Upfront grant costs are "too steep for all but the best-funded ISPs," groups claim.
The biggest Internet service providers will dominate a $42.45 billion broadband grant program unless the Biden administration changes a rule requiring grant recipients to obtain a letter of credit from a bank, according to a joint statement from consumer advocacy groups, local government officials, and advocates for small ISPs.
The letter sent today to US government officials argues that "by establishing capital barriers too steep for all but the best-funded ISPs, the LOC [letter-of-credit requirement] shuts out the vast majority of entities the program claims to prioritize: small and community-centered ISPs, minority and women-owned ISPs, nonprofits, and municipalities."
The rule is part of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that's being administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
I mean he's always been considered a moderate. The voting system encouraged him through since we can't get voting reforms to pass. What I wouldn't give for ranked elimination style voting or something.... I'm so tired of being continually screwed by the system and it encouraging the gerrymandering that happened in my state despite our own laws against it
Having been in the broadband delivery business at all levels, I sadly report that small ISPs can't compete in this marketplace to begin with. Reason being they don't have the investments needed for last mile delivery. If they had the money needed to install landlines, or buy frequency leases, or fly a global satellite network then they wouldn't be a small ISP. The best that they can do is develop resell relationships.
Part of the reason they can't compete is cause of all the bullshit roadblocks the existing players put in their way. This was made readily apparent anywhere Google fiber tried to rollout and all of the crap they had to deal with to just roll out fiber.
It's not that they don't have the money to install the infrastructure, it's that they don't have enough money to fight all the legal battles just to do their jobs.
Here in Seattle I have two options: Centurylink or Comcast. I would happily purchase a plan from a smaller company, but due to the duopoly we have here, I have no other choice.
The biggest Internet service providers will dominate a $42.45 billion broadband grant program unless the Biden administration changes a rule requiring grant recipients to obtain a letter of credit from a bank, according to a joint statement from consumer advocacy groups, local government officials, and advocates for small ISPs.
The rule is part of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that's being administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
One signer is Gigi Sohn, the longtime consumer advocate who was nominated by President Biden to the Federal Communications Commission.
After the US Senate refused to confirm her nomination, Sohn became executive director of the nonprofit American Association for Public Broadband that lobbies for municipal networks.
The letter was signed by advocates from various other broadband-focused groups, including Public Knowledge; Connect Humanity; the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition; the Institute for Local Self-Reliance; Free Press; Next Century Cities; the Multicultural Media, Telecom, and Internet Council; the Coalition for Local Internet Choice; and Consumer Reports.
ISPs that signed the letter include Astound Broadband (owner of Grande, RCN, and Wave) and several smaller providers.
The original article contains 748 words, the summary contains 186 words. Saved 75%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
No shit, it's the monopoly game all over again. I worked for a local provider for 4 years in engineering. I would personally like to see greater restrictions on ISP M&As, investor ownership of communication providers, and media company owners of communication providers.
At my company, we were purchased by another provider that had mismanaged themselves to the brink of bankruptcy only to be saved by some investors at the last second. Our staff was cut by about half. A year or so after that we were bought by the biggest bunch of soulless monsters I've ever worked with. From there the company went growth-by-acquisition crazy, purchasing every Mom and Pop provider they could get their hands on.
Years later I was working an IP address consolidation project when I came across an FCC filing from the late 90s written by former management at my original company asking the FCC to reject the GTE purchases that resulted in Verizon as we know it today. I was amazed, and also saddened. It was all coming true.
When the dust settles, it'll be just like Ma Bell in 1975: There will be the "Internet Company" just like there was the Phone Company, with a probable 'bonus' of an extra "National Internet Corporation" modeled on the BBC.
If progressives can come up with messaging that wins elections, great. So far the messaging appeals to a fraction of the voting public, and has zero working strategy for how to effectively deal with the right coopting, twisting and ridiculing the progressive agenda. Inequality is growing faster than ever for people of all skin colors, and yet progressives have essentially stopped giving a fuck about labor and switched over to race. I'm not saying that racism isn't a problem in this country, I'm saying that the research shows that you get a SHIT TON more support if you don't tie the messaging of a social policy to a particular race. I'm worried that in the (perhaps distant) future, progressives challenging racism, examining race as a social construct, etc. will have the perverse effect of reifying and reinforcing race and othering.
That is total BS. Biden has more specifically than any president I have encountered so far and I was quite surprised with it. Besides the inflation reduction act there is the no surprises act is huge for me. The IRS implementing a tax return system which is directly opposed to a large corporate lobbying effort that has been going on for decades. Much like the no surprises came in quietly I noticed it and there has been some others I can't recall atm but I like what biden has done in his first term.
Edit: I missed the part where municipalities in certain states are allowed to get LOCs due to state law, so the grant program would exclude ISPs directly owned by the municipality. To me that is a state issue rather than a fed issue, especially as the NTIA says it will waive the requirement on a case-by-case basis
I'm sorry except for the smallest WISPs (which wouldn't qualify as broadband anyway), how does requiring a letter of credit from a bank represent a barrier? Carrier grade equipment is not cheap, nobody is paying is paying cash for it. So they should have a good relationship with a community bank anyway.
Yeah I also don't understand how it's a barrier. Unless I'm thinking of the wrong thing I know some people who had to get a letter of credit when getting some service at their new property in order to not have to pay some equipment deposit. As private individuals (although commercial property with no history of income), it took them a phone call, 2 emails and about 30 minutes to get one.
I really can't see any small ISP that isn't some scheme having trouble getting one.
I actually worked at a small ISP that served a population of <10,000 a decade ago and we had no problem getting grants the last time Obama was handing them out