#BroadbandLive
Broadband Mapping & Data
Broadband's Impact
Broadband Breakfast
Transcript of Gov. Kaine's Response to Question of Including Carrier Data in Virginia's Broadband Map
WASHINGTON, July 28 – The following is a transcript of Gov. Tim Kaine's response to a question at the Brookings Institution about whether Virginia had decided to shield carrier data – and if so, why – from the map of broadband availability currently being pursued by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Drew Clark
Editor's Note: The following is my own audio transcript of the question I asked Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, at the Brookings Institution event on Friday.
-Drew Clark, Editor, BroadbandCensus.com
My name is Drew Clark, and I've just started a Web service called BroadbandCensus.com, and we are about providing the public with free information about availability and also competition, speeds and prices of broadband.
With regard to broadband availability, and mapping broadband, you mentioned of course Virginia's interest in this, as many states have, and there seems to be different approaches emerging to this.
One approach is collecting information, but keeping it confidential, and not allowing information about who the carriers are that are providing broadband. The other approach, which actually Virginia Tech's eCorridors Program has pioneered, involves identifying the carriers so that consumers can know who is offering broadband, and who isn't offering broadband, and also see the prices and fees associated with those carriers.
I wanted to ask you whether Virginia has made a decision on which approach it wants to take as it pursues broadband mapping, and why would you, if you do, choose the confidential approach.
Gov. Kaine:
It is a work in progress. I am fortunate in that the chairman of my broadband committee who is working on this is a guy who knows a little bit about the telecom industry: Mark Warner has agreed to chair it. [Mark Warner, the Virginia Democratic governor who preceded Kaine, was a cellular telecommunications executive before being elected in 2001.]
I think he came in thinking, the governor has asked me to do it as a favor; but as he has gotten into it, he has gotten very excited.
But you put your finger on a very interesting point, which is, at the first level, we are doing build-out in areas that we know that we need to — the rural parts of south side, eastern shore, connecting the industrial parks — but there is a project, as we are doing the build-outs, that is an important one, and that is to get the best current data on the percentages of homes in Virginia that are served with direct broadband access.
In working on that question, we have found in working with providers, that a lot of providers would share information with us, but only if their competitors don't get to see it, and if it is held in a proprietary way.
Obviously, it is very important — in some ways, this whole discussion really is about choice, whether it is transportation, aviation, public transit/rail/roads — and then we are over on the telecom side, we want people to know what their choices are.
So, there will probably be a second step, of what we'll do, where we say, 'how can we take the information now that we have it, and make that information available for Virginia citizens so that they will know what choices they have.
But in the early stages of trying to determine the percentages — it interested me that there isn't a lot of good data in Virginia or anywhere about what percentage of homes are served by the most types of broadband — so we are trying to get our hands on that question first, and in doing that, we will probably keep a good bit of that information for ourselves, because we will not be getting it otherwise.
But the next step has to be how do we then give that broadband information to the consumers so that they can pick.
Articles Referenced in this Transcript:
Telecom and Transportation Should Be Focus of Infrastructure Investments, Says Think Tank (BroadbandCensus.com, July 28)
The eCorridors Program at Virginia Tech has provided encouragement and technical advice in taking the Broadband Census to a national audience. See our supporters page.
Related Topics:BroadbandCensus.comBrookings Institutiondata confidentialityDrew ClarkeCorridorsTim KaineVirginia broadbandVirginia Tech
Telecom and Transportation Should Be Focus of Infrastructure Investments, Says Think Tank
Economic Progress in India Depends Upon Rural Telecommunications
Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com and a nationally-respected telecommunications attorney at The CommLaw Group. He has closely tracked the trends in and mechanics of digital infrastructure for 20 years, and has helped fiber-based and fixed wireless providers navigate coverage, identify markets, broker infrastructure, and operate in the public right of way. The articles and posts on Broadband Breakfast and affiliated social media, including the BroadbandCensus Twitter feed, are not legal advice or legal services, do not constitute the creation of an attorney-client privilege, and represent the views of their respective authors.
Broadband Breakfast on January 19, 2022 — The Community Broadband Network Approach to Infrastructure Funding
Infrastructure Money Must Go to Better Networks — Even If in Areas with Existing Infrastructure
Broadband Breakfast for Lunch on February 9, 2022 — Harnessing Cryptocurrency
Broadband Breakfast on February 2, 2022 — Groundhog Day Special on Broadband Mapping (Part 1)
Broadband Breakfast on January 26, 2022 — AI's Impact on Media, Law, Finance and Government
Broadband Breakfast on February 16, 2022 — State Broadband Officials and the Broadband Infrastructure Surge
Broadband Mapping
In Discussing 'Broadband and the Biden Administration,' Trump and Obama Transition Workers Praise Auctions
Liana Sowa
Screenshot from the November 2 Broadband Breakfast Live Online webcast
November 22, 2020 – In the event that the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden seeks substantial funding for broadband infrastructure, there is a strong likelihood that such monies would be channeled through a reverse-auction mechanism, said panelists at the Broadband Breakfast Live Online event on November 11.
See more from Broadband Breakfast Live Online, including "Broadband and the Biden Administration, Part II," on December 2, 2020.
In a discussion with Broadband Breakfast Editor and Publisher Drew Clark, two broadband policy experts who served on the transition teams for Donald Trump and Barack Obama, respectively, championed the role of such a mechanism as efficient and fair.
Previous attempts to run funding through other selection processes provided funds only to the well connected, claimed to Mark Jamison, research and education director at the University of Florida, and who served on then President-elect Trump's 2016 transition team.
Places with a Democratic governor or a congressman of either party that sat on a powerful committee were funded more often compared to other regions, Jamison said.
Whether or not funding mechanisms were in fact biased in that way, both Jamison and Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten both praised the transparency and economic efficiency of the Federal Communications Commission's reverse-auction funding mechanism.
Wallsten, an economist who was involved in the transition for then President-elect Obama, and who also served on the National Broadband Plan implemented in the first year of the Obama administration, criticized the Rural Utility Service and the old funding process of Universal Service Fund. Both said under these mechanism, a lot of money is spent without good information about how such funds are awarded or distributed.
Wallsten and Jamison agreed that more data would help make broadband funding more effective, they also said that the FCC was right to move forward with its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction on October 29 – part of the new auction-based approach to the Universal Service Fund – despite imperfect mapping.
In part, this was because any inadequacy of mapping data can be resolved in the challenge process, said Wallsten. Additionally, it is not clear that auctions like RDOF, or the Connect American Fund auction in 2018, would have yielded better results had the FCC waited to update their maps.
Jamison and Wallston also projected how the Biden administration might tackle net neutrality, Section 230 and antitrust regulation.
Jamison said that if the Biden administration reinstitutes net neutrality, it will quickly see that that won't work very well.
Wallsten said that if it's reinstituted the debate will be different than in the past. A large part of net neutrality is paid prioritization where third parties can pay ISP's to put their content "at the front of the line." He said that the pandemic has demonstrated why no paid prioritization may be a mistake, as many people need guarantees of stable connection for their schooling and telehealth applications.
Wallsten also noted that many made doom and gloom forecasts when the Trump administration FCC removed net neutrality protections in December 2017. None of those predictions came to pass, he said.
Both also agreed that the FCC should not be involved the regulation of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects tech platforms from liability for user-generated comments.
They also were wary of changes to the consumer welfare standard governing antitrust because, said Jamison, "If you're not regulating for consumers, who are we regulating for?"
See "Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, November 11: Broadband and the Biden Administration," Broadband Breakfast
"Broadband and the Biden Administration" is sponsored by:
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
National Broadband Plan
National Broadband Plan Has Held Up Well, With Notable Downsides, Say Authors
Elijah Labby
Photo of Blair Levin, former executive director of the National Broadband Plan, by New America used with permission
June 29, 2020 — The National Broadband Plan has been successful, despite notable downsides, said panelists in a Federal Communications Bar Association webinar on Friday.
The plan, first released ten years ago, aimed to increase competition, provide lower-cost service to more Americans and decrease regulatory barriers to broadband rollout.
"Ten years in this space in terms of technology is remarkable," said Rebekah Goodheart of Jenner & Block. "At the time only 15 percent of people had access… of 25 megabits… The fact that this plan was able to stand up through time shows how visionary it really was."
"All the stuff that we're taking for granted now are things that came out of recommendations from the plan," she added.
Participants noted that, despite broadband access deficiencies amid the coronavirus, "overall broadband adoption rates [are] going up reasonably well right now," said John Horrigan, Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute.
But there are still significant barriers to unfettered telework capabilities, he said.
"We're also waking up to the fact that smartphones, as useful as they are, have significant limitations for completing homework," he said.
Ruth Milkman of Quadra Partners agreed.
"There's a lot of stuff you can't do on a smartphone," she said. "It's hard to read papers… and there are data caps, and it can be quite expensive if you try to use it in the same way that you would use a fixed wireline network."
Blair Levin, non-resident Fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Project of the Brookings Institution, said that sections of the National Broadband Plan held up remarkably well, even ten years later.
"In the healthcare section which says, 'We really need to utilize telehealth because someday there'll be a pandemic'… it does look very prophetic," he said.
Despite the proactivity of the policy, Levin said, it has certain shortcomings that the FCC should address.
"We've become much more aware in this society of different ways in which our institutions do not include everyone and lead to inequalities," he said. "I would argue that absolutely needs to be a new plan… now it's more important than ever because we recognize the importance of closing that digital divide."
Authors of the 2010 National Broadband Plan Say That a 'Refresh' Should Not Only Be Up to FCC
Adrienne Patton
Photo of INCOMPAS policy summit panelists discussing the National Broadband Plan by Adrienne Patton
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2020 – Panelists at the INCOMPAS policy summit Tuesday looked back with fondness on the Federal Communication Commission's National Broadband Plan that was released 10 years ago this month. They agreed that if the plan is refreshed, the FCC should not be the lone agency to lead in the changes.
The 10-year-old plan was designed to "ensure robust competition" and "maximize the benefits of broadband," while fostering the spread of broadband across the country, said INCOMPAS General Counsel Angie Kronenberg.
New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin, who led the plan's development, called it a "three-act play."
The first act was the hiring people. The second act was holding hearings and acquiring data. The third act was an extensive writing process, Levin said.
When asked how the United States is doing in regards to the plan, Levin said there have been great improvements and some complications.
Mattey Consulting Principal Carol Mattey who worked on the plan, said it was a "long and evolutionary process," that often required "nitty gritty details" from complex concepts.
Technology Policy Institute Senior Fellow John Horrigan, who also worked on the plan, said that while the statistics do not show a large increase in Americans that have wireline broadband at home, smart phones and mobile devices have made a huge difference.
Even so, Horrigan admitted that for children who have to do homework at home, smart phones are not enough.
However, Horrigan said the way that policy makers understand and think about the digital divide has improved.
A decade ago, city mayors were not concerned about digital inclusion, and now that has changed, said Horrigan.
Levin disclosed his frustration with the "metrics" section of the plan. The availability of bandwidth should not hinder economic growth, said Levin. But, "fundamentally we've made progress," Levin admitted.
"The regulatory process is too slow to catch up," and legislators are hesitant to look so far in the future while also considering cost concerns, said Mattey.
Looking ahead to a possible refresh of the plan, Horrigan said the FCC should not be the sole organization reworking the document.
Levin agreed and added that broadband has changed over the past decade as well. He called broadband a "mixed bag."
The whole federal government should be thinking about how to revive the plan and take into consideration cybersecurity and privacy, Levin advised.
CES 2022: Next Generation of TVs Have Application for Remote Learning, Promoters Say
Digital Inclusion Leaders a Critical Step to Closing Digital Divide: National League of Cities
USDA Hires Lumen, Ligado Marketing Services, IRS Facial ID, New Public Knowledge Hire
Preparing Collaboration Model, Data Collection Suggested Before Infrastructure Money Flows
Telework Here to Stay, But Devices Need Beefed Up Security
National Privacy Law, Digital Infrastructure Firm's $8B Raise, Wicker Wants Spectrum Cooperation
Signup for Broadband Breakfast
Get twice-weekly Breakfast Media news alerts.
Broadband Roundup3 months ago
Cox's Wireless Deal with Verizon Dies, Apple Appeals Epic Games Case, AT&T's Fiber Investment
AT&T Hurricane Survey, FCC Announces $1.1B from Emergency Connectivity Fund, Comcast's Utah Plans
Facebook Pauses Instagram for Kids, $1.2B from Emergency Connectivity Fund, Ransomware Attacks
Facebook Changes and Second Whistleblower, Comcast's Spam Call Feature, AT&T Picks Ericsson for 5G
O'Rielly 'Perplexed' By Delay in Rosenworcel Decision, China Mobile Domesticating Contracts, AT&T Partners with Frontier
Expert Opinion4 months ago
Mike Harris: Investing in Open Access Fiber Optics is Investing in the Future
Spectrum2 months ago
More Experts Weigh In On Possibility 12 GHz Band Can Be Shared with 5G Services
Artificial Intelligence4 weeks ago
Henry Kissinger: AI Will Prompt Consideration of What it Means to Be Human
Copyright © 2008-2021 Breakfast Media LLC. Articles on Broadband Breakfast are not legal advice or legal services.