The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) has adopted a “Programmatic Waiver” of its letter of credit (“LOC”) requirement for subgrantees of funding under the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (“BEAD”) program created by the Infrastructure and Investment Job Act (“IIJA”). This is big news for small and mid-size public and private entities
Ten Key Issues for Broadband Network Operating Agreements
While there is no one solution to deploying affordable broadband, broadband partnerships have emerged as an attractive option in many areas of the country; indeed, in some instances, partnerships may be the only feasible option.[1] Recognizing the attractiveness of broadband partnerships, Congress and many states have sought to encourage such partnerships to help accelerate
With Billions of Dollars of Broadband Funding at Stake, the Timing of the Challenge Process to the FCC’s Broadband Map Under Increasing Scrutiny
Just over a month ago, the FCC released its pre-production draft of its new Broadband Maps. The initial map is based on service availability data collected from broadband providers through the ongoing Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) and reflects services available[1] as of June 30, 2022.[2]
The release of the Broadband Map initiated
Overview of the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection Bulk Fabric Challenge Process
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) completed its first Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) on September 1, 2022.[1] The Commission is now accepting and evaluating bulk challenges to the FCC’s Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (“Fabric”), which serves as the foundation for the FCC’s upcoming broadband data map. To ensure the most accurate broadband map
Overview of the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection Resources
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) launched its Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) program on June 30, 2022. As we have previously discussed in the first and second blog posts of our BDC series, all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access that have one or more end user connections in service are
The Who, What, When, and Where of the FCC’s New Broadband Data Collection
As discussed in our initial post in this series, the FCC is about to launch its new Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) program. Starting this summer, all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access services will be required to submit broadband data on a biannual basis.
In this post, we delve into the who,
The FCC’s New Broadband Data Collection is About to Launch
The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) is poised to implement a comprehensive overhaul of its existing broadband data mapping and collection process with a new Broadband Data Collection (“BDC”) program. Under the BDC, all facilities-based providers of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access services will be required to submit broadband data on a biannual
2022 Broadband Communities Summit
Keller and Heckman Partners Jim Baller, Casey Lide, Tracy Marshall, Sean Stokes, and Wes Wright will present at a workshop during the Broadband Communities Summit to take place in Houston, Texas on May 2-5, 2022. The summit will feature presentations by community leaders focusing on providing high-speed broadband networks. It will also address the key
Don’t Lose Sight of USDA’s Current USDA ReConnect Funding Opportunity
This entry highlights the current rural broadband funding opportunity presented by the $1.15 billion “ReConnect” program administered by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS).[1] Under the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for its third round of Reconnect funding (ReConnect III), the RUS will be awarding loans and grants to construct, improve,