- BEAD Preparation Continues
- Another FCC Commissioner Departure
- Digital Accessibility Efforts Lack Engagement
- Oklahoma Broadband Dashboard
- Localities Look to Fiber
BEAD PREPARATION CONTINUES
States are continuing to take steps to prepare for massive federal investments in infrastructure initiatives, including broadband expansion.
Officials recently released the Michigan Statewide Infrastructure Workforce Plan, developed by LEO with the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI), the state departments of Transportation, and Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and the Michigan Infrastructure Office. The plan aims to outline the state’s strategy for training 5,000 new infrastructure workers by 2030. The funding announced last week will support the plan’s implementation.
As MIHI Chief Connectivity Officer Eric Frederick said in a statement, to achieve the state’s connectivity goals, “we also need a skilled workforce ready to build and maintain the networks that connect us all. Investing in our workforce has a ripple effect — people have good-paying jobs, and employers have the skilled workers they need to thrive in Michigan.”
Of this workforce funding, $60 million is intended to fund broadband infrastructure workforce development to support the execution of plans under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. BEAD is still undergoing federal review and may be delayed as a result of program changes.
Public- and private-sector stakeholders are calling for the review process to be expedited, so the funding that was allocated to states by Congress as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can be released.
A group of senators called on the Trump administration in a letter last week to release the funding immediately, indicating states have been waiting to break ground on projects for six months, with progress halted by the Commerce Department’s delays. The senators raised concerns that program changes could cause deployment to be delayed “by years.”
“If we want AI developed and deployed in the United States, if we want to win the race for semiconductor dominance, if we want the next generation of manufacturing jobs to be created here, then we must act now — and we must build the high-speed, high-capacity networks those technologies demand,” the letter said.
Separately, a group of industry associations including NTCA — The Rural Broadband Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association wrote a letter urging the administration to let states drive the program as it was designed.
The Fiber Broadband Association, too, wrote a letter arguing that state broadband directors and offices have the strongest understanding of their states’ unique Internet needs.
There is bipartisan support for digital equity initiatives like the BEAD program.
ANOTHER FCC COMMISSIONER DEPARTURE
In other news related to the federal government, FCC Commissioner Nathan A. Simington announced he is stepping down from his role as commissioner. This closely follows news of the departure of Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, whose tenure ends Friday.
In a statement announcing his departure, Simington said he remains committed to shaping the future of communications policy and advocating for values that have guided his public service, including American innovation.
The FCC is typically split along party lines, but Starks’ resignation makes Commissioner Anna M. Gomez its single Democratic member pending the nomination and Senate confirmation of another. Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington made up the FCC’s Republican representation.
The staff shakeup in the FCC is raising concerns among stakeholders about its ability to advance ongoing work. Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, senior director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Center for Civil Rights and Technology, issued a statement in response, calling it “imperative” that the Senate demand the administration nominate a replacement for former Commissioner Geoffrey Starks.
“Commissioner Simington stepping down leaves the FCC without a quorum, unable to function and fulfill its mission to the people of the United States,” Montoya-Boyer said. “But this doesn’t give the Senate the green light to quickly confirm Olivia Trusty. Trusty should only be confirmed if her nomination is paired with a replacement for Starks — otherwise the FCC will be unbalanced.”
DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY EFFORTS LACK ENGAGEMENT
A global survey of more than 1,500 developers and engineers along with quality assurance, user experience and legal professionals, revealed prominent gaps in the state of digital accessibility.
The survey, Applause’s fifth annual survey assessing digital accessibility, found that although 84 percent of organizations said digital accessibility is a priority, only one-third of respondents engage with people from the disability population in these efforts.
Still, the work is expanding. More than three-quarters, or 80 percent of organizations, have either a person or group dedicated to product accessibility, up from just 52 percent in 2022.
More than a third of respondents plan to use AI to help solve accessibility issues organizationally, but half of the organizations testing AI and generative AI products do not include people with disabilities, which has been recommended by the federal government.
OKLAHOMA BROADBAND DASHBOARD
In state news, the Oklahoma Broadband Office launched a new Broadband Dashboard to increase transparency and visibility around how the state is investing in Internet expansion.
The tool shows the project status for nearly 70,000 locations set to receive Internet through the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Program and the Capital Projects Fund.
Users can get information about the projects happening in the state in real time; each project gets one of four labels based on its phase of completion.
The state has also created a tutorial video to support users in navigating the new resource.
LOCALITIES LOOK TO FIBER
At the local level, cities and counties are making strides toward getting their residents access to high-speed, fiber-optic Internet.
In Muncie and Yorktown, Ind., Surf Internet has announced plans to deliver the cities’ first far-reaching fiber network, representing an investment of more than $25 million. Construction is expected to start this year.
In Pittsfield, N.H., Fidium is expanding its fiber network; construction started in January.
In Kittitas County, Wash., a partnership with Lightcurve is intended to bring fiber networks to rural communities. The project is currently in design with a slated completion date of this fall.
Bountiful, Utah, partnered with UTOPIA Fiber in May 2023 to bring fiber Internet to every address in the city within 36 months; the project has been completed nearly a year ahead of schedule.
And in Baltimore, the director of broadband and digital equity has indicated the city is focused specifically on fiber, to give consumers a choice. The BEAD program has also prioritized fiber where it makes sense.
