The newest edition of Member Spotight is now live. Curtis Dean chats with Ryan Boone of Premiere Communications in Iowa, a CBAN provider member, about the company, its history, its culture, and how its helping close the digital divide in rural Iowa. 

A Wisconsin city is taking control of its broadband future, launching the construction of an open access fiber network this summer.

Connect Superior is projected to cost between $40 and $60 million to complete, with initial funding coming from the City's allocation of funds under the American Recovery Act Plan. Superior Mayor Jim Paine said the network represents the city’s first new public utility in more than a century. He said it hasn’t been easy to move forward with the project

Wisconsin is one of 16 states that have barriers to entry for municipal broadband networks, and as a result has far fewer publicly owned networks than many other states. 

To read more about the Superior project, CLICK HERE to read an article on the Wisconsin Public Radio website.

Lumen has told the FCC that it plans to withdraw from RDOF funding support for all of the census block groups (CBG's) in three states had previously been awarded.

The previously awarded CBG's in South Dakota, New Mexico, and Wyoming will now be eligible for funding under the BEAD program. Other large defaulters under RDOF include LTD Broadband, Frontier, and Starlink/SpaceX. In some states where work has not begun in RDOF funded areas, local leaders are advocating for providers who've changed their minds to default before the final BEAD maps are released so other providers can apply.

There are a number of reasons for the RDOF defaults that have occurred (and others that likely will occur).

• Overly Ambitious Bids: Some companies underestimated the costs and complexity of building broadband infrastructure in rural areas. After winning RDOF bids, they realized that the project expenses were much higher than initially anticipated.
• Regulatory Scrutiny: Some companies faced challenges meeting the FCC's technical or financial requirements, which resulted in their awards being scrutinized or withdrawn.
• Technological Limitations: Providers promising satellite or fixed wireless solutions found it difficult to meet the speed and latency requirements set by the FCC.
• Funding and Resource Constraints: Smaller companies, in particular, struggled to secure the necessary financing or resources to fulfill their RDOF obligations.

In the Fourth Report and Order, the Commission codifies the requirement to resolve challenges received as part of the BDC not later than 90 days after the date on which a final response by a provider to a challenge of the accuracy of a map is received.
 
The Commission also provides a specific delegation of authority to the Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA), in coordination with certain other bureaus and offices, to conduct audits of broadband data submitted by providers as required under the Broadband DATA Act.
 
The Commission directs the OEA to establish methodologies and procedures for selecting service providers (either fixed or mobile) and targeted locations or areas for random audits, as well as for determining “patterns of filing incorrect information” that may be sufficient to warrant audits.
 
In the Declaratory Ruling, the Commission clarifies that its rules do not preclude a service provider from subsequently submitting information in a later BDC filing to demonstrate that it can now make service available to a location or area that was previously removed through the challenge, verification or audit processes.  The Commission also delegates authority to the OEA, to develop and publish detailed data specifications setting forth the types of information a broadband provider must submit to restore a previously removed location or area as part of a subsequent BDC filing.  In addition, the Commission clarifies that broadband providers are obligated with their BDC to  submit data on service availability for Removed Locations or Areas.
 
In its Fourth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission seeks comment on proposed changes to the availability data filing process, as well as possible amendments and clarifications to several of the current data-validation rules.
  
The Commission proposes rule amendments which would permit filers to indicate that the service offered at a location is a grandfathered service only. 
 
In addition, the Commission seeks comment on the following items:
 

• Rules changes requiring terrestrial fixed wireless providers to submit additional information allowing the Commission to better verify terrestrial fixed wireless service availability data submitted with BDC filings;
• Proposed changes to improve the Commission’s validation, audit, and Fabric challenge processes, as well as facilitate provider certification of BDC submissions;
• Additional rules establishing a set data-retention period for certain documentation supporting providers’ BDC submissions, intended to ensure the Commission has access to documentation that may be necessary for its audits, verifications, and other reviews; 
• A proposal that broadband service providers be required to retain the underlying data used to create their biannual submissions (including subscription data and supporting data) for at least three years from the applicable “as-of” date (e.g., data used to create a biannual submission for the June 30, 2024 reporting period would need to be retained until June 30, 2027); 
• A proposed change that would eliminate the requirement in the rules that providers’ BDC filings be supported by a certification by a licensed professional engineer (if no corporate engineering officer is able to certify);

 
In addition, the Commission proposes to modify the definition of “broadband connection” used in Form 477 so that it aligns with the definition of “broadband internet access service” used in the BDC.  Specifically, the Commission proposes to require facilities-based providers of broadband Internet access service to submit in Form 477 counts of “broadband internet access service connections” in service, with that term defined as connections that provide mass-market broadband internet access as defined and described in 47 CFR § 8.1(b).  This change would put Form 477 on the same definitional footing as the BDC, as well as Broadband Labeling.
 
Please contact Dan Davis at Consortia Consulting if you have any questions.

Broadband providers in Louisiana are ready to step up to the table and chow down some gumbo.

Actually, they are ready to apply for GUMBO 2.0. "Gumbo" is an acronym that stands for Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities, and it's the moniker Louisiana's broadband office – ConnectLA – has used for its grant program since 2021.

Applications opened on August 15th and the window for the first round will close on August 29th - a really tight timeline. The state has pre-qualified 33 operators to be eligble for GUMBO 2.0. Companies on the pre-qualified list incluide large companies such as AT&T, Brightspeed, Charter, and Comcast as well as Louisiana's trailblazing municipal fiber network in Lafayette, LUS Fiber.

CLICK HERE for an article at Light Reading with more about the program. 

Fort Collins Connexion, the municipal fiber utility owned by the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, recently hit a major milestone in it's continued growth and success. As reported on Community Nets, the provider has now reached it's 20,000th customer connection. Construction of the network began in 2018 and connections began in 2019. Fort Collins has been recognized nationally as one of the fastest and most reliable providers in the nation.

Last year Fort Collins was recognized as the Community Broadband Project of the Year by NATOA, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

BEAD dollars are finally getting closer to deployment. NTIA gave final approval to volume two of Montana's initial proposal on August 1st. On August 14th, the state's broadband office opened up applications on its grant applicaiton portal.

Montana has nearly $629 million to spend on broadband infrastructure. The state is giving respondents 60 days to submit applications, which are due by October 15th.

For more about Montana's BEAD process, CLICK HERE to read an article at Broadband Breakfast.

America is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation investment in broadband infrastructure and digital skills-building. Grants are dropping at warp speed. Crews are being hired, digital equity activities are being planned by states. But by the close of 2026, the dollars will be allocated and the work well underway. 

Then what? How do communities use what they've built to create long-term prosperity? Join CBAN for a day of learning and active collaboration as we roll up our sleeves and get down to the business of figuring out what's next. Attendees will participate in small group roundtables throughout the day, each focused on an aspect of broadband-enabled community success. Our keynote and lunch speaker will be recorded and released; we're hoping to capture round table content as well (and open to thoughts on the best way to do that).

Seeking Facilitators!
​Do you have a roundtable idea? We're currently seeking table facilitators to lead small group conversations around specific aspects of broadband-enabled community prosperity. Drop us a line at [email protected] and let's talk.

Broadband Breakouts
Attendees will participate in several Broadband Breakouts to discuss the question:

How do we leverage broadband in our community to improve...

Topics may include

• Economic development
• Workforce development
• Telehealth
• Digital inclusion

CBAN Associate Members!
We welcome you to become a Fall Forum Sponsor or Exhibitor! Click the link below to register for a tabletop space or to sponsor. Or, you may click the attendee registration link above to attend without a display space!