Community Engagement 'Key' to IIJA Broadband Programs: NTIA's Kinkoph

Community engagement at “all levels” will be “key” to the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, said Doug Kinkoph, associate administrator for NTIA's Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth, during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2202080065). “You really do need to get down to the grassroots to make this effective,” Kinkoph said. A notice of funding opportunity for the BEAD and middle mile programs will come out “mid-May,” he said, and a notice for the digital equity programs will come out in early June (see 2202070053).

The COVID-19 pandemic “proved once and for all rural America needs a high degree of bandwidth,” Kinkoph said. USDA Rural Utilities Service is “working on the notice now” for the next round of the ReConnect program and “will be coming not too far from now,” said Assistant Administrator Chris McLean, noting the third round of applications closes Feb. 22.

Most states have returned signed grant agreements to the Department of Treasury for the $10 billion program funded through the American Rescue Plan Act for capital broadband projects, said DOT Capital Projects Fund Director Joseph Wender (see 2105100060). States can “immediately draw down up to 5% of the fund” for administrative and planning costs, Wender said, and this funding should start going out next week. The first set of payments for the department’s $100 million tribal broadband program was approved Tuesday, he added.

“Treasury has put its thumb on the scale, and we are explicitly saying we are encouraging fiber,” Wender said. States were given “a lot of responsibility,” he said, “so it requires a heavy dose of guiding” to “make sure that we’re pulling states in the right direction.”

The challenge for states with smaller broadband programs is that there’s a “significant amount of money flowing in,” said ConnectME Authority Executive Director Peggy Schaffer, noting pole attachments slow deployment. NTIA should “set high standards, but let states lead,” Schaffer said. Another challenge will be “making sure that we do a good job of trying to align the different funding mechanisms,” said Stanley Adams, director of the Kansas Department of Commerce Office of Broadband Development, because “each of those funding mechanisms has tweaks and turns around the criteria.”

With the bulk of federal broadband funding coming from NTIA, it’s important that NTIA helps states and localities navigate the various programs’ rules, Adams said. It’s also important to look at devices and portability, he said, because the infrastructure funding can be “more effective” if it’s “usable and accessible.”

The new funding means “new opportunities” for Crown Castle to facilitate deployment and partner with local governments on middle-mile deployment, said Vice President-Public Policy Staci Pies. There may also be an opportunity to help state and local governments that are upgrading their own infrastructure and provide “both small-cell and fiber services,” Pies said. “We'll work with anybody anywhere that makes sense” to build and expand networks, said Unite Private Networks General Counsel Matt Wiltanger.

Providers should start thinking now about contacting states about areas that may be unserved or underserved, McLean said: Being “proactive toward the states is key.” Adams and Schaffer agreed, encouraging providers to contact their offices to offer their perspectives.

“We’re going to go hard after a lot of this money that’s on the table,” said C Spire Vice President-Government Relations Chris Champion. One of the challenges will be whether state broadband offices are “adequately staffed” to “know who’s capable and who’s not” once they receive applications.

The funding provides an opportunity to complement the “state capacity that has already been built,” said Tilson CEO Josh Broder. Another is the “sheer amount of infrastructure that needs to be built,” Broder said, noting there’s a “critical need for workforce capacity.”

It’s important to go into markets with low barriers and the ability to “provide value,” said Uniti Group Vice President-Deputy General Counsel Kelly McGriff: “We want to partner with good quality governmental entities that are looking to build out and actually provide something for their citizens that's worthwhile and scalable.”

The COVID-19 pandemic “accelerated” the demand for “high capacity, long-lasting infrastructure” that’s “able to stay ahead of the demand curve,” said Electronic Frontier Foundation Senior Legislative Counsel Ernesto Falcon, noting fiber is the “transmission medium” of choice to achieve that. NTIA will need to provide states and localities with technical guidance to help them predict future capacity, Falcon said.