“I am very saddened that we lost the Affordable Connectivity Program because it was our best program to close the broadband gap for consumers,” she said. “As a result, millions of households had to make the difficult choice between paying for utilities and broadband, which has become just as important as paying for electricity and water to consumers.”
She added that “it’s important for the commission to continue to pursue affordability.”
BEAD revision issues
Besides broadband affordability, the changes in the NTIA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) have become another key concern for Gomez and others.
While the BEAD program, which was created under the Biden administration, emphasized fiber-based network technology, the incoming Trump administration has looked to make it more technology-neutral.
In July, the NTIA said its changes to the BEAD program were “intended to eliminate technology-specific preferences, minimize regulatory burdens, and deliver broadband connectivity throughout the country “at a fraction of the cost of the original program.”
Further, NTIA modified BEAD program requirements in the 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity (2022 NOFO) that prioritized funding for end-to-end fiber infrastructure projects in favor of a “technology-neutral” approach that allows all qualified technologies to compete for “Priority” status and funding based primarily on cost.
However, Gomez maintains that such an approach is not viable.
“I call it a race to the bottom where the only thing that matters now is how much the deployment costs,” she said. “I think it’s penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
She added that this approach could “leave some communities behind.”
But getting broadband is not just about getting higher speeds into consumers' and businesses' hands.
Gomez noted that the implications of the new BEAD approach might impact the nation’s desire to advance its standing in the AI race.
“We’re going to incentivize technologies that won’t meet the demands and will leave some communities behind, particularly as this administration pursues a policy of becoming a world leader in artificial intelligence,” she said. “I don’t want users to be left out of the AI world, so having that broadband connection is going to matter even more.”
She added that “this administration is pushing to become a leader in AI, while on the other hand, communities might not be able to benefit from it.”
Thoughtful spectrum policy
As part of bringing broadband to more homes and businesses, there is a push by the FCC and other entities to have thoughtful policy around wireless spectrum allocations.
The Trump Administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) bill directs the auction of no less than 800 megahertz but only expressly mandates an auction in one band in particular: the Upper C-band (3.98-4.2 GHz).
Critics like the law firm Wiley noted that the “spectrum carve-outs and the ambitious 800-megahertz topline create challenging math that may increase pressure to revisit bands that were not previously a priority for repurposing.”
Gomez highlighted the utility of unlicensed spectrum for various consumer and business applications.
“Unlicensed has been an important spectrum policy for our country,” she said. “It has led to amazing innovations, and we’re global leaders because we have championed unlicensed uses.”
Besides its use in IoT devices for businesses and in the home, the unlicensed band has been effectively used by wireless ISPs to bring broadband services into hard-to-reach areas.
Gomez said that “companies are finding it within themselves to create a service that directly competes against incumbents, and it’s important to protect that.”
One of the key bands that has been used for broadband delivery is CBRS.
It is a US-based spectrum-sharing framework in the 3.5 GHz band that allows for both commercial and private 5G networks without traditional licenses.
Gomez would also like to see that CBRS is maintained. “I realize it’s one of the bands that some are targeting for some type of reallocation, but we need to keep in mind that companies have spent billions of dollars to create the business that is succeeding in the market and is one of the few ways to reach communities,” she said.
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