Benton Institute for Broadband & Society - Municipal Networks

Does your wireless company participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program?

Grace Tepper — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 17:39:02 +0000

This is the third in a series of articles looking at which providers are opting to offer services supported by the Affordable Connectivity Program. Here, Benton looks at the offerings of the largest wireless companies in the United States. According to wireless trade association CTIA, all three national providers and numerous regional providers support the Affordable Connectivity program—representing approximately 95% of existing wireless subscriptions and covering more than 99% of all Americans. The vast majority of wireless broadband consumers—over 350 million—subscribe to either Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T. All US wireless providers with over 5 million subscribers, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T (as well as their prepaid services and subsidiaries), Dish Wireless's Boost, and US Cellular are all participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program. We also included nonprofit PCs for People, whose services center on getting low-cost computers and affordable broadband internet into the homes of low-income individuals. When comparing wireless companies to telephone and cable providers in the program, cable is overall more cost-effective and transparent about their participation.

[Also see Does your cable company participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program? and Does your telephone company participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program?]

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/blog/does-your-wireless-company-participate-affordable-co…

Teaser:

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society looks at the Affordable Connectivity Program participation of the largest wireless companies in the US.

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Grace Tepper

Send date:

Mon, 03/21/2022

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/18/2022

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Fri, 03/18/2022

Coverage Type:

Affordability/Cost/Price

Municipal Networks

Our Challenge to Finally Close the Digital Divide

Robbie McBeath — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 15:46:26 +0000

This is a historic time for broadband investment. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the high costs of being offline. In response, Congress, over the past year, passed two laws—the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan—with an unprecedented amount of funding devoted to promoting digital equity. Communities should be engaged now to help craft long-term connectivity goals and ensure that diverse voices are part of the discussion—and that’s our job. Here’s a sampling of Benton Institute resources that explain what federal broadband funds are available, assist state and local leaders to meet connectivity challenges, recognize broadband champions, and promote digital equity.

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/blog/our-challenge-finally-close-digital-divide

Teaser:

A sampling of Benton Institute resources that explain what federal broadband funds are available, assist state and local leaders to meet connectivity challenges, recognize broadband champions, and promote digital equity.

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Robbie McBeath

Send date:

Mon, 08/02/2021

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 7/30/2021

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

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Publish Date:

Fri, 07/30/2021

Coverage Type:

Affordability/Cost/Price

Competition/Antitrust

Six Community Broadband Networks

benton — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 11:27:35 +0000

One might think this is the moment for community broadband networks. The truth is, locally-directed networks have been serving their communities for a long, long time. In discussing his administration’s plans for broadband, President Joe Biden noted that municipal and cooperative networks should be favored because these providers face less pressure to turn profits and are more committed to serving entire communities. The Biden administration sees value in creating competition in underbuilt markets dominated by monopoly providers and recognizes that community-owned networks tend to drive down prices for high-speed internet service—even for those subscribers who choose to stick with the large incumbent providers. MuniNetworks.org—the Institute for Local Self-Reliance clearinghouse of information about local government broadband policy—has published thousands of stories about municipal networks and conducted hundreds of interviews with those who have built, operated, or worked in the ecosystem. But for someone trying to get a sense of the range of municipal broadband approaches, there is no single document that encapsulates the variety of models. In Six Community Broadband Networks Demonstrate Diversity of Approaches to Connectivity Challenges, we offer a taste of the variety.

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/publications/community-broadband-networks

Teaser:

One might think this is the moment for community broadband networks. The truth is, locally-directed networks have been serving their communities for a long, long time.

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Christopher Mitchell

Sean Gonsalves

Jericho Casper

Send date:

Wed, 07/28/2021

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 7/26/2021

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Not Available

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Publish Date:

Tue, 07/27/2021

Coverage Type:

Op-Ed

Internet/Broadband

Competition/Antitrust

Broadband Prices are Soaring. Competition is the Answer

benton — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 16:28:11 +0000

Despite clear evidence to the contrary, lobbyists have long claimed that U.S. broadband is extremely competitive and incredibly affordable. As the Biden administration pushes a bold new broadband plan to drive competition in the broadband marketplace, lobbyists are once again trying to pretend there’s no real problem that needs fixing. To be clear, Americans pay some of the highest prices for broadband in the developed world, thanks to limited competition and regional monopolization. After decades of industry consolidation, heavy lobbying, and the steady erosion of both competition and government oversight, the results are obvious: high prices, spotty coverage, comparatively slower speeds, and statistically terrible customer service. President Joe Biden’s broadband plan hopes to fix this problem by driving additional competition to market, whether that competition comes from new private sector upstarts, innovative new technologies, or the hard work of local communities. An additional $100 billion in broadband funding also aims to help those stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide.

[Kevin Taglang is the Executive Editor at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/blog/broadband-prices-are-soaring-competition-answer

Teaser:

Let’s stop pretending. The lack of broadband competition is a major problem.

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Kevin Taglang

Send date:

Mon, 05/03/2021

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/30/2021

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

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Publish Date:

Fri, 04/30/2021

Coverage Type:

Affordability/Cost/Price

Competition/Antitrust

Municipal Networks

Universal Broadband

Broadband for America Now

benton — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 11:17:54 +0000

In October 2019, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society issued Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s. The agenda was comprehensive, constructed upon achievements in communities and insights from experts across the nation. The report outlined the key building blocks of broadband policy—deployment, competition, community anchor institutions, and digital equity (including affordability and adoption). The agenda called for everyone to be able to use High-Performance Broadband by the end of the decade. When we released the report last fall, we promised a refresh in 2020 because we knew there were issues that required additional development and more success stories that needed to be told. What we did not know was that the world would be changed permanently by COVID-19, creating health, economic, and social crises, resulting in the worst economic setback in America in decades and unveiling a connectivity crisis that spans rural and urban places, threatening to create an even more divided America. This essay offers our key recommendations by describing the likely pattern of changing broadband usage once the present crisis recedes, and by emphasizing how federal, state, tribal, and local governments should work together to implement a comprehensive broadband agenda.

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/publications/broadband-america-now

Teaser:

This essay offers key recommendations by describing the likely pattern of changing broadband usage once the present crisis recedes, and by emphasizing how federal, state, tribal, and local governments should work together to implement a comprehensive broadband agenda.

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Jonathan Sallet

Send date:

Thu, 10/29/2020

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 10/28/2020

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Not Available

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Publish Date:

Thu, 10/29/2020

Coverage Type:

Research

Headlines Specific Topic:

Benton Foundation

Coronavirus and Connectivity

Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s

benton — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 16:15:31 +0000

The purpose of Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s is to collect, combine, and contribute to a national broadband agenda for the next decade, enlisting the voices of broadband leaders in an ongoing discussion on how public policy can close the digital divide and extend digital opportunity everywhere. Leaders at all levels of government should ensure that everyone is able to use High-Performance Broadband in the next decade by embracing the following building blocks of policy:

Deployment. Federal money should help build future-proof networks in places where people don’t have robust broadband choices, focusing on the deployment of networks with 100/100 Mbps symmetrical speeds that can meet future demand in the 2020s, while employing interim measures to ensure that broadband reaches all in the short-term. Government should ensure that middle-mile facilities they fund are open to any broadband provider and that affordable services are among the broadband offerings.
Competition. Policymakers should encourage broadband competition to help lower prices, improve services, and spur innovation. Right now, restrictive laws in 19 states are hindering communities from helping their people. The laws should be revisited, reversed, and repealed.
Affordability & Adoption. Everyone in America should be able to afford a robust broadband connection and have the skills necessary to use it. Current research suggests that low-income people can only afford to pay $10-15 per month for broadband, and local governments and community institutions have demonstrated that digital-skills training is important.
Community Anchor Institutions. High-Performance Broadband connections empower community anchor institutions to fulfill their missions, reach their users wherever they are, and serve as launching pads for communitywide access. The federal government should expand its support to community institutions, like schools and libraries. As of 2018, 60 percent or more of community anchor institutions in the United States lacked robust and scalable connections that HighPerformance Broadband networks can provide.

[Jonathan Sallet is a Benton Senior Fellow. He works to promote broadband access and deployment, to advance competition, including through antitrust, and to preserve and protect internet openness. He is the former-Federal Communications Commission General Counsel (2013-2016), and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Litigation, Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice (2016-2017).]

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/publications/broadband-policy2020s

https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/css/BBA_2sheet_02_10.28.pdf

https://www.benton.org/sites/default/files/BBA_exsummary_web.pdf

Teaser:

In the next decade, everyone in America should be able to use High-Performance Broadband

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Jonathan Sallet

Send date:

Thu, 10/31/2019

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 10/30/2019

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

Include summary in newsletter email:

Publish Date:

Wed, 10/30/2019

Coverage Type:

Competition/Antitrust

Municipal Networks

Universal Broadband

Research

Universal Service Fund

E-rate/Schools and Libraries Program

Lifeline/Low-Income Consumers

Investment in Broadband Infrastructure Can Create Cost Savings and Community Self-Empowerment

benton — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 11:45:01 +0000

Building new broadband infrastructure is a big investment for any municipality. While the cost of that investment shouldn’t be overlooked, it’s equally important to consider the significant cost savings that can be reaped with publicly owned infrastructure. Many cities have slashed the cost of connecting their schools to broadband by opting to build their own infrastructure, instead of continuing to pay a private provider for connections. Portland (OR), for example, had been paying an incumbent provider $1,310 per month for 10 Mbps connections to schools. When the schools were connected to the city-owned network instead, the cost dropped to just $616 per month for a 400 Mbps connection. Not only did the change drastically cut costs for the school district, but the speed of service was improved fortyfold. The icing on the cake is that broadband is relatively affordable infrastructure. With the same money it would take to build a quarter mile of a light rail line, a city could build about 87 miles of an underground fiber network. Investment in publicly owned broadband infrastructure not only produces dramatic cost savings for municipalities, but fosters higher quality of life and stronger communities.

[Cat Blake is the Senior Program Manager for Next Century Cities, an organization that supports more than 200 member communities committed to expanding broadband access for residents.]

Benton Content:

Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/blog/investment-broadband-infrastructure-can-create-cost-…

Teaser:

Consider the significant cost savings that can be reaped with publicly owned infrastructure.

Source:

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Author:

Cat Blake

Send date:

Thu, 10/24/2019

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 10/23/2019

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Not Available

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Publish Date:

Thu, 10/24/2019

Coverage Type:

All Americans should be able to use the Internet. How do we get there?

benton — Mon, 12 Aug 2019 11:34:43 +0000

It's easy to say all Americans should be able to use the Internet in the 21st century, which is probably why several leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have done just that. It’s much harder to say how to get there. Almost everyone, even on both sides of the aisle in Congress, seems able to agree on the need to fix the maps first. That’s because the Federal Communications Commission relies on coverage reports from industry, and carriers have incentive to exaggerate their reach. The system also marks areas as large as hundreds of square miles as serviced even when only a single household has access, and companies are instructed to indicate where they could easily offer broadband rather than where consumers actually use it. All that needs to change. The next question is what type of technology can best solve the digital divide. Fiber is fast, powerful and reliable. It’s also what researchers call “future-proof” — unlikely to become outdated and even likely to outlast the electronics that run on it today. But fiber is also expensive, which is why some propose supporting a mix of methods, from satellites to unused spectrum, for hooking people up as speedily and cheaply as possible. Then there’s the who. Large providers have channeled existing grants into offering service at inadequate speeds. Shifting the focus to local actors is smart — and state rules that prohibit towns and counties from building their own networks need to go. But the government may get more bang for every buck by upping requirements and accountability for everyone rather than keeping some out altogether.

Benton Content:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/all-americans-should-be-able-to-use-the-…

Teaser:

It’s much harder to say how to get there.

Source:

Washington Post

Author:

Editorial staff

Send date:

Mon, 08/12/2019

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 8/9/2019

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

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Publish Date:

Mon, 08/12/2019

Coverage Type:

Universal Service Fund

As Broadband Access Lags, Cities Build Their Own Networks to Get Communities Online

zwalker@benton.org — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 17:14:58 +0000

In Fort Collins, Colorado, residents have a unique option when signing up for internet service. Instead of being limited to giant providers like Comcast, Charter or Cox, they can opt for a city-owned and operated service, called Connexion. Connexion's genesis took place about a decade ago, when the city was looking for ways to bring faster, more affordable internet to the community. In November 2017, voters approved a ballot measure to build a municipal fiber network. By 2023, Connexion was available to all homes and businesses in the area. Fort Collins is one of many cities pursuing innovative ways to bring more affordable, reliable broadband to communities. In Ammon, Idaho, the local fiber optic network is owned and operated by the city. This has benefitted private internet service providers, too, since they can use that existing infrastructure to enter the market, lowering the barrier for entry and boosting competition (and therefore reducing prices for consumers). These initiatives highlight the ways communities are bridging the gaps left by large, private internet service providers, whose services can be unaffordable or simply unavailable to many people, especially among rural, low-income and marginalized populations. For many of these communities, municipal and publicly owned networks are the only way to truly get connected. But there are obstacles. Around two dozen states have laws that ban or restrict cities from building municipal or publicly funded broadband networks. Lobbying by private internet service providers has played a significant role in maintaining those restrictions.

Benton Content:

https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/as-broadband-access-lags-cities-build-their-o…

Teaser:

Cities are stepping up to bridge the gaps left by large, private internet companies

Source:

C|Net

Author:

Abrar Al-Heeti

Send date:

Thu, 04/11/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/10/2024

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

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Publish Date:

Wed, 04/10/2024

Coverage Type:

Competition/Antitrust

Marginalized Populations

Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Arkansas City to Get High-Speed Broadband Without Government Funding

zwalker@benton.org — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:37:33 +0000

The City of Cabot, Arkansas, is getting a high-speed broadband network that the city will own and that will be operated by Connect2First, the broadband unit of local power company First Electric Cooperative Corporation. Unlike many broadband buildouts these days, the network will be built without any government funding. Instead, the project will be funded via $20 million in bonds, which were approved by residents. Until recently, Arkansas municipalities were prohibited from owning broadband networks because of an old law aimed at preventing cities from competing with other entities. Construction already has begun on the network, which will serve 26,000 residents and businesses.

Benton Content:

https://www.telecompetitor.com/arkansas-city-to-get-high-speed-broadband-without…

Teaser:

The City of Cabot, Arkansas, is getting a high-speed broadband network that the city will own and that will be operated by Connect2First

Source:

telecompetitor

Author:

Joan Engebretson

Send date:

Tue, 04/02/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/1/2024