Biden lines up $42.5B for US broadband boost
(2023/06/27)
- Reference: 1687817112
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/26/biden_broadband_funding_states/
- Source link:
On Monday the Biden administration announced a plan to divide up $42.5 billion for improvements to US broadband networks - and everyone from the largest states to the smallest territory is getting a piece of the pie.
The [1]funding comes via the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program as part of the $1.2 trillion [2]bipartisan infrastructure deal signed into law in late 2021.
"What this announcement means for people across the country is that if you don't have access to quality, affordable high-speed Internet service now – you will," [3]said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
[4]
While each state is getting a cut of the $42.5 billion being doled out under the supervision of the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the amounts vary considerably from state to state and territory. It'll be up to state governments to determine how the money will be spent.
[5]
[6]
Leading the investment pack is Texas, which is being handed $3.3 billion, followed by California ($1.9 billion), Missouri ($1.7 billion) and Michigan ($1.6 billion). Nineteen states were awarded more than $1 billion, and no state is getting less than $107 million. As for the territories, Puerto Rico and Guam will get funding on par with the majority of US states, with Washington, DC, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands all getting funding to some degree.
[7]Biden deal with ISPs: Low to no cost internet for 40% of US
[8]Cheating carriers could cost web-starved Americans billions in subsidies
[9]FCC Commissioner demands review of Starlink rural broadband subsidies
[10]FCC awards $800m for rural broadband development
BEAD funds must be used "to deploy or upgrade broadband networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service," the White House said, while remaining funds can be used to pursue access-, adoption- and equity-related uses once broadband deployment goals are met.
The Biden administration said BEAD funds won't only improve the nation's internet infrastructure, but will also support manufacturing jobs in the US. As an example, the White House cited CommScope and Corning, which both manufacture telecom infrastructure hardware, as stepping up their domestic manufacturing efforts (by $47 million and $500 million, respectively) in response to BEAD funding and plans to improve the US' internet backbone.
FCC questions ISPs' selective memory about data caps [11]DON'T FORGET
"Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to nearly every home and farm in America, President Biden and Vice President Harris are delivering on their historic commitment to connect everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed internet by the end of the decade," the Biden administration said.
Whether it will work as intended is another thing entirely, of course.
Take the case in the early 2000s of telecom firms promising gigabit fiber deployments around the country, for which the US government allowed them to [12]consolidate and charge new fees . Those promised deployments for the most part haven't materialized, but fees initially assessed for the purpose haven't gone away. In other words, we've been down this internet infrastructure upgrade road before, and it came to nothing.
[13]
Whether BEAD will be vulnerable to the same failures remains to be seen; States and territories eligible for the funds have 180 days from their date of formal notice (planned for June 30) to submit proposals for how they plan to run their local BEAD grant programs. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-over-40-billion-to-connect-everyone-in-america-to-affordable-reliable-high-speed-internet/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/10/us_broadband_infrastructure/
[3] https://www.internetforall.gov/news-media/biden-harris-administration-announces-state-allocations-4245-billion-high-speed-internet
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/09/biden_admin_internet_subsidies/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/09/inaccurate_broadband_coverage_maps_usa/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/13/fcc_starlink_subsidies_review/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/01/fcc_funding_broadband/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/19/fcc_data_cap_investigation/
[12] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-book-of-broken-promis_b_5839394
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The [1]funding comes via the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program as part of the $1.2 trillion [2]bipartisan infrastructure deal signed into law in late 2021.
"What this announcement means for people across the country is that if you don't have access to quality, affordable high-speed Internet service now – you will," [3]said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
[4]
While each state is getting a cut of the $42.5 billion being doled out under the supervision of the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the amounts vary considerably from state to state and territory. It'll be up to state governments to determine how the money will be spent.
[5]
[6]
Leading the investment pack is Texas, which is being handed $3.3 billion, followed by California ($1.9 billion), Missouri ($1.7 billion) and Michigan ($1.6 billion). Nineteen states were awarded more than $1 billion, and no state is getting less than $107 million. As for the territories, Puerto Rico and Guam will get funding on par with the majority of US states, with Washington, DC, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands all getting funding to some degree.
[7]Biden deal with ISPs: Low to no cost internet for 40% of US
[8]Cheating carriers could cost web-starved Americans billions in subsidies
[9]FCC Commissioner demands review of Starlink rural broadband subsidies
[10]FCC awards $800m for rural broadband development
BEAD funds must be used "to deploy or upgrade broadband networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service," the White House said, while remaining funds can be used to pursue access-, adoption- and equity-related uses once broadband deployment goals are met.
The Biden administration said BEAD funds won't only improve the nation's internet infrastructure, but will also support manufacturing jobs in the US. As an example, the White House cited CommScope and Corning, which both manufacture telecom infrastructure hardware, as stepping up their domestic manufacturing efforts (by $47 million and $500 million, respectively) in response to BEAD funding and plans to improve the US' internet backbone.
FCC questions ISPs' selective memory about data caps [11]DON'T FORGET
"Just like Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Rural Electrification Act brought electricity to nearly every home and farm in America, President Biden and Vice President Harris are delivering on their historic commitment to connect everyone in America to reliable, affordable high-speed internet by the end of the decade," the Biden administration said.
Whether it will work as intended is another thing entirely, of course.
Take the case in the early 2000s of telecom firms promising gigabit fiber deployments around the country, for which the US government allowed them to [12]consolidate and charge new fees . Those promised deployments for the most part haven't materialized, but fees initially assessed for the purpose haven't gone away. In other words, we've been down this internet infrastructure upgrade road before, and it came to nothing.
[13]
Whether BEAD will be vulnerable to the same failures remains to be seen; States and territories eligible for the funds have 180 days from their date of formal notice (planned for June 30) to submit proposals for how they plan to run their local BEAD grant programs. ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-over-40-billion-to-connect-everyone-in-america-to-affordable-reliable-high-speed-internet/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/10/us_broadband_infrastructure/
[3] https://www.internetforall.gov/news-media/biden-harris-administration-announces-state-allocations-4245-billion-high-speed-internet
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/09/biden_admin_internet_subsidies/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/09/inaccurate_broadband_coverage_maps_usa/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/13/fcc_starlink_subsidies_review/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/01/fcc_funding_broadband/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/19/fcc_data_cap_investigation/
[12] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-book-of-broken-promis_b_5839394
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZJpe5H@MRFec0upYotXQjwAAAQc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Bascheew
I'm in the rural mountains of North Carolina and I have access to 3 fiber carriers, 1 coax/cable, and one P2P wifi option. Plus whatever LTE options are available. And they're all reasonably priced.
Everytime I see articles like this I wonder how my town got so lucky.
Boris the Cockroach
Check to see if the NSA has an office in your area.
gweedo
I'm in one of the largest cities in the USA and we have only one real high-speed option in my area (cable), no fiber... and I pay a ton for 300mb down. My in-laws live way out in a rural community with 150 people and they have gigabit fiber (multiple sources) for far less than I'm paying. I don't think urban communities are where the problems are honestly.
“Whether BEAD will be vulnerable to the same failures remains to be seen”
Ooh, ooh… I know this one!
It’ll involve lots of money firehosed to the usual suspects - Comcast, AT&T et al … who will, if they’re feeling scrutinized, make a desultory and token effort to give 1 house in each underserved zip code high-speed access. Then they will argue with a straight face that they’ve got 100% coverage in that area - job done.
And in a couple of years they’ll be back asking for more money to do the job properly this time, honest, just like we claimed we did last time and the time before that… and the FCC and the local pols will all suffer their usual amnesia and forget that they’re being asked to pay yet again for the same thing.
Meanwhile, I’m in the heart of Oregon’s tech area, adjacent to 3 metro areas, and have to make do with a 16Mbit microwave relay link across the valley, for a very reasonable (!) $125/month. Sigh.