►
Description
Hear from the Federal Communications Commission about what the federal government is doing to expand rural broadband, and explore how others are working to strengthen America’s connectivity.
A
Hope,
everybody's
having
a
good
day,
thank
you
for
joining
us
for
today's
national
conference
of
state
legislators,
webinar
expanding
broadband
opportunities
in
rural
america.
My
name
is
representative
matt
lehmann.
I
am
the
co-chair
of
the
ncsl
communications,
financial
services
and
interstate
commerce
committee
I'll,
be
your
moderator
for
the
day.
This
is
the
first
webinar
of
the
cfi
committee's
broadband
and
telecommunication
webinar
series.
The
next
of
our
three
webinars
will
be
our
expanding
broadband
for
education
and
will
take
place
on
monday
december
7th
for
a
computer
schedule
and
registration
of
details.
A
Please
visit
our
website
ncsl.org
before
we
introduce
our
speakers
just
a
couple
of
housekeeping
items.
Today's
webinar
is
a
platform
for
information
exchange
and
engagement
over
the
next
75
minutes.
We
encourage
participants
to
our
chat
box
to
feel
free
to
type
your
questions
and
answer
any
questions
in
the
chat
box
on
your
screen
to
begin
building.
Some
comfort
with
the
chat
function
also
learn
who
is
on
the
line
today?
I
invite
you
to
type
in
the
state
from
which
you
are
calling.
A
The
national
conference
of
state
legislatures
is
a
bipartisan
organization
that
serves
the
legislators
and
legislative
staff
of
the
states,
commonwealths
and
territories.
Ncsl
provides
research,
technical
assistance
and
opportunities
for
policymakers
to
exchange
ideas
on
the
most
pressing
state
issues
and
an
effective
and
respected
advocate
for
the
interests
of
the
states
in
the
american
american
federal
system.
A
So
first
up
we
are
going
to
have
jessica
quinley
and
susan
mort,
with
the
wireless
telecommunications
bureau.
Jessica
quinley
is
an
attorney
advisor
in
the
mobility
division
of
the
wtb,
focusing
on
rulemaking
and
licensing
issues
prior
to
joining
the
fcc
in
january,
2019
jessica
served
as
an
attorney
advisor
at
the
national
telecommunications
and
information
administration.
A
Susan
mort
is
a
legal
and
policy
advisor
with
the
office
of
the
bureau
chief
in
the
fcc's
wireless
telecommunications
bureau.
She
has
over
20
years
of
experience
in
communications
law,
having
also
served
in
the
office
of
native
affairs
and
policy
at
the
fcc
and
as
regulatory
counsel
for
time
warner,
inc,
jessica
and
susan.
Thank
you
so
much
for
joining
us
today.
The
floor
is
now
yours.
B
B
But
if
not,
we
will
proceed
accordingly.
I
know
just-
and
I
are
both
pleased
to
be
here
to
talk
about
the
ways
in
which
the
commission
is
promoting
spectrum
access
for
rural
broadband,
and
we
want
to
provide
two
particular
areas:
the
2.5
gigahertz
rural
tribal
priority
window,
as
well
as
the
3.5
gigahertz
citizens
broadband
radio
service.
B
So
if
we
could
move
to
the
next
slide,
what
I'd
like
to
talk
about
is
is
why
that
band
is
so
particularly
well
suited
for
broadband
and
advanced
communication
services,
particularly
in
rural
areas,
and
the
primary
reason
for
that
is
because
of
the
higher
power
limits
and
because
it
operates
at
a
lower
frequency.
What
that
means
is
in
essence,
you
have
better
propagation
using
fewer
base
stations,
and
so
that
means
your
deployment
costs
could
be
potentially
significantly
lower
and
also
there's
a
certain
embedded
base
of
equipment.
B
That's
already
out
in
the
marketplace,
because
this
band
had
been
previously
in
use.
It
was
not
used
in
a
fulsome
manner,
as
had
originally,
I
think,
been
conceptualized
in
part,
because
there
were
eligibility
and
use
restrictions
that
were
in
the
band,
but
as
part
of
kind
of
the
reconceptualization
and
modernization
of
the
band
that
started
in
2018
and
then
culminated
with
a
report
in
order
in
2019.
B
The
commission
really
did
three
things
to
to
kind
of
make
sure
that
this
band
was
used
in
the
most
fulsome
way.
So,
first,
basically,
the
commission
changed
the
eligibility
and
use
rules
for
existing
and
future
licensees
that
enabled
a
broader
range
of
participants
in
the
band,
as
well
as
enabled
more
secondary
market
transactions.
B
B
The
second
piece
was
the
rural
tribal
priority
window,
which
I
will
talk
about
a
little
more
detail
in
just
a
second
and
then
the
last
piece
was
the
commercial
auction
or
the
the
commercial
bidding
that
I
mentioned
earlier.
So
once
you
back
out
existing
licensees
and
successful
tribal
applicants,
whatever
spectrum
remains
unassigned
will
be
put
at
auction,
so
that
again
is
slated
tentatively
for
for
2021..
B
Moving
to
the
next
slide.
Let
me
just
give
a
quick
update
on
the
2.5
gigahertz
world
tribal
priority
window,
which
is
a
kind
of
first
of
its
kind,
unique
opportunity
for
federally
recognized
tribes
to
apply
for
licenses
for
unassigned
spectrum
over
their
rural
tribal
land.
You
might
say
well
why
the
rural
limitation,
in
that
it's
twofold
one
is
obviously
that
is
where
there
is
a
significant
need,
but
also,
as
I
said,
the
band
have
been
in
use
previously
and
was
used
significantly
more
on
the
east
coast
and
in
urban
areas.
B
So
the
commission
had
this
unique
opportunity
which
ran
from
february
2nd
excuse
me
february,
3rd,
to
september,
2nd
of
this
year
we
received
over
400
applications
from
approximately
400
federally
recognized
tribes.
We've
already
granted
157
of
those
another
57
have
been
accepted
for
filing
and
we
are
working
our
way
through
the
remaining
ones
and
looking
at
those
and
evaluating
them
in
due
course.
B
So
I
think
by
any
metric
we've
been
very
very
pleased
with
the
level
of
participation
and
that
we've
already
been
able
to
get
this
spectrum
out
to
folks
who
have
a
particular
need,
certainly
in
the
current
environment,
but
also,
more
generally,
to
close
the
digital
divide
that
our
native
nations
face.
So
that's
where
things
stand
with
the
royal
tribal
window
and
the
vista
will
continue
our
work
and
then
look
towards
commercial
bidding
in
the
auction.
That
will
will
come
for
any
remaining
on
the
sun
spectrum.
C
C
The
3.5
band
is
a
different
type
of
sharing
model
than
we've
seen
in
other
bands.
This
is
the
first
time
that
we're
using
something
called
a
spectrum
access
system.
That's
an
automated
coordinator
frequency
coordinator
of
the
band.
We
have
five
of
those
that
have
been
approved
for
full
commercial
use,
and
so
that's
a
unique
part
of
the
3.5
band
that
we're
really
excited
to
see
how
it
works
in
practice.
C
So
the
three
users
in
the
3.5
band
are
the
incumbent
access
users,
the
priority
access
licenses
and
the
general
authorized
access
users
incumbent
access.
You
know
it
includes
federal
authorized
users.
It
includes
some
satellite
folks
and
for
a
finite
period
it
may
include
some
grandfathered
licensees
in
the
upper
part
of
the
3.5
band
the
priority
access
licenses.
We
are
reviewing
a
record
number
of
applications
over
20
000
priority
access
licenses
were
won
in
auction
105..
C
We
haven't
granted
any
of
those
priority
access
licenses
yet,
but
we
are
going
through
our
review
process
right
now.
Many
of
those
priority
access
licenses
were
won
in
rural
areas,
so
we're
excited
about
the
mobile
communication
space
that
may
come
from
these
priority
access
licenses
in
terms
of
bringing
you
know,
bringing
more
digital
access
and
more
opportunities,
rural
broadband
opportunities
to
rural
areas
with
those
priority
access
licenses-
and
I
will
note
that,
once
those
are
granted,
the
secondary
market
for
priority
access
licenses
is
very
open
in
terms
of
what
our
rules
allow.
C
So
to
the
extent
that
you
need
exclusive
use-
and
you
don't
have
a
license,
then
priority
access
license,
secondary
market
leasing
or
secondary
market
sale
of
a
partitioned
license
might
be
something
that
your
area
might
be
interested
in
and
then
the
third
part
is
general
authorized
access.
This
is
an
open,
flexible
access
for
the
widest
groups
of
users.
You
don't
need
a
license
to
operate
in
general,
authorized
access,
which
is
unique
for
the
fcc,
and
that's
going
to
be
the
focus
of
the
next
few
slides.
If
you
could
go
to
the
next
slide.
C
C
In
the
count
we
license
the
priority
access
license
on
a
county
basis
and
each
pal
each
county
has
up
to
seven
pals
that
were
available
at
auction.
Many
counties
all
seven
went
and
we're
one
and
then
other
counties,
maybe
only
one
or
two.
You
can
see
the
available
data
about
our
auction
on
the
web
fcc
website.
If
you
want
to
know
where
the
winners
are,
but
there's
no
more
than
seven
pals
issued
in
any
county.
So
that
means,
even
though
there
are
10
blocks
that
you
see
there
on
that
screen.
C
C
So
if
you
want
to
go
to
the
next
slide,
so
they're
licensed
by
rule
and
what
that
means
is
our
part
96
rules,
the
general
authorized
access
users
are
licensed
by
rules
rule,
which
means
that
the
part
96
is
the
rule
that
you
need
to
comply
with.
If
you
want
to
operate
on
a
gaa
basis
and
the
general
spirit
of
those
rules
require
two
things,
one
that
you
coordinate
with
the
spectrum,
access
system,
administrator
and,
second,
that
you
operate
part
96
compliant
equipment.
C
So
what
that
means
is
if
there
is
a
licensee
who
won
in
your
area
but
they're,
not
using
the
spectrum
in
that
area,
the
sas
will
be
able
to
tell
you
that
you
know
that
portion
of
your
rural
county
is
not
being
used
by
the
priority
access
license
and
therefore
you
can
operate
on
an
unlicensed
basis
using
the
general
authorized
access
and
then
it's
non-exclusive
use.
So
that
means
that
if
you
do
have
a
need
for
an
exclusive
use
spectrum,
then
gaa
that's
one
of
the.
C
You
know
one
of
the
drawbacks,
but
if
you
just
need
something
to
you
know
help
your
communications
and
internet
system.
Gaa
has
shown
a
really
promising
use
in
a
lot
of
areas.
Gaa
is
already
under
under
deployment
in
a
lot
of
areas
across
the
united
states
and
the
spectrum
access
system
administrators
are
listed
on
our
website.
A
A
D
All
right,
so
I
am
going
to
talk
to
you
today
about
a
couple
of
the
current
or
upcoming
auctions
that
the
rural
broadband
auctions
task
force
is
overseeing
for
universal
service
funds
and
so
you've,
probably
all
seen
the
universal
service
fund
line
on
your
cell
phone
bill
or
your
regular
phone
bill.
And
it's
just
you
know
it's
a
few
cents
to
a
little
over
a
dollar.
But
what
the
commission
does
with
that
money
is
pretty
amazing.
For
a
long
time,
usf
funds
were
used
to
push
out.
D
D
One
and
those
were
really
sort
of
testing
the
concept
of
doing
reverse
auctions
for
usf,
and
they
were
providing
one-time
funding
for
sort
of
quick
hit,
extension
of
service
via
a
mobility
fund
and
then
additional
funding
for
tribal
areas
and
service
to
tribal
areas
next
slide
and
then
in
the
fixed
side.
The
commission
then
started
to
push
out
these
usf
auctions
in
the
connect
america
cost
model,
and
what
that
effort
did
was
it.
D
So
the
rural
digital
opportunity
fund
is
a
currently
ongoing
auction
that
is
extending
a
little
over
20
billion
dollars
over
10
years
for
fixed
broadband
and
voice
services,
so
so
phase.
One
of
that
auction
auction
904
is
offering
up
to
16
billion
dollars
for
fixed
services
and
that
auction
began
on
october
29th.
It's
continuing
right
now
and
we
had
a
ton
of
interest
in
this
auction.
D
Many
many
many
bidders
were
applying
and
we
wound
up
with
386
qualified
bidders
and
the
way
that
that
auction
is
operating
is
that
bidders
who
were
interested
in
participating
to
receive
these
funds
to
extend
service
to
rural
areas.
Fixed
service
offered
performance,
tier
and
latency
combinations
that
they
could
provide
in
specific
service
areas,
and
so
they
could
offer
different
combinations
of
quality
of
performance
and
latency
in
different
areas.
D
So
if,
if
a
particular
area
is
close
to
a
suburban
area
that
they
already
offer
service
in,
they
might
be
able
to
offer
higher
quality
service
in
that
area
than
in
a
greenfield
area
where
they're
building
out
for
the
first
time.
And
so
we
really
wanted
to
capture
the
the
the
competing
levels
of
service
so
that
we
could
get
the
most
service
to
the
most
places
and
not
exclude
some
places
that
don't
maybe
have
any
service
at
all.
D
Three
and
an
additional
20
by
the
end
of
year,
four
and
year
five,
so
as
they
are
rolling
out
that
fund,
then
in
the
first
three
years
of
service
provided
in
that
auction,
the
the
the
bidders
who
win
in
the
auction
will
need
to
provide
service
to
the
required
locations,
40
of
them
in
the
first
three
years
and
then
an
additional
20
in
in
the
next
years,
and
then
by
the
end
of
the
sixth
year
of
funding.
And
this
is
a
10-year
program
remember.
D
But
by
the
end
of
the
six
year
of
funding,
they
should
be
done
providing
service
to
all
of
the
identified
locations
in
their
area.
And
if
there
are
additional
locations
that
are
built
during
the
during
that
period,
then
they
have
a
additional
two-year
time
frame
to
serve
additional
locations.
That
didn't
exist
when
this
program
started
next
slide,
and
so
the
5g
fund
has
really
attracted
a
lot
of
attention.
5G
fund
is
intended
to
get
high
quality
service
to
rural
areas
and
it's
for
wireless
service.
D
So
the
the
rural
digital
opportunity
fund
was
for
fixed
service.
5G
fund
is
for
mobile
service
and
it
covers
9
billion.
In
two
phases,
the
first
phase
will
cover
up
to
8
billion
in
a
reverse
auction
and
a
reverse.
Auction
just
means
that
the
providers
that
are
bidding
bid
to
receive
support
and
as
the
auction
rounds
continue,
they
have
to
drop
their
bid
to
remain
in
the
auction.
D
And
so
we
wind
up
with
sort
of
the
most
coverage
for
the
lowest
amount
of
support,
and
so
all
areas
across
the
country
are
competing
against
each
other.
So
it's
not
guaranteed
that
every
area
that's
eligible
for
the
5g
fund
will
will
get
a
bid
and
it's
not
guaranteed
that
any
one
specific
state
will
get.
D
D
So
we
we
made
some
suggestions.
Should
we
determine
eligibility
by
how
rural
an
area
is?
Should
we
determine
eligibility
by
whether
an
area
currently
has
say
unsubsidized,
4g
lte,
assuming
that
if
they
don't
have
that
level
of
service
they're,
certainly
not
going
to
get
5g
service
without
without
support?
D
D
That's
been
sort
of
an
ongoing
multi-year
process
for
the
fcc
to
get
the
best
coverage
maps,
and
so
we
are
going
to
wait
for
a
first
5g
fund
auction
until
the
dodc
has
provided
better
collection
of
of
data
and
better
coverage
maps
to
determine
than
eligibility
for
the
5g
fund.
But
I
think
we
go
to
the
next
slide.
D
D
One
of
the
things
that
we've
done
to
be
responsive
to
the
comment
that
we've
gotten
from
providers
is
that
sometimes
bureaucratic
time
works
on
a
different
schedule
than
than
commercial
time,
and
so
we
were
trying
to
get
some
requirements
in
place
for
2021
and
obviously,
given
the
time
of
year.
It
is
most
of
the
providers
out.
D
And
so
our
economists,
working
with
outside
economists,
have
have
really
put
an
enormous
amount
of
work
into
adopting
an
adjustment
factor
that
can
sort
of
put
a
thumb
on
the
scale
for
either
particularly
difficult
terrain,
geographically
or
particularly
economically
difficult
to
serve
rural
areas,
and
so
that
will
be
sort
of
baked
into
the
bids
for
the
5g
fund
to
try
to
make
sure
that
those
areas
are
more
competitive
in
the
reverse
auction
and
receive
a
larger
share
of
the
funding.
That
is
auctioned.
A
Well,
thank
you
audrey
very
much.
It's
a
great
presentation.
In
fact,
I
want
to
thank
jessica,
susan
and
audra
for
taking
the
time
to
give
us
that
update
from
the
federal
side
and
what
the
fcc
is
doing
to
expand
broadband
in
rural
areas.
A
lot
of
great
information
you
provide
us.
So
thank
you
very
much.
A
We're
going
to
transition
into
our
panel
discussion
we're
now
moving
on
to
that
in
our
webinar
portion.
Here,
please
feel
free
to
type
again
any
questions
you
have
in
the
chat
box
and
each
of
our
speakers
coming
up
with
five
minutes
to
give
brief
remarks
introducing
themselves
and
then
we'll
spend
the
rest
of
our
time
doing
a
q
a
first
up.
A
We
have
steve
hill
president
of
satellite
broadcasting,
communications
association,
since
2004
steve
has
represented
the
industry
in
efforts
to
ensure
consumer
rights
to
install
satellite
dishes,
fight
discriminatory
taxes,
have
the
use
of
satellites
to
support
disaster
recovery
and
educating
stakeholders
on
the
advances
in
satellite-delivered
high-speed
broadband.
Thanks
for
being
here
today,
steve
the
floor
is
now
yours.
E
Thank
you
matt.
I
appreciate
the
time
everybody.
I
appreciate
you
joining
us
so,
as
matt
said,
the
I
represent
the
consumer-based
broadband
industry
and
we
have
over
2
million
customers
currently
getting
a
high-speed
satellite
delivered
broadband
services.
Those
applications
can
be
anything
from
residential
to
business
applications
we're
doing
a
lot
of
stuff
with
continuity
for
businesses.
E
So
if
they've
had
a
you
know,
cable
cut,
they
can
rely
on
satellite,
we're
also
doing
telehealth
agriculture,
e-commerce,
there's
all
sorts
of
different
options
and
and
things
that
are
doing
and
the
nice
thing
with
satellite
is
our
infrastructure
has
been
put
into
from
space.
So
we
just
need
to
go
to
a
consumer's
house,
put
the
put
the
dish
on
and
we're
delivering
service.
One
nice
thing
during
the
pandemic,
we
saw
a
huge
increase
of
you,
know:
work
from
home.
E
Tell
it
you
know
telecommutes
what
have
you
and
we
were
able
to
install
customers
in
a
three
to
five
day
business
window
and
continue
to
do
so.
Our
technology
delivers
a
25
3
speed
throughout
the
country
and
in
some
cases
significantly
higher
the
pandemic
has
not
hurt.
We
haven't
slowed
things
down
during
that
pandemic.
We've
got
to
juggle
some
stuff,
but
it
has
not
been
something.
E
That's
that's
impacted
the
consumer
side
as
much
as
we
thought,
because
there
are
two
providers
with
satellite
is
also
competitively
priced,
so
the
technology
is
out
there
and
we
have
two
companies
really
working
for
those
same
customers
which
are
primarily
in
that
rural
market.
We
look
at
the
rural
market
as
a
potential
growth
opportunity
for
our
industry
over
the
next
over
the
next
decade
and
what's
exciting,
is
within
the
next
year
a
year
and
a
half
both
companies
will
be
launching
new
satellites.
E
Those
satellites
will
quadruple
the
amount
of
capacity
that
is
currently
available
and
be
able
to
offer
speeds
in
excess
of
100
meg
throughout
the
country.
So
really
by
this
time
next
year,
we
feel
confident
that
we'll
be
seeing
a
dramatic
increase
in
performance
that
we're
able
to
deliver
our
customers.
E
This
is
all
currently
private
investment
from
both
hughes
net
and
viasat,
and
we
also
are
seeing-
and
I'm
sure,
you've
heard
a
little
bit
about
the
spacex
with
the
low
earth.
Satellites
also
are
coming
and
those
are
going
to
be
few
years
out
before
it's
really
delivered
on
a
consumer
side,
but
it's
an
exciting
technology
and
we
feel
satellite
is
part
of
the
overall
solution
to
solving
connectivity
in
rural
america.
A
Our
next
panelist
is
adam
falk
senior,
vice
president
of
state
government
affairs
at
charter
communications,
which
provides
cable
television,
broadband
and
mobile
service
to
over
30
million
customers
nationwide
adam
oversees
all
aspects
of
the
company's
legislative,
regulatory
and
government
affairs
activities
at
the
state
and
local
level.
He
has
over
20
years
of
experience
in
the
cable
industry,
has
spent
17
years
with
the
cable
vision
systems.
Cooperation
before
joining
charter
in
january
2015.
F
Yes,
exactly
I
apologize
for
that.
I
want
to
thank
ncsl
for
inviting
me
and
thank
you,
representative
lehmann,
for
for
the
invitation
as
well.
Charter
is
committed
to
building
rural
broadband.
There's
been
a
lot
of
talk
today
about
wired
services.
I
mean
wireless
wireless
services,
but
we
have
been
working
diligently
in
the
the
wired
broadband
space
in
our
41
state
service
area.
F
Since
2016,
we've
invested
40
billion
dollars
in
infrastructure
across
the
country,
and
that
has
allowed
us
to
be
able
to
provide
high-speed
data
at
one
gigabit
speeds,
940,
megabit,
download
services.
It's
been
an
interesting
time
for
us.
As
you
know,
we've
had
the
opportunity
to
work
collectively
in
the
industry
and
and
and
really
it's
been
an
effort-
that's
not
just
been
our
company,
but
but
really
the
entire
industry
that
has
stepped
up
during
the
covet
19
pandemic.
F
In
the
last
nine
months
alone,
we've
connected
450
000,
new
customers,
with
with
with
with
a
free
internet
service
for
a
period
of
time.
We
also
signed
the
the
fcc's
keep
americans
connected
pledge,
which
enabled
us
to
to
to
not
terminate
customers
and
and
to
not
initiate
late
fees
on
our
customers
through
june
30th.
F
Upon
the
conclusion
of
that,
we
were
able
to
put
our
customers
that
had
had
experienced
hardships
during
the
covet
19
pandemic,
on
payment
plans
and
and
and
we
excused
over
85
million
dollars
in
in
debt
to
allow
customers
to
to
keep
connected
for
us.
Rural
broadband
has
been
both
an
effort
in
the
state
legislatures
and
and
from
a
service
perspective
in
our
41
state.
F
You
know
service
territory,
about
23
of
the
states
that
we
serve
currently
have
high
low-cost
broadband
grant
programs
that
we've
worked
to
establish
those
programs
have
enabled
us
to
to
spend
and
receive
22
million
dollars
worth
of
of
grants
in
the
in
the
past,
18
months
alone,
to
build
broadband
to
literally
thousands
of
new
homes
and
businesses
across
the
across
the
country.
So
it's
been
a
it's.
F
You
know,
I
think
the
focus
on
them
for
for
policymakers
really
needs
to
be
on
ensuring
that
the
that
the
money
is
going
to
unserved
areas.
You
know
those
places
that
have
25
3
speeds
or
less
that
that
the
programs
have
adequate
challenge
processes
to
make
sure
that
the
money
actually
is
going
to
unserved
areas
and
are
not
in
in
in
areas
where
they
would
constitute
competitive
over
builds
and
that
they're
open,
fair,
transparent
and
technology
neutral.
F
Things
like
open
access
or
net
neutrality,
provisions
or
pricing
or
or
speed
restrictions.
So
we
look
forward
to
working
with
the
states
on
that
in
the
in
the
months
and
years
to
come.
I
I
wanted
to
just
mention
briefly
one
other
issue
that
that
has
been
a
central
concern
of
ours,
as
we've
tried
to
invest
more
in
rural
broadband,
and
that
is
the
archaic
rules
that
exist
for
attachment
attachment
of
our
network
to
polls
and
infrastructure
that
are
in
the
public
rights
of
way.
F
But
what
we
found
is
is
that
in
in
most
states
and
almost
all
of
them,
there
are
no
rules
that
exist
that
relate
to
municipal
electric
companies
and
co-op
electric
companies,
and
that
has
resulted
in
instances
where
the
cost
of
investment
in
rural
broadband
has
been
significantly
increased.
It's
not
uncommon
to
have
seven
eight
nine
ten
times
the
poll
attachment
rates
with
co-ops
and
and
and
municipal
electrics.
Then
you
have
with
investor.
F
Electric
utilities
can
tell
you
that
there's
no
capacity
left
on
the
pole
and
that,
if
you
want
to
build
broadband
there,
you
have
to
pay
for
the
replacement
costs
associated
with
those
polls.
They
can
do
that
whether
or
not
the
poll
has
been
fully
depreciated
as
a
capital
investment
they
can
they
can
they
can.
They
can
set
the
conditions
for
which
broadband
providers
are
required
to
pay
those
costs,
whether
they
like
them
or
not,
and
that
really
drives
the
cost
of
these
deployments
up
significantly.
F
There
are
many
instances
in
which
poll
owners
have
replacement
schedules
and
and
and
polls
that
are,
are
prepared
to
be
replaced
in
which
they
wait
for
a
request
from
a
broadband
provider
to
attach
and
then
shift
those
costs
over
to
the
providers.
So
we
would
like
to
see
changes
at
the
state
and
federal
level
to
ensure
better
opportunities
for
us
to
build
to
broad
broadband
to
rural
areas
in
a
cheaper
and
less
expensive
way,
and
one
of
the
principal
ways
in
which
we
think
that
can
occur
is
with
better
rules
associated
with
poll
replacements.
A
G
Representative,
thank
you
for
having
me
it's
an
honor
to
be
here.
I
was
an
active
member
in
ncsl
in
my
past
life
as
a
legislator,
vice
chair
of
what
I
think
was
the
economic
development
committee
at
the
time,
and
it's
just
the
service
that
that
is
provided
to
legislators
across
the
country
is,
is
immeasurable
and
it's
I'm
honored
to
be
a
participant.
G
The
center
on
rural
innovation
was
created
to
address
the
the
the
economic
divide
that
has
emerged
between
urban
and
rural
places,
particularly
since
the
great
recession,
as
many
people
know,
when
the
recession
hit,
everyone
came
crashing
down,
but
the
recovery
was
fundamentally
different
with
urban
areas
coming
roaring
back
and
rural
areas.
Not
so
much,
and
the
reasons
behind
that
were
really
threefold.
G
One
was
automation
of
traditional
world
jobs.
The
second
was
globalization
by
policy,
but
also
by
technology,
allowing
for
rapid,
prototyping
and
collaboration
with
manufacturers
anywhere
in
the
world,
not
just
lower-cost
manufacturers
in
rural
places
and
also
the
decline
of
entrepreneurship
in
rural
america.
For
the
30
years
that
proceeded
and
what
it
meant
was.
We
didn't
have
the
farm
team
when
that
economic
shock
happened
to
come
in
behind
those
companies
and
naturally
go
away
and
to
be
able
to
come
in
and
replace
them
and
and
create
the
jobs
of
the
future.
G
The
problem
was,
they
were
almost
exclusively
created
in
urban
areas,
and
the
jobs
were
removed
were
almost
exclusively
in
rural
and
we
believe
that
it
is
critical
to
create
digital
economy
jobs,
because
right
now,
rural
america
represents
15
percent
of
the
nation's
workforce,
but
only
5
of
the
technology
jobs.
And
we
think
that
if
you're
going
to
get
economic
equity
across
geography,
you
need
to
bring
that
up
to
15
doesn't
mean
all
rural
jobs
should
be
technology
and
doesn't
mean
all
technology.
G
G
What
we're
hearing
is
across
the
aisle
a
real
urgency
to
solve
this
issue
once
and
for
all,
and
we
believe
that
at
a
fundamental
level,
because
if
you're
going
to
deliver
jobs
of
the
future
and
digital
economy,
jobs
and
entrepreneurship,
that's
scalable
in
rural
places,
you've
got
to
be
on
an
equal
playing
field
with
the
other.
You
know,
technology
centers,
so
we've
we
believe
firmly
that
we
need
to
be
moving
to
fiber
to
the
home
throughout
the
country.
G
G
I'd
encourage
folks,
if
they're
interested
to
check
out
our
website
at
rural
innovation
dot
us.
You
can
learn
more
about
the
work
that
that
we're
doing
both
on
broadband,
but
also
on
building
digital
economy,
jobs
and
innovation.
Hubs
with
inspiring
communities
following
their
leadership
across
the
country.
A
All
right
well,
thank
you
very
much.
Matt
appreciate
all
that.
We'll
now
move
into
our
kind
of
question
and
answers
for
the
webinar.
We
have
a
few
questions
that
have
already
been
submitted.
Do
not
forget
if
you
have
a
question
type
it
in
the
the
chat
box.
As
a
reminder,
this
webinar
is
being
recorded
and
will
be
available
to
participants.
Any
questions
that
do
not
get
answered
today
will
be
answered
via
email,
so
a
couple
of
them
that
that
are
out
here
number
one.
A
I
think
matt
used
the
term
solve
the
issue
and
I
think
that's
what
we've
been
working
around
for
a
long
time
and
so
and
also
you
kind
of
plugged
the
education
broadband
meeting
on
december
7th,
which
is
you
know,
that
is
a
key
piece
to
this
whole
world
broadband
is
the
education
piece.
I
represent
a
rural
district,
a
rural
school
district
and
we
have
people
live
a
mile
from
the
school
and
cannot
get
it.
A
You
know
good
at
internet
access,
so
it
kind
of
brings
it
around
to
this,
and
that
is
I'm
going
to
kind
of
wrap
all
this
in,
I
think
adam.
You
brought
up
some
of
the
issues
facing
from
the
standpoint
of
the
legislative
process,
attachment
fees,
replacing
the
polls,
etc.
I'm
going
to
throw
this
out,
maybe
I'll
start
with
you
steve
and
then
adam
and
er,
steve
to
matt
and
then
to
adam,
if
there's
anything
to
add.
A
So
when
we
talk
about
the
the
setting
this
up,
for
what
is
the
hurdles?
What
is
helping
us
to
not
get
to
where
we
can
solve
this
issue?
What
would
each
of
you
say
is
right
now
the
most
important
action
as
a
state
legislator
and
in
my
legislative
body,
what
can
we
do
to
expand
rural
access?
Is
there
something
that
we're
missing
or
we
is
there,
a
hurdle
that
needs
to
be
taken
down,
steve
I'll
start
with
you
and
then
matt?
E
Sure
so,
from
from
our
standpoint,
this
really
really
I'll
put
it
two
issues,
one
on
the
funding
side.
It
there
really
is
a
focus
on
fiber.
Fiber
is
probably
the
best
solution,
but
in
rural
markets
it's
just
not
going
to
be
feasible
to
you
know,
do
a
connection.
That's
two
customers
over
a
two
mile
thing
or
you're
going
by
you
know
the
fiber
can
go
past
somebody's
driveway,
but
they're
quarter
mile
in
who's
paying
that
fee.
E
So
you
know
as
we're
looking
on
the
satellite
side
and
funding
we'd
like
to
see
funding
that
would
go
towards
the
help
offset
the
cost
of
that
consumer
equipment,
so
our
consumer
equipment.
Although
we
launched
the
satellite
for
three
quarters
of
a
billion
dollars,
it
costs
about
a
thousand
dollars
to
put
that
terminal
on
the
consumer's
house
and
currently
we're
having
to
charge
that
full
amount
to
the
consumer.
E
Whereas
a
lot
of
our
wireline
competitors
are
getting
funds
for
their
infrastructure
and
we
like
to
say,
look,
let's
look
at
it
on
a
per
subscriber
basis
and
funding
could
go
when
the
customer
takes
the
service
that
would
help
offset
whether
it's
you
know.
Perhaps
it's
a
credit,
perhaps
it's
you
know
a
600
per
year,
credit
to
those
consumers
and
they
can
pick
whatever
service
they
want.
There
should
be
some
flexibility
and
we
also
look
at
it.
E
E
Somebody
came
to
me
the
other
day
and
said
well,
we
want
to
have
a
future
proof
bill
and
I
said,
give
me
anything.
That's
future
proof.
There
is
nothing
future
proof
right.
So
we
didn't.
You
know:
we've
got
5g
coming.
We've
got
a
lot
of
different
aspects
of
this
and
you
know
we
like
to
look
at.
Let's
look
at
a
little
bit
model
on
the
state
side
for
maybe
either
voucher
or
funding,
so
that
it's
that
and
you
know,
on
a
per
subscriber
basis
as
opposed
to
how
many,
how
many
homes
we
passed.
E
You
know
from
the
state
if
you
paid
on
a
per
subscriber
basis,
there's
a
there's
a
net
benefit,
because
you're
only
taking
people
that
actually
want
that
service
and
we
can
help
offset
that
cost
dramatically.
If
the
state
you
know
if
we
receive
funding
for
our
consumer
equipment,
that
would
actually
dramatically
drop
the
cost
to
the
consumer,
because
right
now
we're
having
to
build
that
cost
in
so
you
know,
satellite
can
be
part
of
that
solution.
E
It
could
be
immediately
a
bridge
before
wired
technologies
can
come
out
in
three
to
five
years
or
it
could
be
something
for
the
railroad
customers
that
true
solution.
That
is
going
to
be
their
only
option
and
in
some
cases
that
that's
going
to
be
the
case
for
the
foreseeable
future,
just
from
the
overall
cost
of
infrastructure
to
reach
those
people.
You
know
that
last
five
percent
or
ten
percent
of
those
customers,
so
with
that
I'll
turn
it
over
to
matt
and
interesting,
to
hear
what
you
gotta
say.
G
So
you
know
steve
steve
is
right.
In
the
near
term,
we
need
to
have
every
option
on
the
table
to
be
able
to
provide
broadband
to
people
who
need
it
in
the
immediate
term,
and
that
needs
to
include
the
way
that
we
do
the
incentives
to
be
able
to
allow
for
that
kind
of
in-home
equipment
for
folks
who
live
way
way
way
off
in
in
rural
places,
and
it's
just
going
to
be
a
long
time
to
be
able
to
connect
to
it.
G
But
the
challenge
we're
facing
frankly
is
not
that
much
different
from
the
challenges
that
was
faced
around
the
same
time
in
the
last
century,
when
we
delivered
rural
electrification
and
when
we
delivered
rural
electrification,
it
wasn't
you
know,
delivering
money
so
that
people
could
have
their
own
teeny,
tiny
windmill
at
their
farm
or
a
little.
You
know
turbine
to
run
in
the
brook
next
to
their
house.
G
G
G
Again,
you
know
millions
of
folks
have
been
able
to
do
that,
usually
through
public-private
partnerships,
so
that
they're
using
the
same
kinds
of
structures
that
even
brought
them
electricity,
so
municipal
electric
companies
going
and
doing
it
in
partnership,
are
on
their
own
cooperative
electric
companies.
Small
telephone
companies
have
been
you
know,
just
building
out
fiber.
So
this
these
are
the
the
kinds
of
creative
approaches
that
are
really
important
to
support
and
foster,
while
you're
addressing
the
immediate
need
that
that
steve
is
talking
about.
G
G
You
know
I'm
personally,
a
big
advocate
of
one
touch
make
ready
solutions
that
can
be
done,
so
you
can
build
that
out
in
a
way
that
is
economically
feasible
and
you
can
get
much
further
out
for
the
same
dollar.
The
other
part
that
I
would
really
encourage
legislative
legislatures
to
to
consider
is
to
look
at
the
laws
they
have
in
their
books
that
prohibit
public
entities
from
being
able
to
work
with
either
private
providers
or
on
their
own
to
be
able
to
to
bring
broadband.
G
There
are
so
many
creative
ways
that
if
you
unlock
that
potential,
that
local
municipalities
or
electric
co-ops
or
counties
can
go
out
and
actually
build
that
kind
of
infrastructure,
sometimes
they
may
want
to
run
themselves
sometimes
they'll
work
with
an
isp,
that's
either
large
or
small,
to
be
able
to
deliver
it
and
they
can
bring
high-speed
internet.
But
many
states
prohibit
that
from
even
happening
and
and
even
more
don't
allow
for
things
like
municipalities
to
be
able
to
bond
for
that
kind
of
infrastructure
to
be
able
to
deliver
to
their
citizens.
A
So
let
me
let
me
ask
this:
if
I
can
adam,
I
don't
want,
I
don't
want
to
cut
you
off,
I'm
going
to
kind
of
bring
another
question
into
this
I'll.
Let
you
answer
first,
and
that
is
if
we
kind
of
go
to
the
30
000
foot
view
what
I
get
from
constituents.
The
question
of
is
the
federal
government,
along
with
state
governments,
has
spent
billions
of
dollars
on
rural
broadband
and
the
question
I
still
get
is
why
don't
I
have
it,
and
so
what
we
have
is
we,
I
think,
concluded
this.
A
We
have
like
18
million
americans
who
still
do
not
have
access
so
with
all
these
billions
spent.
How
do
we
take
a
bigger,
a
high
view
when
you
talk
to
them
about
poll,
attachment
fees
or
the
cost
to
replace
polls,
and
that
sometimes
something
gets
lost?
I
think
on
the
consumer
so
so
kind
of
that.
How
do
you
just
kind
of
give
a
direct
answer
and
some
of
that's
going
to
be?
Is
it
the?
Is
it
the
speed
issue?
Is
it
the
cost
issue?
A
You
know
what
are
some
of
the
things
that
when
we
talk
about
having
this
lack
of
access,
having
spent
these
billions
of
dollars-
and
I
think
someone
had
asked
on
on
the
chat-
you
know
that
the
fcc
mapping-
you
know
we-
they-
they
had
passed
the
data
act,
but
you
know
nothing's
been
done
with
that
as
far
as
funding
etc.
So
it
is
mapping
the
issue.
I
think
some
of
the
mapping
about
the
the
rule
electrification.
A
You
know
we're
a
much
better
place
today
to
know
who
needs
what
than
they
were
100
years
ago,
but
still
we
seem
to
be
out
of
touch
sometimes
that
data
so
adam
I'll,
maybe
start
with
you.
You
know
what
what
do
you
see
is
is
the
biggest
reason
and
and
how
can
we
fix
that
that
we
haven't
yet
got
to
to
the
majority?
I
mean
to
really
to
still
all
these
unused
service
areas.
F
I
mean
if
you
look
at
like
the
federal
usf
program
for
for
years,
had
and
still
has
what
they
call
eligible
telecommunications
carrier
requirements
associated
with
taking
federal
money
and
those
create
new
regulatory
burdens
on
on
on
broadband
providers.
That
has
made
it
unattractive
in
the
past
to
participate
in
those
in
those
programs.
F
What
the
the
federal
and
state
governments
need
to
do
is
spend
the
money,
spend
it
in
the
right
way
and
and
and
remove
the
obstacles
and
conditions
associated
with.
With
doing
that,
I
appreciate
that
matt
said
that
I
was
right
about
poll
attachment
and
poll
attachment
rules,
and
I
appreciate
that,
but
I
would
have
to
say
that
that
that
he
was
wrong
in
in
one
really
important
area,
and
that
is
you
know:
steve
asked
about
future
proof
solutions
and
having
future
proof
solutions.
F
While
the
cable
industry
is
a
future
proof
solution
to
providing
rural
broadband
in
these
communities,
you
don't
need
fiber
to
the
home
technology.
We
offer
a
hybrid
fiber,
coax
network
that
is
uses
fiber
significantly
in
our
network,
but
we've
spent
hundreds
of
billions
of
dollars,
building
a
hybrid
fiber
coax
network
already,
and
there
is
no
need
to
replace
that
network
with
fiber
to
the
home
technology.
F
10
gig,
symmetrical
speeds
over
an
existing
cable
network
by
simply
upgrading
the
quality
of
the
modems
that
we
use
to
deliver
our
services.
That
is
a
solution
right
now.
We
have
one
gig
networks
that
are
available
almost
ubiquitously,
I
mean
99
of
of
charters,
footprint
of
30
million
customers,
and
a
hundred
in
in
100
million
homes
past
has
the
has
accident.
I'm
sorry,
not
hundred
million
fifty
million
homes
passed
has
access
to
one
gig
internet
speeds.
F
F
One
is
do
what
indiana
has
done
in
your
state,
create
broadband
grant
programs
and
and
and
and
invest
more
money
in
them
than
you
currently
are,
make
them
larger,
make
them
available
to
everybody
and
and
and
and
use
appropriations
from
the
state,
rather
than
you
know,
new
surcharges
in
order
to
fund
them.
So
that's
one.
F
So
you
have
to
address
those
poll
attachment
issues
you
have
to
address
poll,
rental
fees,
and
you
have
to
address
the
the
the
time
in
which
it
takes
to
get
an
application
for
an
attachment
to
a
poll
completed.
I
mean
we
have
instances
in
which
we
go
nine
months,
12
months
before
an
electric
utility,
a
co-op
is
willing
to
give
us
poll
attachment
rights.
It's
too
long,
and
those
people
are
just
waiting
and
waiting
to
get
broadband
service
from
us
and
they
can't.
E
You
know,
I
would
also
say
you
know.
The
other
challenge
we
see
is
there's
there's
two
issues
that
I
always
bring
up
when
I'm
talking
to
states,
there's
availability
and
affordability
and
that's
one
of
the
other
challenges
we
have
as
an
as
you
know.
As
everybody
you
know,
we
can
deliver
the
service
to
a
consumer's
house.
Adam
can
deliver
service
to
the
consumer's
house,
but
it
has
to
you
know
the
cost
to
that
consumer.
E
A
lot
of
times
is
going
to
be
beyond
what
they
what
they
can
afford
and
what
they,
what
they
can
do.
So
I
mean
we've
had
discussions
with
people
saying
you
know
I
I'll
use
an
example.
There's
a
community
in
maine
they
ran
about
million
and
a
half
dollars
worth
of
fiber.
It
threw
out
the
community
and
they
had
10
customers
sign
up,
and
you
know
I
texted
one
of
my
members
like
how
many
customers
we
have
like.
We
have
eight,
you
know,
and
it
just
and
the
reason
was
it
truly
was
an
affordability.
E
E
So
you
know
there
has
to
be
some
sort
of
model
as
we
we
look
into
this
of
being
able
to
expand
broadband
to
everywhere,
because
it
really
is
an
essential
service,
but
also
make
sure
that
it
can
be
an
affordable
service
that
that
people
can
can
utilize
and
that
can
be
both
in
a
rural
market
and
an
urban
market.
I
think,
probably
even
more
in
case
in
an
urban
market
where
you're
having
people
that
can't
afford
it
than
not.
E
G
Great
well,
I
mean,
I
think,
something
that
that
stephen
adam-
and
I
would
all
agree
on,
is
that
competition
is
good.
The
ability
to
have
multiple
options
for
consumers
is
a
great
thing,
and
it's
important
that
you
create
the
scenario
where
all
kinds
of
different
ways
of
delivering
broadband
can
happen.
It
tends
to
drive
down
costs
for
consumers.
It
also
tends
to
increase
the
innovation.
Adam
was
talking
about
about
bringing
faster
and
faster
internet
speeds,
using
existing
infrastructure,
that's
out
there
or
new
infrastructure
like
steve's.
G
Should
be
upload
speeds
of
not
three
megabits
but
10
20,
even
100
megabits,
and
as
a
minimum,
to
be
able
to
really
participate
on
an
interactive
basis
and
that's
something
that
people
should
at
least
understand
as
they're
looking
for
both
short-term
and
long-term
solutions,
so
that
upload
speed
is
critical
and
then
the
other
one
about
the
fcc
mapping
efforts.
Look
this
this!
Isn't
that
hard!
G
This
isn't
that
hard!
You
we
should
be
able
to
in
the
greatest
economy
in
the
world,
be
able
to
tell
people
where
there
is
broadband.
What
speed,
broadband
and
the
price
of
that
broadband
and
have
it
be
accurate
and,
unfortunately,
the
sec
maps
just
aren't
that
they
haven't
really
engaged
with
the
carriers
to
get
that
really
accurate
and
it's
not
even
consistently
accurate.
You
know
in
some
states
it's
pretty
close
in
other
states.
A
A
This
will
be
archived
and
posted
on
the
ncsl's
website,
so
check
back
and
and
and
if
you've
got
once
more
data
a
lot
of
information
out
there
today
it
was
very
good,
just
go
to
ncsl.org
and
you'll
be
able
to
find
it
on
the
archives
there
with
that
have
a
great
rest
of
your
day
and
and
we
will
be
adjourned
and
again.
Thank
you.
Everyone
for
your
participation,
look
forward
to
seeing
you
on
december,
the
7th.