and others include OLT cards for a modular Access Node, a small form factor OLT, OLT optical modules, and an outdoor-hardened ONT. 

Prysmian Group

In 2022, Prysmian invested $30 million to retool and transition its Jackson, Tennessee, copper cable facility to produce fiber optic cable. Retraining enabled Prysmian to keep 80% of its workers at the facility, who are now making fiber. The company is also embarking on a $50 million multi-year modernization project at its Claremont, North Carolina, fiber facility to enhance process capabilities, systems, and technologies to support future growth.

“The Fiber Broadband Association is proud to recognize those that go above and beyond to advance our mission to connect every community and person to reliable fiber broadband services,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “They’ve shown unrelenting dedication to the fiber broadband industry.”

Fiber Lifetime Achievement Award
Stephen Hardy, Lightwave/Broadband Technology Report

Stephen Hardy was presented with a Fiber Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his more than 40 years of service covering the industry. As Editorial Director for Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, Hardy has been a trusted pillar of the fiber broadband editorial community.

“Stephen has dedicated his entire career to reporting on the telecom industry’s ups and downs, innovations, trends, and market pressures and did it with fairness and accuracy,” said Bolton. “He has been a trusted source in our industry and while we wish the best for him in his retirement, we will miss him dearly.”

Stephen Hardy, telecom industry veteran, received the Fiber Lifetime Achievement Award at Fiber Connect 2023.

Chairman’s Award
Gary Bolton, President & CEO, Fiber Broadband Association

Each year, the Chairman’s Award honors an individual or company that has shown tremendous effort to promote, educate, or accelerate Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). Bolton received this year’s award for his leadership in fiber broadband advocacy and championing FBA members’ ability to advance fiber deployments across North America. His work is helping to close the digital equity gap so that every community can access the benefits of reliable, high-quality internet.

“Gary’s passion for fiber broadband is contagious. He works diligently to create awareness about the elite capabilities that only fiber can deliver and his efforts are convincing North America that when fiber leads, the future follows,” said Joseph Jones “JJ,” Board Chairman at Fiber Broadband Association and President at On Trac, Inc. “Gary is a pillar of our industry and leading an organized effort to connect every American to fiber broadband services and raise the quality of life for generations to come. We are proud to recognize him with this year’s Chairman’s Award.”

Bolton’s leadership has expanded fiber broadband’s public policy influence, workforce development initiatives, FBA’s research library, and FBA membership—more than doubling it in less than three years. He has worked to ensure policymakers are well-versed in fiber’s benefits, leading FBA to provide resources to committees and departments. Within the last 18 months, the U.S. Department of Commerce and NTIA declared priority for BEAD projects using end-to-end fiber; the Treasury Department encouraged American Rescue Plan Act funding recipients to prioritize fiber; and the FCC rejected Starlink’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund long-form application.

Under Bolton’s leadership, FBA also addressed the fundamental industry issue of workforce development. FBA published the Workforce Development Guidebook, providing an extensive framework for how states can use BEAD funding to solve local fiber workforce needs, and distributed it to all 56 state broadband and workforce development offices. FBA completed the Optical Telecom Installer Certification (OpTIC Path) program pilot course in May 2022 and has since spread program engagement to 40 service providers and 67 community colleges and training institutes across 39 states.

FBA President & CEO Gary Bolton was surprised to receive this year’s Chairman’s Award at Fiber Connect 2023.

Gene Scott Education Award
S&N Communications

Before his passing in 2022, Gene Scott served as Chairman of FBA’s Education Subcommittee and was instrumental in the development of FBA’s OpTIC Path workforce development program. The Gene Scott Education Award recognizes a person, community, or institution that has significantly impacted the advancement of education in the fiber industry. S&N Communications has been an enthusiastic supporter of FBA’s Optical Telecom Installer Certification (OpTIC Path) workforce development program. 

Among its many contributions to the OpTIC Path program, S&N Communications leveraged its practical experience employing fiber optic technicians to develop the popular “Documentation, Values, and Success in the Field” module for the OpTIC Path course. The module distinguishes FBA’s program from other fiber optic training courses by highlighting actions to help make technicians successful in the field, including a focus on safety, craftsmanship, documentation, and customer service. 

S&N Communications also served as a valued participant in the OpTIC Path Train the Trainer classes, implemented new video recording tools for the course, continues to enthusiastically promote the program to state organizations, and pioneered a partnership with the Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) to leverage the OpTIC Path program, expand training focus, grow the fiber technician workforce, and support intense fiber network construction plans across the U.S.  

S&N Communications won the Gene Scott Education Award. Andy Gibson accepted the award at Fiber Connect 2023.

Photon Award Winner
Brendan O’Boyle, National Sales Manager, Preformed Line Products; and Chair, Deployment Specialists Committee, Fiber Broadband Association 

The Photon Award honors a Fiber Broadband Association member who, through volunteer contribution, has demonstrated a high level of dedication to the organization and has contributed greatly to the industry. 

Brendan O’Boyle is a long-term active member of the Fiber Broadband Association. He helped create the Deployment Specialists Committee and devotes countless hours of service to the committee, the broader association, and its events. He led the arduous effort to craft the first Fiber and 5G whitepaper and played a critical role in the development and rollout of the Fiber Broadband Association’s OpTIC Path workforce development program.

Brendan O’Boyle from Preformed Line Products and Chair of FBA’s Deployment Specialists Committee won this year’s Photon Award at Fiber Connect 2023.

Star Award Winner 
Northern Colorado Community Fiber (NOCO Community Fiber)

The Star Award recognizes a person, community, or company that has gone above and beyond what is expected in the advancement of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). 

NOCO Community Fiber is a partnership between municipality-owned communications utilities and the county they empower. It is dedicated to the delivery of reliable, high-quality, affordable fiber broadband and has demonstrated that this critical connectivity is achievable when communities collaborate on creative solutions and profitability is removed from the equation. Collectively, the city-owned broadband utilities in the partnership have stood up the option for Fiber-to-the-Premise to over 125,000 addresses in five years. Now with an additional $10,000,000 in county and state funds, NOCO Community Fiber is working to serve 2,650 rural and harder-to-access locations, with more to come as financial resources are available.

Northern Colorado Community Fiber received the Star Award at Fiber Connect 2023.

Read the full article by Masha Abarinova on Fierce Telecom here: FCC Releases Third Version of National Broadband Map

Read the full article by Brad Randall on Broadband Communities Magazine here: FCC Votes to Adopt New Rules Tackling Digital Discrimination