Heather Mills, Senior Analyst & Funding Strategies Team Lead, CTC Technology & Energy

Around the country, many local governments deliver broadband services to their public schools and libraries under the federal E-rate subsidy program (formally known as the Schools and Libraries Program and run by the Universal Service Administrative Company). If your organization is one of those providers, you’re probably breathing easy right about now. The fiscal year began July 1^st—meaning that the competitive procurement process and paperwork are behind you, and you’re well into the funding year.

Don’t relax too much. Even though the school year is just starting, it’s time for current and potential future providers to start strategizing through the next two (if not three) E-rate funding cycles. Why? Because the further in advance you engage with your customers regarding their future needs and anticipate their broadband strategies, the better prepared you’ll be to help those schools and libraries potentially maximize their E-rate service requests. The more robust the services you deliver, the better your customers will be able to deliver the connectivity their students, teachers, and library patrons need to teach and learn.

Likewise, if your organization is thinking about responding to an E-rate program RFP and providing broadband services to schools and libraries in your jurisdiction, it is never too early to start planning your approach to the RFP. E-rate is an excellent opportunity to infuse federal funding into your jurisdiction but complying with E-rate requirements requires a lot of organization and paperwork!

When the FCC “modernized” E-rate in late 2014—the first change in 18 years—it prioritized funding to allow schools and libraries additional flexibility and options for purchasing services. As a result, maximizing E-rate funding means:

• Considering how changing curricula or patron needs may increase bandwidth needs in the coming years
• Understanding which options (e.g., lit services, dark fiber) you can offer to your school and library customers and how you can be competitive in your pricing for those options
• Ensuring you are as responsive as possible to requests for services

For example, school districts that are seeking dark fiber service options will need to do a lot more than sign a simple contract. They’ll need to issue procurement requests, compare their options, make a viable business case, and have detailed conversations with USAC about their choices. The better job you do at providing the necessary information in your bid, the easier it will be for schools and libraries to make a sound selection.

Even in the case of responding to requests for conventional lit services, you’ll need to be prepared to submit comprehensive proposals by deadlines that may cut very close to the end of the next funding application window (typically in mid-spring). Some schools and libraries may wait until January to file their RFPs for a complicated procurement—which means less time for providers to respond.

Your organization might have other, internal barriers that will need to be addressed before you can make commitments. If you are a new service provider, you should take time to review the forms and accounts that will be required as part of the E-rate process. There may be other internal process barriers unique to government providers that you may need to navigate. It’s important to take those into consideration as part of your overall strategy for bidding on E-rate procurements.

CTC has deep experience in helping municipal and non-profit providers chart effective E-rate strategies. We suggest you consider doing the following as you embark on your next round of strategic E-rate planning:

• Create a detailed timeline that considers all potential barriers.
• Make sure that you have taken care of the basic requirement of obtaining a SPIN.
• Understand what contracts you already have in place (e.g., service types and terms). Do the current contracts allow the services you provide to grow? Were the contracts forward thinking regarding your customers’ future needs?
• Determine whether you need help drafting your RFP responses. Most municipal providers are somewhat familiar with issuing and evaluating RFPs, but not necessarily with drafting a comprehensive RFP response.
• Prepare proposals that respond directly to the services requested; you’ll make the schools’ and libraries’ jobs easier if you enable them to compare apples to apples.
• Understand the difference between “lowest cost” and “most cost-effective.” That will make all the difference in how you respond to RFPs!

Sublette County, Wyoming, has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from private sector entities that have an interest in working with the County to address gaps in middle-mile connectivity and enable high-quality broadband service to businesses throughout the County.

The County hopes this initiative will support and accelerate private providers’ efforts to improve broadband service options in the County by utilizing County-owned fiber or conduit assets.

Response are due to the County by 4:00 PM MST on Friday, November 9, 2018.

Read the RFP here.

The Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify private sector firms that will deliver affordable broadband access to unserved and underserved parts of the state.

Acting on its commitment to achieving the state’s policy goals for rural broadband, DTI will provide a capital grant to one or more qualified respondents as startup funding for the construction and operation of wireless broadband networks. The RFP identifies several target areas that comprise approximately 127,700 homes and businesses in the rural portions of Kent and Sussex counties.

DTI’s innovative funding approach aims to lower some of the common barriers to broadband market entry in rural areas, particularly the capital investment required to begin offering service in areas with low population densities. DTI aims to bolster service availability by building a public-private partnership in which the private sector has the opportunity to enter markets that are not otherwise attractive for investment. In return, the private partner will make pricing and service commitments that further the state’s broadband goals.

DTI seeks bids from potential partners that will commit to developing and maintaining wireless broadband networks for at least seven years, with an option for three one-year extensions. Following the grant period, ownership of the assets will transfer to the private partner(s).

Responses are due to DTI by 2:00 P.M. local time on Thursday, October 8, 2018.

The RFP is available here.

Jacob Levin, Analyst

Libraries’ primary mission—as centers of knowledge in communities large and small—is well understood. But libraries are also community hubs, and in that role they often serve as a refuge, a source of trusted information, and a link to the outside world during and after crises. That second role magnifies libraries’ need for robust and resilient broadband connections.

Major natural disasters like wildfires, mudslides, and earthquakes can temporarily place entire communities on the wrong side of the digital divide at a time when access to connectivity may be a matter of life and death. Damage to cell towers and utility poles can sever individuals from the networks that allow them to communicate and access information and resources.

As residential internet connections and mobile devices fail, people flock to their local library branches in search of power and a Wi-Fi connection. In the wake of California’s wildfires in Napa and Mendocino counties in 2017, for example, libraries saw a huge spike in demand for broadband services. During that crisis—and following other disasters elsewhere in the country—libraries’ public technology services allowed affected individuals to report themselves safe, locate loved ones, apply for FEMA relief, and plan their next steps.

Libraries rise to the needs of their community during crisis. After observing the critical role that libraries played in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, for example, the New Jersey State Library decided to help libraries lean into their role as “information First Responders,” publishing a “Librarian’s Disaster Planning and Community Resiliency Guidebook,” as well as a workbook library staff can use to prepare to support their communities during and after a crisis.

In practice, preparing a library to provide connectivity during and after a catastrophic event will also better equip the library to address gaps in connectivity at all other times. The technology requirements are largely the same for both tasks.

With good planning and hardened communication infrastructure, libraries can serve as beacons of connectivity when their communities need it the most. To make their broadband connections more resilient, libraries can seek to add path diversity to their networks, keep redundant network components on hand for emergency deployment, and install a backup power supply.

For more insight, see the two white papers we recently prepared for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation: “Technical Guidance Regarding Broadband Infrastructure for Libraries” and “Connecting Libraries to the Future.” CTC also recently developed an estimate of the cost to build fiber to connect all unserved libraries and other anchor institutions nationwide; that report, prepared for the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition (SHLB), was part of SHLB’s effort to develop a concrete strategy for addressing the rural digital divide.

CTC President Joanne Hovis testified today before a House subcommittee about the important role that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) plays in broadband policy, in expanding broadband service and device availability, and in expanding digital literacy.

Joanne’s full testimony—delivered to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology as it considers the NTIA Reauthorization Act of 2018—can be downloaded here.

CTC Technology & Energy is proud to have prepared two white papers for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—both aimed at helping libraries with technical and financial guidance as they navigate their needs for broadband today and in the future.

Our first report, “Connecting Libraries to the Future,” is intended to help library professionals strategically plan for their broadband needs. Because libraries serve entire communities, their bandwidth should, ideally, be far greater than the connections residents can access or afford in a coffee shop, at home, or anywhere else. One key recommendation in this report is to quantify the capacity a library needs—creating a bandwidth target that will enable the library not just to meet the public’s information needs, but to support such mission-advancing services as business incubators and telepresence. Read the full report here.

Our second report, “Technical Guidance Regarding Broadband Infrastructure for Libraries,” recognizes that despite the critical importance of broadband connections at public libraries, many community libraries simply do not have sufficient staff resources or technical expertise to secure adequate and competitively priced high-speed connections and network services for their institutions. This paper is designed to aid library staff in making knowledgeable decisions about how to improve their broadband connectivity and create robust networks. Read the full report here.

Tom Asp, Principal Engineer and Analyst
Michael O’Halloran, Staff Analyst
CTC Technology & Energy

CTC congratulates the city of Salisbury, North Carolina, and Hotwire Communications on their successful negotiation of a lease of Salisbury’s fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network, known as Fibrant. This agreement is yet another example of a public–private partnership offering a “win-win” approach to broadband in America. The final agreement enables the City to maintain ownership of the fiber assets, while Hotwire will assume operations and maintenance of the network.

Like many municipal governments that have deployed FTTP, Salisbury “invested in building Fibrant as a municipal utility to encourage economic development, increase competitive opportunities for … existing businesses and provide citizens globally competitive access” to state-of-the-art broadband, according to the City.

However, faced with significant competition from ever-larger national players (the result of merger and acquisition activity in the industry), Fibrant found itself struggling. In January 2017, the City released and heavily promoted a formal request for proposals (RFP) to convey its interest in entering into a contractual arrangement with a third-party provider. Its goal was to enhance the operations, sales, marketing, and delivery of Gigabit-class broadband service to the community.

The RFP asked respondents to articulate their proposed business models; describe their technical, transitional, and operational capabilities; affirm Fibrant’s goals; and present details on their proposed financing, funding, and payments.

After extensive consultation with the City’s advisory committee and CTC, the City Council selected Hotwire’s proposal as the most promising option. Negotiations began in September 2017 and were finalized in March 2018. This week, voters approved the deal.

The Hotwire lease will generate a positive revenue stream for the City that will reduce its required draw from the general fund. The agreement also:

• Brings Hotwire’s scale and expertise to the City
• Offers enhanced services to Salisbury residents and businesses
• Maintains Fibrant’s network performance and customer service standards
• Upgrades Fibrant’s existing electronics and delivery platform
• Lets the City avoid an estimated $5 million equipment refresh that will be required in the next five to seven years

Read more about Salisbury, Fibrant, and the lease negotiation process here.

Sublette County, Wyoming, has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit ideas and informal proposals from private sector entities that may have an interest in working with the County to address gaps in middle-mile connectivity and enable high-quality broadband service to businesses throughout the County.

The County hopes this initiative will support and accelerate private providers’ efforts to improve broadband service options in the County, potentially by utilizing County-owned fiber or conduit assets—or by building their own infrastructure with County financial support.

Response are due to the County by June 8, 2018.

Read the RFI here.

Matthew DeHaven, Principal Engineer, CTC Technology & Energy

Congratulations to the rural town of Alford, Massachusetts, on this week’s ribbon cutting for a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network. The event—held at a new telecommunications hut next to the town’s fire station—is a key milestone, and a remarkable achievement for a town of only about 500 residents.

CTC is proud to have designed Alford’s FTTP network, called AlfordLink. The network, which is still under construction, will provide 1 Gigabit service for $110 per month and telephone service for $12.95. So far, AlfordLink has 102 subscribers.

The town borrowed $1.6 million to build the network and will also receive $480,000 in state grant funds through the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, a state agency, toward construction costs.

It is also noteworthy that Alford’s public broadband entity (a municipal lighting plant, or MLP) forged a strong partnership with another municipal utility to enable this project. Through an intergovernmental agreement, Whip City Fiber—the broadband arm of Westfield Gas & Electric, in Westfield, Massachusetts—will be AlfordLink’s operator and service provider.

Tuesday’s event was attended by Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito; Peter Puciloski, chair of the Alford MLP board; and other local officials.

Andrew Afflerbach, PhD, P.E.
CEO & Director of Engineering

A high-profile “ransomware” cyberattack on Atlanta’s city network last month brought attention to the need for municipalities and other public agencies to understand and take steps to mitigate risks to public networks caused by malicious attacks or natural disasters. Our new “Network Resiliency and Security Playbook” details strategies and best practices for doing just that.

While it is not possible to mitigate all risks—and high levels of protection generally come with higher costs—local governments and agencies can cost-effectively protect their networks by first taking key steps to ensure proper system design and resiliency, and then following best practices to maintain physical and data security.

The National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS), under a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Infrastructure Protection (DHS/IP), commissioned CTC to write the playbook. The report draws on both independent research and our experience designing and engineering resilient and secure communications infrastructure for public sector clients nationwide.

As our report details, protecting a network against threats requires:

• Ensuring that strategic planning processes take resiliency and security into account, and that decisions are made based on lifetime costs.
• Working regionally by developing formal or informal consortia for information sharing, joint procurement, best practices, and joint exercises.
• Building segmentation and resiliency into infrastructure, such as through virtual separation of different kinds of communications according to sensitivity, departments, or users.
• Making use of widely available security education resources, such as those available from DHS.
• Training for emergencies—both internally (by department or government) and with regional counterparts.
• Developing procedures to back up and restore compromised systems, and having redundant systems and plans in place should the primary system fail.
• Hiring and training appropriate staff (especially individuals who have significant experience with similar infrastructure) and keeping information security functions separate from IT functions.

Some best practices are relatively straightforward and perennial. They include ensuring that software undergoes routine security updates, that data are regularly backed up, that redundant power supplies are in place, and that public agencies have the capacity to manage these processes. But the report is meant also to address larger strategic and organizational issues, and to provide practical, actionable, and cost-effective strategies.

In all cases—and as our report explains—it is incumbent on the government agencies operating or overseeing the networks to understand the benefits and limitations of available solutions, and to properly specify hardware, software, and services.

Read the full report here.