STATE OF THE INDUSTRY: Q&A

Community Minded: Sohn’s Persistent Push for Public Broadband Networks

It has been a year since former FCC Commissioner nominee Gigi Sohn took on the role of first executive director for the American Association of Public Broadband, an upstart coalition of municipal broadband providers. She’s committed to spreading the word to communities about how they can benefit from network ownership while fighting against critics of such arrangements. Cablefax chatted with her about what she’s learned so far and the impact the loss of the Affordable Connectivity Program could have on efforts to deliver broadband to every American. Sohn will share more of her insights at Cablefax’s American Broadband Congress on June 13 in DC.

Shortly after joining AAPB, you set a goal of doubling the number of community-owned broadband networks over a five-year period. How is that going?
Let me clarify one thing: after nearly a year on the job, it became obvious to me that doubling the number of community-owned broadband networks in five years was not going to be feasible. So, I’ve revised our goal to double the number of households served by community-owned broadband in five years. That is still a lofty goal, but one that is certainly attainable. This spring, AAPB published a handbook called: “Own Your Internet: How to Build a Public Broadband Network.” This plain-language primer outlines the decisions a community must make, and the steps it must take, to build a public broadband network. The handbook is a key part of our strategy to double the number of public networks in the next five years and will encourage more communities to consider building their own networks.

With nearly 650 community-owned broadband networks and co-ops across the United States, we are witnessing a pivotal moment for public broadband. According to the Institute for Local Self Reliance, dozens more community networks are in the pipeline nationwide. State barriers to public broadband are starting to fall and where they still exist, enterprising communities are working around them. There are still 16 states that restrict community broadband, but with all the success stories from across the country, we think that at least some of those state legislatures will change their tune.

Naturally, since public broadband networks are doing so well, incumbent telco and cable companies are doing whatever they can to stop their growth, and in some cases, reverse it. I started as Executive Director of AAPB last June, and in the 11 months since I started, I’ve helped efforts to thwart half a dozen attacks on community broadband. Efforts to slow or stop public broadband bills can be very costly, both in time and money. And worst of all, the inevitable attacks serve to discourage other communities from choosing public broadband, even if it would be the far better choice for their residents. Without a doubt, there is strength in numbers. Despite their enormous resources, the greater the number of successful public broadband networks, the harder it will be for big incumbents to beat them back. I recently gave a speech on the state of public broadband that I encourage those interested in the topic to read. It goes into much more detail about what I’ve talked about here.

If ACP ends, how do you see it impacting efforts to close the digital divide and do you see anything taking its place? 
Despite its popularity, the ACP will completely run out of money by the end of May unless Congress appropriates billions in additional funds. There is a bipartisan push to extend the program, but we’re nearly out of time. This will have devastating consequences on our collective efforts to close the digital divide. The chaos extends well beyond disconnecting tens of millions of Americans from the network that is vital to full participation in modern society. Among other things, it will cause the loss of jobs for those funded by FCC grants to enroll ACP recipients; it will make it harder for smaller ISPs that have relied on the ACP to upgrade their services; and it will undermine the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program by making it more expensive for ISPs to build in rural America.

It’s clear that the Congressional appropriations process is ill-suited to funding critical priorities like universal broadband access. I recently gave a speech at the Broadband Communities Summit, where I discussed the future of affordable broadband and the challenges ahead. Finding a permanent solution will take the kind of leadership and political will that has so far been lacking at the federal level. My money, and that of tens of millions of households, will be on the states and local communities. While I don’t expect folks to give up on the feds, I urge everyone to spend more resources supporting state and local efforts to close the digital divide.

What do you think is the biggest myth around community-owned broadband networks, and how do you debunk it?
The myth that has been repeated over and over again by incumbents and their surrogates for the past 20-plus years is that public broadband networks are all failures. This drives me crazy. Almost every example opponents of public broadband cite is about two decades old and taken from a University of Pennsylvania Law School study funded by the cable industry. Were there public broadband failures then? Yes, when demand for broadband was low, and equipment prices were high. Today, however, with the demand for broadband skyrocketing and equipment and other costs much lower, public broadband failures are few and far between. And, of course, private networks fail too. Does anybody remember Adelphia? But the best defense against the “failure” argument are the numerous success stories.

Here again, I’ll tout our newly launched public broadband handbook. There are half a dozen examples of successful public networks. And they are not one size fits all. Some are utilities, some are open access networks, where multiple private ISPs can provide last mile service, and some are public-private partnerships where a community owns the infrastructure, but a private ISP provides the services. Given the opportunities for incumbent ISPs to provide service to community-owned networks, I really wish they would stop trying to fight the model and join us. Because public broadband networks are inevitable, and the model will continue to grow.

BEAD Ready: NTIA’s Doug Kinkoph Offers Update on Internet for All

As we hit the mid-point of the year, the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to expand high-speed internet access in America is gaining momentum. More states are earning approval of their initial proposals and challenges processes are underway. Doug Kinkoph, NTIA Associate Administrator for the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, gave CFX a temperature update on BEAD and the mission to bring internet to all. Kinkoph, who is responsible for all of NTIA’s broadband programs, will share more during his keynote at Cablefax’s June 13 American Broadband Congress in Washington, D.C.

Where is NTIA in the approval of state’s BEAD plans and what are the anticipated milestones for project implementation?
2024 is the year of execution. We’re working with urgency to approve all plans while ensuring they meet our program criteria. Right now, seven states and D.C. have both volumes of their initial proposals approved, meaning they can conduct the subgrantee selection process that will identify the specific projects that will close the digital divide. And all eligible entities have received approval of Volume 1 of their initial proposal, meaning they can begin their challenge processes. So far more than half the country has started their challenge process and millions of locations have been challenged. We continue to approve Volume 2 of initial proposals on a rolling basis. We’re reaching the point in this initiative where the states are in the driver’s seat. So, dates and deadlines are going to vary from state to state. At NTIA we’re working to ensure visibility across the program at each stage:

• Our Initial Proposal dashboard shows each state and territory’s progress in the approval journey.
• We also have a webpage that displays active challenges, including links to the challenge portals and the dates they open and close.
• In the coming months, we will post a public
  version of the approved plans.

Overall, this year we’re focused on approving state plans, each state completing its challenge process, and getting the subgrantee selection process started everywhere to determine who will deploy these networks and what technology makes the most sense for each community.

Each state has to run its own challenge process to check the accuracy of the FCC maps at a local level. What can you tell us about how states are running their challenge processes so far? 
As we’ve approved Volume 1 of BEAD initial proposals, states have started executing their challenge processes. This is where the rubber meets the road in ensuring that BEAD funds go where they are needed most. The challenge process determines which locations and community anchor institutions in each state and territory are eligible to be served by BEAD funded networks. In this process, an eligible challenger (a unit of local or tribal government, nonprofit organization, or Internet service provider) may challenge a determination made by the FCC as to whether a particular location (home or business) or community anchor institution—such as schools or libraries—is served, underserved, or unserved. Getting these determinations of eligibility right is critical for ensuring that states spend these funds wisely.

What types of organizations can get involved with the Internet for All initiative?
When we say, “Internet for All,” we mean “all.” Not only is it the right thing to ensure everyone is at the table, but our program requires states to bring diverse groups of stakeholders into their planning and implementation efforts. As we move from planning to execution we are focused on companies, organizations, and local governments getting involved in the state challenge processes and asking service providers to start thinking about applying for the state grants. As part of applying for the grants, we are encouraging companies and cooperatives to start thinking about what partnerships make the most sense for submitting BEAD proposals. And we also encourage them to consider Minority-owned Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBEs), where at all possible.