Vol 4 | Issue 8 | September 2019

To sign up for BroadbandUSA’s newsletter, email broadbandusa@ntia.gov.

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Nevada Broadband Workshop September 27, 2019

NTIA's BroadbandUSA Program will host a broadband workshop in Reno, Nevada on Friday, September 27, 2019. The workshop is designed to provideinformation on how to accelerate broadband connectivity, improve digital inclusion, and support local broadband priorities. Topics to be discussed include local broadband planning, funding, and engagement with service providers. Speakers and attendees from Nevada, federal agencies, and across the country will come together to explore ways to facilitate the expansion of broadband capacity, access, and utilization. See details here.

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NTIA Data: Two-thirds of U.S. Internet Users Do Not Participate in the Sharing Economy
Summary of NTIA Blog

In our most recent Internet Use Survey, conducted in 2017, NTIA included questions about participation in the sharing economy for the first time. The results show that a third of Internet users in the U.S. reported selling goods or requesting or offering services from others through online platforms. This compares with the significant majority of Internet users – 69 percent – who reported using the Internet for more traditional e-commerce activities such as online shopping or travel reservations. See complete blog here. BroadbandUSA will explore Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband in its September 2019 webinar. See details below.

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Broadband News and Updates

Federal News

• NTIA Releases First Annual Report on Spectrum Repurposing

• Departments of Commerce and Transportation Announce $109 Million in Grants to Modernize 911 Services for States and Tribal Nations

• NTIA Spectrum Policy Symposium: Looking to America’s Spectrum Future

• Federal Notice: NTIA Announces Monthly Open BroadbandUSA Webinars

• Federal Notice: NTIA's BroadbandUSA Program will Host a Broadband Workshop in Reno, Nevada on September 27, 2019

• GCTC Global Tech Jam 2019: September 10, 2019

• NTIA and USDA Sponsor Rural Broadband Workshops in Northwest

• FCC approves $4.9B in Funding for Rural Broadband Improvements

• FCC Publishes Proposed Rule Establishing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund; Seeks Comments by September 20

Federal News

• Arkansas: Arkansas Invests $25 Million In Rural Broadband

• California: Report Shows 68 Percent Affordable Broadband Access In California

• Florida: Lakeland Could Be The Exception To Florida’s Broadband Laws

• Illinois: Illinois Puts $420M Toward Broadband Internet Expansion

• Indiana: Indiana Dispenses $22 Million For Rural Broadband And Indiana Launches First-Of-Its-Kind 5G Zone To Advance Innovation And Related Technologies

• Kansas: New Kansas Broadband Map Shows Internet Accessibility, And The Areas Sans Service May Surprise You

• Maine: Broadband advocates hope for another chance at state bonding

• Maryland: Gov. Hogan Opens Up Nearly $10M For Rural Broadband Expansion In Maryland

• Mississippi: Google Visit Highlights Digital Divide, 'Brain Drain' Causes in Mississippi

• Montana: Montana groups rally behind coalition aiming to tackle rural broadband gap

• North Carolina: North Carolina Loosening Muni Broadband Regulations

• Nebraska: FCC Providing $124.5 Million For Rural Broadband In Nebraska

• Ohio: Connected Nation Ohio Rebooted: The Next Phase In Connecting Ohioans To Broadband

• Oklahoma: A Third Of Oklahomans Lack Broadband Internet Choice, Report Shows

• Vermont: Gov. Scott introduces Broadband Innovation Grant Program

• Virginia: Report On Commonwealth Connect: Governor Northam’s Plan To Connect Virginia (PDF) and County Commission Sees Tools In Place To Impact Broadband Gap and Rural broadband still out of reach for more than 600,000 Virginians

• Washington: Seattle Puts $320,000 Toward Digital Literacy

• West Virginia: Citynet Set To Expand Broadband In Five Counties With FCC Funding and Sen Manchin Sends Chairman Pai Speed Tests Results From Across West Virginia

• Wisconsin: Wisconsin Has A Goal Of Broadband For All By 2025

Public Safety/FirstNet

• New FirstNet Cell Site Launches in Talbot County to Support Public Safety

• FirstNet Authority Board Approves FY20 Budget

• FirstNet Authority Releases Public Safety-Driven Roadmap for Future of Network

• FirstNet Momentum: Platform Passes 750,000 Connections, Performs Faster Than Any Commercial Network for Second Consecutive Quarter

• New FirstNet Cell Sites Launch in Warren County to Support Public Safety

• Working Together to Transform Public Safety Communications

Broadband Funding

• Spectrum Digital Education Grants

• FY 2019 Economic Development Administration (EDA) Disaster Supplemental Cooperative Agreement Grants

Broadband Mapping

• Farm Bureau: Urge Congress to Support Broadband Data Improvement Act

• Benton Foundation: How Do We Measure Broadband?

Digital Equity

• Seattle Invests in Digital Equity

• Analysis: Digital Divide Isn’t Just a Rural Problem

• Broadband Is too Important for this Many in the US to Be Disconnected

• Reaching the Unconnected: Benefits for Kids and Schoolwork Drive Broadband Subscriptions, But Digital Skills Training Opens Doors to Household Internet Use for Jobs and Learning (PDF)

• The Sharing Economy Transfers Wealth from Investors to Wealth City Dwellers

General News

• Becoming Broadband Ready Means Community Innovation and Collaboration

• A Texas Triple Play: Bandera Offers Members Solar, Storage and Broadband

• Farm of the Future: Investing in Broadband

• Tech to Protect Challenge

• Benton Foundation: Survey Says: Telehealth + Community Broadband = Local Economic Success

• The Role States Are Playing in Expanding Broadband Access

• A Policymaker’s Guide to Broadband Competition

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Events

NTIA Events

Sept. 18, 2019
BroadbandUSA Practical Broadband Conversations Webinar Series: Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband
Time: 2:00 PM Eastern
Description:The digital economy accounted for 6.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, or $1.35 trillion, according to a recent survey by the Department of Commerce. Understanding how to measure and communicate the benefits of broadband is critical to building support for efforts to expand connectivity and use. Join BroadbandUSA and leading U.S. researchers to discuss their research into the economic impact of broadband deployment and adoption in the United States.
Speakers:

• Roberto Gallardo, Assistant Director - Center for Regional Development, Purdue University

• Brian Whitacre, Professor, Oklahoma State University

• Alison Grant, Research Assistant and Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Purdue University

Moderator:

• Katherine Bates, Manager of State and Local Partnerships, BroadbandUSA

Click here to register

Sept. 24, 2019
State Broadband Leaders Network Monthly Meeting, Virtual. BroadbandUSA Facilitator: Katherine Bates

Sept. 27, 2019
Nevada Broadband Workshop, Reno, Nev.
NTIA's BroadbandUSA Program will host a broadband workshop in Reno, Nevada on Friday, September 27, 2019 at the University of Nevada, Reno’s Lawlor Events Center, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557.

Oct. 22, 2019
State Broadband Leaders Network Monthly Meeting, Virtual. BroadbandUSA Facilitator: Katherine Bates

Events of Interest

Sept. 10-12, 2019
Global Cities Team Challenge (GCTC) Global Tech Jam, Portland, Ore. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Jean Rice

Sept. 10-12, 2019
Telecommunications Association of Maine and Telecommunications Association of New England, Rockland, Me. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Aimee Meacham

Sept. 16, 2019
Washington State Rural Broadband Workshop, Olympia, Wash. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Karen Archer Perry

Sept. 17 - 20, 2019
Broadband Training Opportunities for EPA’s College/Underserved Community Partnership Program (CUPP) Target schools: Clemson University, Tuskegee University and the University of West Alabama, Livingston, Ala. BroadbandUSA Facilitators: Scott Woods, Don Williams

Sept. 18 - 19, 2019
Kansas Broadband and Technology Opportunities Conference, Wichita, Kan.. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Jean Rice

Sept. 19, 2019
Washington State Rural Broadband Workshop, Davenport, Wash. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Karen Archer Perry

Sept. 23 - 26, 2019
National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors 2019 Annual Conference, Tampa, Fla.. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Scott Woods

Oct. 2, 2019
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Conference, Harrisburg, Va. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Karen Hanson

Oct. 2, 2019
Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) Rural Broadband Summit, Atlanta, Ga.

Oct. 8 - 10, 2019
15th Annual Minnesota Broadband Conference, Nisswa, Minn. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Andy Spurgeon

Oct. 8 - 10, 2019
Smart Cities Connect Fall Conference and Expo , National Harbor, Md.

Oct. 16 - 18, 2019
2019 AnchorNets Conference, Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, Crystal City, Va

Oct. 20 - 23, 2019
International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Nashville, Tenn. BroadbandUSA Speakers: Katherine Bates, Karen Hanson

Oct. 24 - 25, 2019
Oregon Connections Telecommunication Conference, Ashland, Ore. BroadbandUSA Speakers: Jean Rice, Karen Archer Perry

Oct. 30, 2019
Bridging the Digital Divide: Broadband Communities’ 2019 High-Speed Broadband: Driving America’s Growth Conference and Expo, Alexandria, Va. BroadbandUSA Speaker: Tim Moyer

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Policy Corner

Internet Governance Forum USA 2019 in Washington, D.C., on July 25, 2019
Summary of remarks of Diane Rinaldo, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information

NTIA understands the power that bottom-up processes can have in creating sustainable, adaptable solutions. We’ve worked hard to build relationships with key stakeholders and gain their trust, which allows us to lead complex, difficult discussions related to the Internet. These discussionstypically lead to the creation of best practices or codes of conduct that enable industry leadership in areas of emerging technology, where regulation would be ill-fitting or premature. Since the early days of the Internet, NTIA has not shied away from confronting hard problems facing the Internet. We do not plan to stop now as we take on issues like cyber and supply chain security, secure 5G competition, and protecting American values online.

See complete remarks here.