Experts Seek Stronger Broadband Measurements, Sustainability in IIJA Programs

Broadband advocates, industry and academics urged policymakers Wednesday to develop standards for measuring broadband beyond speed. Some during the Marconi Society virtual event sought a focus on how local communities implement sustainable broadband programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Measuring broadband is difficult and should be done with more than running speed tests, said Christophe Diot, Google network analytics technical lead. It should include assessing whether users can access their services “with a decent quality” because speeds may vary based on the device, type of connection and server location, Diot said.

Tribal communities are “sort of late to the internet space,” said Matthew Rantanen, Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association director of technology. The lack of fiber infrastructure on tribal land and “effective incentives for incumbent [providers] to get there has sort of delayed their participation on the internet,” Rantanen said. Tribes have been building their own networks, he said, but the definition of broadband is “a moving target.”

“What people want is measurement against services … and what services they can access,” Diot said, and any technique used to measure broadband should be standardized “in a way that cannot be tricked by anyone.” The FCC’s current standard of broadband being 25/3 Mbps “sounds like a great starting point,” Rantanen said, but that "may be a stretch depending on how many folks you have in the household.”

There should be a “resilient, green ecosystem in which people have equal opportunity to prosper,” said Mei Lin Fung, People-Centered Internet chair. Fung met with Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves Monday to propose a “digital cross sector regulatory sandbox” in Puerto Rico, she said: “We would like to launch in February.”

Inclusive broadband adoption is “part of something that all levels [of government] need to be paying attention to going forward,” said Karen Mossberger, Arizona State University urban policy professor. “If we don’t sustain these digital inclusion efforts, that means that people who are left behind are going to be even more excluded,” Mossberger said. Local and state governments should "think creatively" about how to sustainably implement their broadband programs over time, she said.

Internet access is the “precipice” to having access to local governments, said Mai-Ling Garcia, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation digital director. Some local governments that have the highest need also “have the fewest resources to address that need,” Mossberger said. States and the federal government should be considering this as Digital Equity Act plans are developed, she said. Garcia noted local leaders need the “tools to talk about these issues” because “a lot of the execution and implementation” of state or federal programs happens at this level.

Digital equity is the solution to addressing the digital divide and “digital inclusion is the work” to get there, said #BlackTechFutures Research Institute co-founder Fallon Wilson. Part of the solution includes ensuring “the playing field is leveled” and communities are able to meet their needs because “everyone has different challenges,” Wilson said. One strategy should be workforce development and digital credentialing so communities can employ individuals who “can do the research or who can do the policy writing” to address digital equity issues, said Traci Morris, executive director-Arizona State University’s American Indian Policy Institute. “It's so difficult to find somebody who understands Indian country and broadband," Morris said. "We are at the precipice of thinking beyond deployment," Wilson added, and need a "workforce and the human capital to keep us going."