“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.

Sorensen and Riggs said they ended up in broadband leadership positions without a formal background on the issue. (Source: FBA)

De Wit pointed out that both Riggs and Sorensen had run on a platform for getting everyone in their communities connected to broadband. “You have [legislators] who are working actively not just with the providers, but other members of the community, other folks who drive industry in the state,” she said, with agriculture being a prominent voice in the conversations.

“Broadband is one of the great unifiers,” said de Wit in her opening remarks. “It crosses state lines, it crosses party lines and I’m very proud to work on one of the few remaining bipartisan issues left in this country.”  

“The role is pretty broad [for state legislators],” said Sorensen. “Because first and foremost, I’m not an industry expert, I’m a mural painter by training. Just bridging that education gap and making sure we know exactly what we’re talking about. [I’m] leaning heavily on my broadband office. We have a great Chief Information Officer in Iowa. 

“Our role is mostly to get government out of the way when we’re in the way for connecting broadband… In a rural area, it’s so much about connecting that middle mile to the last mile. Where it doesn’t make sense for a lot of the private industry to serve Maw and Paw Jones, three miles down the gravel road, when they’re the only person they’re serving and you’re running fiber for three miles, that’s where the state comes in.”

Like Sorensen, Riggs describes himself as “self-taught” on technology and internet policy. He noted that state legislators are both policymakers and appropriators that are closer to their constituents than Congress. “We hear from them all the time,” he said. “We go back to our districts every weekend, we go into the same grocery stores, we go to the same events. ‘Where’s my internet?’ We hear that mantra a lot. I get it from all over the state because I chair a committee in that jurisdiction for broadband.”

Riggs said that broadband policy is a bi-partisan issue in Missouri, with 25% of the state’s suburbs without good internet, leading to plenty of discussion with all stakeholders. “We communicate constantly back and forth to providers, within the General Assembly, it’s not just the lobbyists, we talk to everybody,” said Riggs. “That’s been a real godsend for us. It’s basically the understanding that we’re all in this together. And the only way to solve this is all together at the same time.”

When Sorensen entered office in 2018, he was a relatively lone voice promoting broadband. “It was pre-COVID,” he said. “There wasn’t a lot of push for everybody being connected and that was what I was pushing for. One of the things I ran around saying was, ‘Let’s get everyone in Iowa connected to FCC standard broadband connection or better.’ I had that same [position] with a handful of other legislators coming in, we started a group called the Broadband Bros. We met after caucus and talked about ways that we could further engagement with the lobbyists and the governor and other stakeholders. What we could do as legislators, like I said before, to get out of the way, or to fund or to implement stuff into Iowa code AV, which is what’s set aside for all this, this code and law that focuses on broadband.”

COVID ended up changing the rules and perception of broadband for the state at large. “COVID was a blessing in this industry in the sense that it highlighted how deficient we were not only across Iowa but across the country,” said Sorensen. “It went from me begging to get $5 million in 2020 right before COVID and I was able to get $100 million in 2021. It had people calling me from all over the state, republicans, democrats, the governor, everybody was like, ‘You’ve been bringing this up forever,’ you know, and so you kind of fall backwards into becoming the IT guy. And then the Speaker of the [Iowa] House started a special IT committee specifically for this because we realized how important it is.”

Iowa House Representative Ray Sorensen, II, and Missouri House Representative Louis Riggs explore state broadband policy with Pew Charitable Trusts’ Kathryn de Wit during the State Broadband Summit. (Source: FBA)

Riggs noted he was able to work with the Missouri executive branch and having a similar lightbulb moment with the pandemic. “COVID was good for us in the sense that people understood telemedicine in ways they had never experienced before, the use of online education out of necessity,” he said. “But I go back to something with us, we really need a statewide point person on broadband. Governor Carson was from one of the most rural counties in Missouri, period. He asked what that looks like, he just sat there and shook his head a little bit and said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it.’ And that was easy.”

Within three months after that meeting, Missouri held a massive meeting with over 100 broadband providers and stakeholders. “Everybody behaved themselves, called the meeting, basically sat down and had that ‘Come-to-Jesus’ moment,” Riggs said. “We’re going to do broadband. And we look at it very simply. The only reason you shouldn’t have broadband in Missouri is if you don’t want it. And if you don’t want it, God help you, it’s time to sell the house.” 

Missouri and Riggs view BEAD funding as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide broadband to all the state, requiring an “all hands-on deck approach” with constant communication between the executive and legislative branches of the state government. The Governor expanded the state broadband office from one person to a dozen, including hiring one of the people out of Riggs’ office. 

The $1.7 billion allocated to Missouri, the third highest in the country, “wasn’t an accident,” stated Riggs. “We jumped through all the hoops, we were very robust in our approach. When the speaker appointed an interim committee in 2021, we’d sit down all over the state, we had subject matter hearings, issued a report, which I wrote 26 pages, in which you can actually read. Every one of those recommendations in some way, shape, or form was enacted into law in 2022. All are. We take a very measured approach and we are transparent, everybody understands the nature of the problem, and we basically put our heads together and just figured this thing out.”

Sorenson emphasized that high-speed broadband was essential for attracting jobs and people to the state. “I’m chair of economic development, too,” he said. “It’s a huge economic driver for a state to be like, ‘Come to rural Iowa, because you can work in New York City from a very affordable acreage in Iowa.”

With all the talk about technology, Riggs said the major policy factor that stood out over the last five years was the need for higher broadband speed standards. “We weren’t able to get 100/100 symmetrical,” said Riggs “We tried. Didn’t work. 100/20… They tried to put in 25/3 and to put it in statute. We’ve looked at and said, ‘Why on earth are we spending money to do bad technology?’ They’ve done that before and it didn’t end well. Having said that, we did a victory lap. Our economic development folks have been celebrating what we’re able to do with the first round of funding. Frankly, the providers who are out there doing it are our neighbors, they don’t treat us like colonists, they are not there to extract wealth, or they’re basically to go into places where people don’t go.”

Being a farming state, Iowa is also looking towards the future of agriculture and how broadband will enable it. “We look at it from the last acre standpoint, we’re finally hoping to have that conversation, we’re to that point,” said Riggs. “We know the next generation of farming [equipment] isn’t going to have cabs [for drivers]. It’s all GPS. It may be drone-enabled, it may be a [wireless] tower, we don’t know yet. You’re still working out the bugs in the software, but we know that’s our future so we need to get ahead of that.”

Affordability and sustainability for new broadband connectivity is a concern for both Riggs and Sorensen. “You’ve spent $100,000 to dig to reach these people and then they can’t afford [to connect] to what you’ve just done – it is kind of an upside-down model,” said Sorensen. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. You’ve got to make sure people are connecting the dots.” 

Both representatives are looking forward to the next steps in effectively implementing BEAD funding. “With $1.7 billion on the way, we need to put every last cent to work in Missouri for Missourians, first for unserved and underserved,” said Riggs. “This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity, we get one chance to get it right.”

“I think that’s great, how they put this big box [of funds] and states are able to customize how they’re going to accept it and work with that funding,” said Sorenson. “What’s next is how are we going to spin it and roll it out, making sure your maps are accurate, making sure that all the broadband offices across the country are working in concert with the passion of telecommunications, following all the rules. The big thing for me is like Ronald Reagan said, for the government to say ‘we’re here to help’ sometimes sounds pretty scary. Making sure we get out of the way when we’re in the way and making sure that we’re solving problems.”

Each had a different request to the fiber broadband ecosystem as the panel ended. “Honestly, talk to us,” said Riggs. “The key to good advice is taking it in. The more you inform us, the more we can inform ourselves as policymakers and appropriators. The lines of communication are always open.”  

“My ask is understanding the educational shortfall,” Sorensen stated. “We’re not industry nerds, so we don’t understand every single aspect of the industry. I liken it to my parents thinking I’m an industry wizard because I can turn the iPhone on and off. If I say 100/100 or 25/3 to my parents, I might as well speak Greek.” 

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.

“With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, my office now has the tools and resources that we need to effectively support delivery of broadband across the country,” said Eric Beightel, Executive Director, Federal Permitting Council. “But none of that work that we are going to do is possible without buy-in and full participation from stakeholders in the process, including industry leaders, like the membership of the Fiber Broadband Association.”  

Title 41 of the FAST Act created the Federal Permitting Council, a coordinating group for the 13 federal agencies involved in infrastructure delivery, as well as representatives from the Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality. Projects covered by FAST-41 require agencies to create a permitting timetable to increase predictability of when milestones are hit, with regular meetings between permitting agencies and project sponsors to ensure everyone is on the same page and is advancing projects on schedule. It also provides a schedule permitting dashboard to provide targeted support and transparency for projects covered by the Act.  

But the council is also providing funding to get more federal staff focused on broadband permitting, with nearly $25 million allocated from the Inflation Reduction Act to support up to 60 new staff at the participating federal member agencies.  

Not every broadband project is eligible for FAST treatment, but Beightel sees more opportunities ahead. “There are two categories that are every ripe for coverage,” he said. “First being the tribal [broadband] projects, as long as it’s subject to NEPA and is sponsored by a tribe or/and located at least partially on tribal lands. But there’s also the discretionary criteria, which allow us to identify other projects that are complex enough that would warrant the council’s active involvement between tribal and discretionary. We believe that we can reach out to cover additional projects, even though they may not be the most complex. We recognize the importance of broadband in overall advancement of the administration’s priorities.” 

Can your broadband project find its way to the federal FAST-41 permitting track? Listen to the latest Fiber for Breakfast to learn more.

https://soundcloud.com/user-491717682/ffb-episode-137-federal-permitting-council-moving-broadband-permitting-at-gigabit-speeds?si=515d2d00de104f068ce0e750ee2ed482&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the approval of $119.9 million in federal funds for broadband infrastructure projects in Montana and $68.3 million for multi-purpose community facility projects in North Dakota under the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. A key priority of the CPF program is expanding economic opportunities and providing internet connectivity in communities with unmet needs. Already, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has delivered affordable, high-speed internet to 18 million American households, through the CPF funded by the American Rescue Plan, and through the Affordable Connectivity Program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“Digital connectivity is central to expanding economic opportunity in communities across the country,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “This funding is a key piece of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic investments to increase access to high-speed internet for millions of Americans and provide more opportunities to fully participate in the 21st century economy.”

“As a third-generation farmer living in a rural area, I’m no stranger to the challenges Montanans face when their community lacks reliable, high-speed internet access,” said U.S. Senator Jon Tester. “Since I came to the U.S. Senate, I’ve been working to increase high-speed internet connectivity across our state so that folks in rural Montana don’t fall through the cracks. That’s why I fought for this funding in the American Rescue Plan, and I’m proud to see these federal dollars finally going to projects that will serve every corner of the Treasure State.”

The CPF provides a total of $10 billion to states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring. In addition to the $10 billion provided by the CPF, many governments are putting a portion of their State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) toward meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of connecting every American household to affordable, reliable high-speed internet. Together, these American Rescue Plan programs and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are working in tandem with President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to close the digital divide – deploying high-speed internet to those without access and lowering costs for those who cannot afford it.

In accordance with the Treasury Department’s guidance, each state’s plan requires service providers to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Affordable Connectivity Program, funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, helps ensure that households can afford high-speed internet by providing a discount of up to $30 per month (or up to $75 per eligible household on Tribal lands). Experts estimate that nearly 40% of U.S. households are eligible for the program.

To further lower costs, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced last year that the Administration had secured commitments from 20 leading internet service providers—covering more than 80% of the U.S. population—to offer all ACP-eligible households high-speed, reliable internet plans for no more than $30 per month. As a result of this agreement and the ACP, eligible households can receive internet access at no cost and can check their eligibility and sign up at GetInternet.gov.

The Treasury Department began announcing state awards in June 2022. To date, CPF has awarded nearly $7 billion for broadband, digital technology, and multi-purpose community center projects in 42 states. States estimate that the broadband investments will reach more than 1.94 million locations, in addition to the thousands of individuals who will be served annually by connected multi-purpose community facilities. The Treasury Department will continue approving state and Tribal plans on a rolling basis.

The following descriptions summarize the Montana and North Dakota plans that Treasury approved today:

• Montana is approved to receive $119.9 million for broadband infrastructure through the ConnectMT program, which the state estimates will serve 61,100 locations. The ConnectMT program is a competitive broadband grant program designed to fund broadband infrastructure projects in areas that currently lack access to reliable internet. ConnectMT prioritizes last mile fiber-to-the-home projects that will provide residents with affordable, high-speed internet. The plan approved by the Treasury Department today represents 100% of the state’s total allocation under the CPF program.
• North Dakota is approved to receive $68.3 million for North Dakota’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Multi-Purpose Community Facility Grant Program, a competitive grant program that will provide funding to establish CTE centers. CTE centers will expand educational and career offerings to post-secondary school students and adult learners as well as provide expanded access to telehealth in areas of North Dakota where these services are limited. North Dakota estimates this program will use today’s award to fund at least 12 CTE centers, serving more than 20,000 individuals annually. In addition to the broadband infrastructure plan approved last month, North Dakota has now received 100% of its total CPF allocation.

“Maps are great, but maps have some challenges,” said Tammie Herrlein, Senior Analyst, Vantage Point Solutions. “They’re not always correct and may need a little help along the way.”

The first round of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Broadband Data Collection (BDC) for data up to June 30 closed on September 1, 2022, followed by the first round of challenges that opened in late November 2022 with a scheduled closing date of January 13, 2022. An updated round of filing for broadband information valid through December 31, 2022, is scheduled to open on March 1, 2023. NTIA projects finalization of the BEAD Funding Map to be released by the end of June 2023 with more challenges being processed along the way.

“We have two types of challenges that can be submitted: Broadband Map availability challenges and the Bulk Fabric challenge,” said Herrlein. “Everything that’s happening now is going to have a big impact on the industry for the next six months and longer.”

Herrlein encouraged service providers to review the maps and submit challenges either on their own, or with help from a third-party such as Vantage Point, since misrepresentation by others could limit the potential for funding for their state and local service area. Service providers should also respond to challenges filed by others by submitting the appropriate data, enabling the FCC to arbitrate the claim.

“If you know crowd source data isn’t correct and it’s easy to respond to, why not tell your story?” Herrlein said.

Future BDC data filings by service providers will require the use of a professional engineer to certify the accuracy of the submission starting in 2024, one of many highlights that you can find by listing to the latest Fiber for Breakfast podcast.

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“Workforce development and job training in support of the infrastructure workforce is an eligible use of [BEAD] program funding,” said Lucy Moore, Special Policy Advisor, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). “NTIA is proud to support the Department of Commerce’s commitment to a diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.”

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allows the $42.45 billion in BEAD money to be used in workforce and job training. NTIA has provided a Workforce Planning Guide to support the BEAD program with information on what components a BEAD workforce plan should have, how to develop such a plan, strategies and examples for meeting workforce requirements, and additional resources to support BEAD workforce planning and implementation processes.

But there’s much more than the Workforce Planning Guide to keep in mind. “Industry stakeholders should become familiar with the requirements and recommendations in the BEAD [Notice of Funding Opportunity] related to workforce requirements,” said Moore. “There are requirements in the BEAD NOFO that are necessary for complete and successful five-year action plans, initial proposals, and final proposals. There’s also [NTIA] guidance, which is strongly encouraged to promote a skilled, diverse, and inclusive workforce.”

Eligible BEAD funding entities will be held to federal labor and employment laws that apply to all employees in the United States. Entities will determine the combination of skilled workforce requirements and guidance that will shape the experience of on-site workers who will build and service high-speed network infrastructure, with requirements potentially varying by state.

NTIA plans to release additional tools in the months to come, including case studies to how to use the workforce landscape and best practices checklist included as part of the additional resources within the Workforce Planning Guide.

For more details on what NTIA is doing to promote workforce development through BEAD, tune in to the latest Fiber For Breakfast podcast.

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The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act is comprehensive legislation, introduced by members of the House Rural Broadband Task Force and House Democrats to expand access to affordable high-speed internet. The legislation offers investments of over $100 billion to build high-speed broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved communities and will ensure that the resulting internet service is affordable.

In its letter to Congress, the FBA noted the ubiquitous deployment of fiber optic infrastructure has become as essential in the 21st Century as the provision of electricity was in the 20th Century. Optical fiber is now the foundation for all communications networks now and into the future, including emerging technologies like 5G. Further, this fiber optic infrastructure is critical for smart grid modernization and, when deployed, will result in significant reductions in power outages and energy consumption. Most importantly, fiber deployment results in jobs and significant economic impact to the communities it touches.

The FBA applauded the vision of the legislation, with appreciation for provisions designed to ensure all bidders meet objective, transparent criteria upfront demonstrating technical and operational capacity to implement winning projects.

The FBA believes this legislation will pay huge dividends for America and result in rural communities throughout the nation finally enjoying the reliable, lightning-fast fiber optic networks that are becoming commonplace in urban and suburban areas. 

To read the full letter, click here. 

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Ubiquitous Fiber Deployment

A successful and competitive national strategy to secure 5G relies on ubiquitous fiber deployment. No community can be left behind. 5G relies on ubiquitous fiber deployment. Take for example 5G’s three use cases:

• Immersive broadband,
• Mission critical applications such as autonomous vehicles, and
• Massive IoT

All will require gigabit bandwidth and ultra-low latency from very small cell sites that serve 200 to 1,000 feet as 5G requires more spectrum, more bits/Hz and roughly 10 times increase in cell site density. As a result, 5G cell sites will need a massive fiber infrastructure for the front-haul and backhaul of 5G traffic with ultra-low latency.

Fiber is also the only transmission medium that can carry multi-gigabit traffic today and evolve over time to meet the exponential growth in mobile data traffic.

Communities that lack fiber will perpetuate the digital divide. This holds true for both urban and suburban communities across America. Areas without fiber will not see 5G, and the digital divide will be exacerbated rather than alleviated over time.

Actionable Items for NTIA, the FCC, Congress and the Biden Administration

Government broadband subsidies should prioritize fiber and gigabit symmetrical service delivery to provide the needed critical infrastructure for 5G with ubiquitous fiber deployment. This is because we know ubiquitous fiber deployment maximizes 5G performance, provides a secure 5G critical infrastructure, reduces spectrum demand and elevates the rural digital divide.

The government has already put forth incentives for investment and future proofing rural broadband through legislation supporting Gigabit broadband in the 116th Congress, including:

• H.R. 7302/S. 4131 (Clyburn-Klobuchar) allocated $80 billion for rural broadband with preference for symmetrical gigabit networks.
• S. 4113 (Bennet) allocated $30 billion for rural broadband with preference for symmetrical gigabit networks.
• H.R. 7922/S. 4201 (Clyburn-Upton, Portman-Brown) instructed the FCC to accelerate funding for symmetrical gigabit providers.
• S. 2866 (Capito, Hassan) allocated $2.5 billion of private activity bonds for deployment of gigabit capable internet access to residential or commercial business.
• S. 2867 (Hassan, Capito) provided a 10% tax credit for the deployment of gigabit capable internet access to residential or commercial locations.

5G and Fiber are Critical to our Nation’s Global Competitiveness

Once built, fiber infrastructure will support U.S. global competitiveness. Virtually all developed countries are charging ahead to deploy this critical infrastructure, and foreign competitors are treating fiber as a strategic asset by upgrading technology and flooding the market. Currently, China is leading the charge.

The U.S. is making great strides in deploying fiber, even though we have a greater number of sparsely populated areas than other countries. However, there is much more that industry can accomplish, and the government can facilitate to speed deployments.  

Actionable Items for NTIA, the FCC, DoD, Congress and the Biden Administration

There needs to be increased invest in research and development for next generation technology. President Joe Biden has proposed “Innovate in America” which calls for $300 billion in research and development investment over four years in future technologies and industries to support America’s technological lead. As part of that push, there should also be a focus on enhancing industry workforce training and education.

Supply Security is Fundamental to National Security

We must protect our industrial base and ensure safe and secure US networks. Having a strong domestic industry requires policies that not only invest in technology, but also address targeted national policies of competitor countries that undermine market dynamics through unfair subsidies and trade practices.

As we have seen in other industries, China’s excess capacity is undermining health of the optical fiber industry globally. Currently, they have excess capacity of over 300 million fiber kilometers. That’s nearly enough to supply to current global markets combined. This excess capacity is being dumped in numerous countries and regions—including India and Europe—driving down global pricing and undermining profitability, which in turn can ultimately impact investment in research and development.

Actionable Items for Commerce (NTIA and BIS), DOD, and USTR

First, we must ensure a level playing field across the globe. Work with our allies to address unfair subsidies—the root cause of excess capacity.

Second, there should be clear criterion established for trusted suppliers. The Center for Strategic and International Studies published a list of criteria to assess the trustworthiness of telecommunications suppliers. The criteria complement the work of the Prague Proposal.

Fiber Broadband Association represents more than 250 members, including telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, engineering, and content-provider companies, as well as traditional service providers, utilities, and municipalities.

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Last month, Georgia’s Public Service Commission approved a policy for broadband expansion to unserved areas that requires electric membership cooperatives to charge a simple $1-per-year fee for entities to attach to utility service poles for a 6-year period. Commissioner Tim Echols recently joined the Fiber Broadband Association for Fiber for Breakfast, a live, weekly video series, to discuss the new policy and why connectivity is becoming more important than ever—and how fiber is paramount to this mission.

“A lot of folks here in Georgia, they don’t have internet at all,” he said. “They’re going to McDonalds to get their kid’s homework done. Fiber is a fantastic product and if you can get it deployed from the get-go, you can solve that problem for a very long time.”

The commission is tasked with setting utility rates, among other things, and began looking at this issue a few years back. Fee rates had been a point of contention between telecom companies and electric membership cooperatives for years. When they were looking at expanding areas of broadband coverage, they thought a great solution would be to remove some of the barriers to access and get providers to run networks on the poles.

The $1 fee would be set for six years. For those operating in areas currently served by broadband would be $27.71 per pole per year. According to the commission, this is an “at cost” fee that covers service and upkeep of the poles.

Echols said when the commission was considering which formula to use, they looked at what made most sense to Georgians and the electric membership cooperatives. They also wanted to make a rate that would adequately encourage network providers to expand in rural parts of the state.

“All of our formulas reflect what we thought was fairness and something that was commercially reasonable,” he said. “We wanted to make this work for everyone.”

While it’s too soon to tell whether this method will work, Echols said the commission is planning on documenting how many network providers break into rural areas using the $1 rate. In 2022, they hope to have a full report on whether there was an impact. He said they’re also using this as a chance to talk to other people—especially those making policy decisions—on ways to improve internet access.

He said many laypeople don’t understand the mechanics of how networks are built. Having groups like the Fiber Broadband Association and its members help educate members of the public—and those in government—who recognize the importance of connectivity but need guidance on how to act on it. He added that because many people don’t know the difference between the types of internet, educating them about the benefits of fiber is key.

“This is a problem you work on every day,” he said. “But there are many people in Georgia that don’t have a decent option for internet, and they’re thinking ‘How can we do this and how long is it going to take?’ You have to help people understand—the average consumer, the policy makers—you have to have them thinking about it. They have to say, ‘We have to do whatever we need to do to get everyone connected as fast as possible.’”

“Connectivity is the electricity of the 21st Century,” Echols said.

New initiatives like the $1 pole attachments show that policy change in small ways can hopefully have a major impact.

“Connectivity is the electricity of the 21st Century,” Echols said.

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