By Shawn Thompson, V.P. for Analytics For state and local governments and their partners, the results of the FCC’s three recent auctions for subsidies and spectrum will have a significant impact on long-term broadband planning. CTC developed interactive tools for analyzing the results of each auction. The FCC’s reverse auction for the Rural Digital Opportunity […]
Year: 2020
Are You Thinking About ReConnect Round Three Yet? You Should Be.
Heather Mills, Team Lead, Funding Strategies Ziggy Rivkin-Fish, Principal Grant Strategist October 29, 2020 All signs are pointing to a third round of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect funding program opening in spring 2021. It’s not too early to begin developing an application strategy to position yourself competitively for that opportunity. We expect the […]
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USDA Announces New Rural Broadband Grant Funding
Cat Blake, Civic Technology Analyst In late September, USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) opened the FY2021 funding round for its well-regarded Community Connect broadband funding program. Community Connect is a competitive grant program that distributes awards to rural, unserved communities demonstrating economic necessity. Awards range from $100,000 to $3 million and require a 15 percent […]
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How States and Localities Can Set Realistic Small Cell Application Fees Now That the 9th Circuit Has Upheld FCC Preemption of Local Authority
Andrew Afflerbach, PhD, P.E. CEO & CTO Now that a federal appeals court has largely upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s preemption of local authority over small cell siting, states and localities would be wise to rigorously document their costs of processing applications and hosting equipment on utility poles or light poles. If they undertake such […]
Coronavirus Emergency Funding Available to Maryland Jurisdictions
Cat Blake, Civic Technology Analyst Local governments in Maryland have a short application window for a new grant opportunity that will fund broadband and other projects. Applicants that are interested in the State of Maryland’s FY 2020 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program must file their applications by September 23. Overview The State of Maryland currently […]
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How Localities Can Monetize Broadband-Enabling Assets and Expand Connectivity
With the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrating the critical need for communications connectivity, local governments are striving to improve local broadband service and fill broadband service gaps. At the same time, localities may be able to generate much-needed revenue from broadband and telecom assets they already own, including towers, fiber optics, rooftops, conduit, and poles. Indeed, many […]
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$1.5 Billion in New Grant Funding Available from Economic Development Administration for Broadband & Other Projects
Heather Mills, Team Lead, Funding Strategies Ziggy Rivkin-Fish, Principal Grant Strategist The recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act added $1.5 billion to an existing grant program of the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). This is a significant opportunity, both because of the size of the allocation and its […]
The Broadband Lifeline in a Pandemic: Digital Equity for Human Empowerment
Cat Blake, Civic Technology Analyst The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has all of us searching for solutions—for health and safety, reassurance and comfort, education and employment. Many have heralded internet access as the solution that can address these problems. It’s true that universal access to robust, affordable broadband is paramount; this crisis has exposed, more so […]
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The Broadband Lifeline in a Pandemic: Tools to Manage Wireless Siting in a Crisis and Move Application Processes Online
Shawn Thompson, VP/Analytics Much of the nation’s workforce remains homebound, but utilities, cities, and counties are not seeing any slowdown in applications for the installation of small wireless facilities (commonly called “small cells”) on light poles and other locations. Given the pressures on communities to process applications, this is a moment when you may need […]
The Broadband Lifeline in a Pandemic: How Your Community Can Quickly Connect the Unconnected
Joanne Hovis, President As the nation prepares to ride out a pandemic that will persist for months, the need is acute for fast and inexpensive broadband rollout. Many communities have thrown up their hands because there are no LTE hotspots to be found on the market (the supply delay is many months at this point) […]