Bekele: FCC Precision Ag Report Could Spark 'Better Recommendations'

The FCC precision agriculture task force's previous report to the FCC and USDA should be considered a "launching pad" to "give better insights [and] better recommendations" in its next report, Chair Teddy Bekele told the group during its virtual first meeting Thursday since being rechartered (see 2111100062). The panel has a “big task of helping rural America become more part of the internet and having connectivity,” said Vice Chair Michael Adelaine, South Dakota State University vice president-technology and security. She said all working group members should be involved and engaged in their group's discussions. Bekele is also Land O'Lakes chief technology officer.

The prior task force “completed important work” recommending how the FCC and others can “help the agriculture community by looking at the data needed to really understand coverage and the gaps on agricultural lands by assessing connectivity needs and doing the work of promoting broadband access and adoption,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Recommendations in its last report were “spot on,” Rosenworcel said, citing better maps, updating the definition of broadband, and improving collaboration among governments.

Broadband “is and should be a tool that allows people who want to live in these rural areas access to markets everywhere,” said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The task force’s work “has been very informative to our work at the Rural Utilities Service,” said Rural Utilities Service acting Administrator Chris McLean.

Commissioner Brendan Carr said he’s “a little concerned” about whether increasing the definition of broadband speeds will “result in the directing of subsidies to communities that already have high-speed service.” The task force should focus on preventing overbuilding because “so many of our rural communities … still have zero Mbps,” Carr said.

The task force was charged with providing advice and recommendations for promoting precision ag. It will again be divided into four working groups -- data and mapping, connectivity needs and demands, encouraging adoption and jobs, and accelerating broadband deployment on unserved agricultural lands. Unlike the previous term, all WGs will be required to submit reports annually.

The entire task force should decide which subpanel should address international competitiveness of precision ag and data privacy concerns, said Designated Federal Officer Elizabeth Cuttner, Wireline Bureau Competition Policy Division attorney-adviser, in response to Fifth Estate Growers' Andy Bater. Adelaine suggested the task force also decide which group should address cybersecurity. The FCC hopes to release a public notice with details about future meetings and working group members and leadership "soon," Cuttner said, saying there hasn't been any guidance on what the timeline may be to offer the group an in-person meeting because agency is still teleworking.

The task force heard updates from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on innovation zones and experimental licensing. The innovation zones are areas designated by the commission to extend a program license, said OET Deputy Chief Ira Keltz. There are four such zones, in New York City, Salt Lake City, North Carolina’s research triangle, and Boston's Northeastern University.

The group also heard from the broadband data task force. Efforts to move forward with a broadband serviceable location fabric have been stalled by a pre-award protest, and the FCC issued a stop-work order during the pleading cycle, said task force Senior Counsel Sean Spivey. Procurements for technical assistance to smaller ISPs and participants in the data challenge process are “underway and at various stages of completion,” Spivey said.