Commissioners Continue To Fight For Broadband Access
By Gordon Hopkins
Concerns over changes in broadband policy by the federal government has prompted Jefferson County Commissioners to send letters to a number of officials urging the policies be reconsidered.
Fast and reliable internet service has become an economic necessity, particularly for rural areas.
Improving broadband internet access to unserved and underserved area of Jefferson County has been a priority of commissioners for years, with the ultimate goal of providing broadband service to all of county.
The BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment) program provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs in all 50 states, as well as Washington D.C. and various American territories. Under the previous program guidelines, only “reliable broadband technologies” were considered when determining location eligibility, which included fiber optic, cable, DSL/copper, and licensed-spectrum fixed wireless. The revised guidelines require states to consider reported unlicensed fixed wireless coverage in addition to the previous set of technologies.
The letter has been sent to U.S. Congressman Adrian Smith, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts and Nebraska Senator Tom Brandt, and state in part, “The recent update to BEAD-eligible locations has tangibly impacted Jefferson County. Overwriting upheld challenges and accepting claimed coverage reduced the total number of BEAD-eligible locations in Jefferson County by 96 locations — a 42.48 percent reduction of the previous total for our county. We know there are many more than 130 unserved and underserved homes and businesses in our county, but we can no longer count on BEAD to connect them,” adding, “The same holds true across our district. In Legislative District 32, BEAD-eligible locations were reduced by 1228, or 55.92%. Many more than 968 of District 32 constituents are likely unserved. Despite these changes occurring at the federal level, there will be real, tangible impacts for District 32.”
The letter disputes the suggestion that wireless and fiber are equivalent, “Broadband technologies are not interchangeable. Wireless and satellite service may be useful stop-gap solutions, but no technology offers the same benefits as fiber optic infrastructure. We would like to call your attention to the definition of Priority Broadband Projects found in the IIJA (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act). Not only must projects receiving this designation be able to reliably deliver 100/20 Mbps service at low latency, but they must also ‘easily scale speeds over time to meet the evolving connectivity needs of households and businesses and support the deployment of 5G, successor wireless technologies, and other advanced services.’ Today’s ‘good enough’ is tomorrow’s ‘not enough.’”
The letter also notes the policy change is already having a negative impact, “At least one Nebraska-based internet service provider has announced layoffs related to the changes in with Nebraska companies to build the infrastructure that BEAD could have funded. Saving taxpayer dollars is an admirable goal, but not if it comes at the expense of the opportunity to create thousands of new jobs for Nebraskans.”
Commissioner Mark Schoenrock advised FJN, “There is also a coordinated effort between NACO (Nebraska Association of County Officials) and SENDD (Southeast Nebraska Development District) to address this with our federal delegation.”
Schoenrock said, “I have had a long discussion with Senator Fischer’s telecommunications staffer and they will be discussing this with the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration).”
