While the proposed $1 trillion infrastructure bill has not yet officially been passed, industry policy experts are expecting that at some point, it will make it through the legislature and be signed by the president. But what does that look like, and what happens next?
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act dedicates a whopping $65 billion in funding that focuses on a combination of broadband capital expenditure funding, addressing affordability issues and even includes training in digital literacy. This comes on the heels of tens of billions more that has been allocated for, or that states could use for, broadband spending as part of the various coronavirus relief packages, to address emergency and near-term connectivity needs in the face of a pandemic where internet access has been vital to work, school and daily life for many.
In a Fiber Broadband Association Panel yesterday, participants laid out the path as the bill moves forward and if it is passed, the early implementation stages. There are several major “gating” points. The distribution of funding can’t be made until the Federal Communications Commission has completed its effort to update broadband maps under the Broadband Data Act. And the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is in charge of shepherding most of the funding to states, is given six months to set up the distribution program based on the outline in the bill. At the earliest, then, funds would begin to flow sometimes in 2022, depending on the specific program.
“When we talk about what’s going out the door, you need to look at the aggregate, and look how impressive all of this is. This is historic,” said Tom Cohen, counsel for the FBA and a partner at Kelley Drye and Warren, noting that this is on top of an estimated $80 billion per year in private broadband investments by companies. The bill would essentially double what is spent each year on broadband infrastructure programs, for the rest of the decade.
Cohen said that companies who provide broadband service need to be prepared to submit their data on where they provide service, so that NTIA can properly coordinate and double-check the locations as it evaluates future state funding programs.
Ben Moncrief, managing director at C Spire, said that while there is much work to be done on both the bill and the implementation, that companies ought to make sure that they are working on relationships with state broadband offices — and should also take a look back to how NTIA administered the old Broadband Telecommunications Opportunities Program (BTOP) as a possible blueprint for how it will handle the administration of the new flood of funding.
The bill has been passed by the Senate, but must now make it way through the House of Representatives, which is expected to start next week. NBC News has reported that in a caucus call this week, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland told members that when the House reconvenes on Monday, they should expect procedural votes on three bills: the budget resolution, a voting rights bill and the Senate-passed infrastructure bill.
Staci Pies, VP of public policy for Crown Castle, said that she has already been in touch with states like California and that while state representatives are excited about the opportunities, they are also asking that advocates for broadband push the multiple federal agencies involved (NTIA, the FCC, the Treasury, the Department of Agriculture) to coordinate as closely as possible and reduce the overall administrative burden on the states in order to receive funding and maximize efficiency.
“There just a whole lot still to come, and a whole lot of opportunities for providers — and I mean ‘providers’ expansively,” Cohen said. “It includes municipalities, cooperatives, everybody to get involved, states as well. And there are also challenges out there as well, for incumbent providers who don’t want to get overbuilt.”
Among the highlights of the bill’s funding for broadband:
-More than $42 billion in funding that will be directed to states in order to ensure that broadband is deployed to rural and inadequately served areas, including Tribal areas. Companies that receive funding would be required to offer low-cost plan options that make it easier for lower-income families to actually utilize broadband service once they have access to it.
In particular, the bill specifically calls out “middle mile” connectivity as important in ensuring that new networks are not only built out in areas which have not been served, but that they are able to interconnect with other, established networks in order to actually provide internet access.
-The bill also sets aside $14 billion to extend the Emergency Broadband Benefit program that subsidizes broadband service. The FCC has made note of the existing program’s popularity: The EBB, which provides subsidies of $50-$75 per month for internet service, enrolled more than one million U.S. households in the first week of the program being available. The EBB does change under the new rules set out in the proposed infrastructure bill: It becomes a permanent program called the Affordable Connectivity Benefit. More than one in four U.S. households will be eligible for it, according to the White House, but the ACN will provider a smaller subsidy of up to $30 per month. In addition, the bill requires providers to provider a “Broadband Nutrition Label” that will help families more easily comparison shop among offers in an apples-to-apples way.
-The bill lays out a speed threshold of 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for upload — not the symmetric network speed requirements which would have been very difficult for wireless broadband networks to meet.
-The bill includes $2.75 billion for digital equity and digital literacy efforts, including teaching segments of the population which have typically been underserved by broadband offerings (racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and others), the skills and training that are necessary to safely and effectively use the internet for daily tasks.
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