The Department of Commerce is urging states to use some of their collective $42.5 billion in broadband infrastructure subsidy funds to help build the workforce needed to build out fiber-based broadband and close the digital divide.

That was one of the recommendations in a new report on information and communications technology (ICT) and protecting the communications high-tech equipment supply chain, including undersea cables, modems, fiber optic cables, bridges, routers, and gateways.

"[T]he COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions have exposed structural vulnerabilities in both domestic and global supply chains that have reduced the availability of critical ICT products and the resiliency of the ICT industry as a whole," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Thursday (February 24) about the report assessing the supply chain.

Businesses all over the country are having trouble attracting workers and the broadband technician sector is no exception.

The U.S. ICT industry’s struggle to find qualified workers threatens its ability to fulfill increased demand for key ICT products, impacting implementation of federal and state broadband programs as well as measures to increase manufacturing in the United States," the report concludes.

It also talks about the importance to broadband of continuing to lay fiber optic cable using domestic suppliers, saying that the industry "is currently facing challenges related to supply and demand shifts and bottlenecks."

One of the problems the report identifies is China's excess fiber capacity of hundreds of millions of kilometers that, combined with tens of millions of dollars per company in government subsidies, allows Chinese fiber exports to undercut prices in the U.S. and threaten the viability of domestic suppliers. ■

With the Biden Administration's tens of billions of dollars in broadband subsidy money directed toward wired broadband--including billions to states for their buildout plans--the fiber business could boom, big time, according to its trade group.

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) said Wednesday (January 5) that according to its latest study of fiber providers, more of that broadband plant could be deployed in the next five years than all the fiber deployed in the country to date.

That is predicated on all that infrastructure build-out money going to fiber, rather than cable, satellite or wireless, and would mean that a nationwide fiber buildout could be nearly wrapped up by the end of the decade, according to FBA.

The study, from RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting for FBA, found that fiber passes some 60.5 million homes, up 12% in 2021 and constituting over 40% of U.S. homes with access to fiber.

That growth has been driven by large telecoms and the top five cable MSOs, which together account for 72% of overall fiber broadband access, with regionals including Windstream, Frontier, Consolidated and TDS making accounting for about 10% of the growth.

There could be bumps along the path for a fully fibered nation, it points out, including supply chain and labor shortages, particularly for midsized and smaller providers.

Then there is making sure that the infrastructure funding is steered to fiber rather than for what FBA said would "irresponsible" investment in non-fiber broadband due to fiber's higher download and upload speeds.

For stage governments getting billions in buildout funds, FBA is teaming with NTCA-the Rural Broadband Association on a playbook for helping those states understand the value of steering their money toward "future-proof fiber networks." ■

ACA Connects and the NTCA-the Rural Broadband Association have teamed up to track the billions of dollars in broadband subsidies flowing from President Biden's infrastructure package.

The largest outlay in the $65 billion for broadband deployment and adoption is the $42.5 billion in state grants in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) initiative being overseen by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration.

Since both associations represent smaller, often rural, ISPs, they stand to be big beneficiaries of the program.

To make sure their members can draw a bead on that big and potentially lucrative target, NTCA and ACA Connects are teaming up on a state-by-state tracking project as the states begin to roll out their respective programs next year, including deadlines for application and challenge processes for whether a location is served or underserved, to make sure that the money is not being spent to overbuild existing systems.

The tracking project will be available only to members of the associations.

"At the end of the day, making sure you are well-armed with information will help you seize the BEAD Program’s opportunities and reduce any harms," said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. ■

The Senate drew praise from cable ISPs and other telecom players Tuesday for its passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes about $65 billion for deploying and subsidizing broadband to help close the digital divide.

The vote was 69 to 30, including 19 Republicans led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

“The bipartisan infrastructure legislation demonstrates that policymakers can find common ground on issues that are important for America’s future, including the need to get all Americans connected to robust and reliable broadband service," said Michael Powell, president of NCTA-The Internet & Television Association. "Most importantly, the broadband provisions directly address the two critical challenges we face in reaching our national goal of universal connectivity for all Americans – first, a focused effort to prioritize and build internet infrastructure in areas without service, and second, a stronger government program to help low-income Americans subscribe to and use this critical service. Our industry looks forward to being a productive partner in the effort to close existing digital gaps and to continuing our ongoing investment in networks that will speed our country on the path to 10 gigabit speeds. This legislation is the result of significant compromises and we would like to thank the bipartisan group of Senators who worked diligently to develop this important legislation and urge the House to swiftly pass this package.”

“We applaud the U.S. Senate for providing in the bipartisan infrastructure package $65 billion to expand access to critical broadband capabilities," said ACA Connects President Matthew Polka. "This historic investment would help all Americans stay close to their families, friends, and neighbors and engage in telework, telehealth, remote learning and other activities so fundamental to 21st Century society. This bill has the potential to connect many millions of unserved locations across the country and some 30 million households that have access to broadband but don't currently subscribe," he said, adding. "ACA Connects looks forward to Congress continuing to move forward on this important legislation, and we hope that the House of Representatives prioritizes broadband accessibility as it considers the important infrastructure challenges our nation faces.”

"Among the historic investments included in the bill is more than $48 billion in funding for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to fund state and local investments to help reach 100% access to affordable, high-speed broadband service," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. "This is among the most significant government investment in broadband access and infrastructure in American history, and is a critical component of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda."

INCOMPAS, which represents competitive carriers and some Big Tech edge providers, also sounded pleased.

"Today the United States Senate moved one step closer to our transformative 'internet for all' goal that has the potential to bring faster speeds, lower prices and more competition to every family and small business across America," said INCOMPAS president Chip Pickering.

“While there is still much work to be done, the bipartisan commitment toward improving broadband access, deployment and affordability is significant," he said.

The bill includes money for both deployment to end users and for middle mile networks.

“I commend the Senate for passing the bipartisan infrastructure bill," said Steven K. Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association. "[I]t is an important step in ensuring all Americans have access to the latest broadband services. The legislation includes several broadband provisions important to CCA members, and we look forward to our continued work with Congress to help close the digital divide.”

"It should be said: This $65 billion infusion for broadband that cleared the Senate is a generational (and hopefully transformational) investment in network deployment, affordability, cybersecurity and digital equity," said USTelecom president Jonathan Spalter. "It’s far from perfect, but it represents progress on our shared universal connectivity goals."

On the "far from perfect side," Spalter pointed out that the came together quickly without a lot of debate, hearings or vetting, so "the inevitable unintended consequences are going to matter, maybe more than usual."

One question is how the FCC and NTIA exercise their discretion to define what is the reliable broadband the bill funds.

“Digital infrastructure is critical to strengthening the U.S. economy, connecting U.S. communities, and driving U.S. global leadership,” said Jason Oxman, president of tech group ITI. “We applaud the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes transformative investments to renew U.S. infrastructure and prioritize digital needs, including resources to close the digital divide and bolster cybersecurity. We urge the U.S. House of Representatives to move expeditiously to advance this important measure.”

“Connect Americans Now applauds senators, on both sides of the aisle, who rightly recognized that broadband deployment, adoption and digital skills are critical infrastructure necessary to safeguard the American Dream in every community,” said CAN executive director Richard Cullen. “This bipartisan down payment on tackling the broadband gap will help ensure more Americans, living in both urban and rural areas, can acquire a quality education, access virtual health care tools and participate in the full promise of the 21st century digital economy.”

He also had some concerns, specifically that there is more that needs done if the digital divide is actually to be closed.

“This is an historic investment in broadband and one that will help put affordable, reliable connections in reach for Americans across the country," said Kathryn de Wit, project director of the broadband access initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts. "Importantly, the infrastructure bill acknowledges the crucial role that states play in expanding broadband access. It also includes funds for broadband adoption and affordability, reflecting findings from Pew and others that achieving universal broadband access—and ensuring communities benefit from those connections when they’re available—will take more than building broadband networks.”

“CTA applauds the Senate for developing a bipartisan framework – and collaborating with the White House – to pass meaningful infrastructure legislation that would advance economic growth and innovation in the U.S. Efforts to update our digital infrastructure, which we need now more than ever, are key to realizing the future of game-changing innovations like 5G and self-driving vehicles," said Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro. 

 “Though CTA does not seek or support government funding for our industry or membership, CTA commends the Senate and the administration for following our recommendation and funding some of these important investments in our national infrastructure from unused COVID-19 funds.” 

The Open Technology Institute applauded the bill's inclusion of a broadband truth-in-billing "nutrition" label, which OTI had pushed for.

“We are pleased to see price transparency in the bill, including the broadband nutrition label that OTI first proposed in 2009," said Joshua Stager, deputy director for broadband and competition policy. "Internet pricing is far too opaque, rife with hidden fees and confusing terms. A truth-in-billing label will help consumers comparison shop, hold their providers accountable, and better understand what they’re paying for."

"In a historic first for federal broadband funding, this agreement also recognizes the importance of ensuring that companies who receive these funds adhere to high labor standards," said the Communications Workers of America. "The proposed legislation, which creates a new state broadband grant fund to expand high-speed internet service, prioritizes broadband projects from entities that have a demonstrated record of and plans to be in compliance with Federal labor and employment laws."

“Today the U.S. Senate took a major step forward toward ensuring that fiber broadband is available to every American, said Gary Bolton, president of FBA-Fiber Broadband Association. "The Fiber Broadband Association is encouraged by the bipartisan Senate support in recognizing that broadband is as much a part of the country’s critical infrastructure as roads and bridges. Indeed, broadband is the bridge to global competitiveness and economic prosperity in the 21st Century. This Administration and this Congress have the opportunity to make a historical investment in our country’s fiber broadband future that will benefit generations to come. The forward-looking standards for network deployment included in this legislation will help ensure digital equity and enable every community to leverage the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver."

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was put in charge of closing the digital divide, said the bill ensures that "our nation won't have to go to a fast food parking lot to get high-speed Internet." 

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who helped negotiate the compromise bill, said the bill turns years of talk about fixing infrastructure "turns that talk into reality."

The pandemic has created a new sense of urgency about closing America’s digital divide, elevating it from something that is desirable to something deemed essential. Not surprisingly, we’ve seen an outpouring of proposals for ways the government should assist, which vary greatly in the levels of recommended funding and the methods for allocating government dollars.

President Joe Biden recently agreed to a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan that includes $65 billion for building out broadband across the nation (a substantial reduction from his $100 billion proposal for broadband). Now, the package needs Republican support to pass the Senate.

Achieving universal broadband by equipping every American with the transformative power of digital tools, social networks and online platforms would be a milestone accomplishment, but simply appropriating funding does not guarantee success, and with a decreased amount of funding, expenditures must be judiciously planned. As lawmakers sift through a myriad of ideas on how the funds should be spent, ensuring the best use of taxpayer funds and carving the most efficient path toward universal connectivity should be top priorities.

Here are three guiding principles for allocation of federal dollars to close the digital divide.

Don’t miss the forest for the fiber: America’s broadband infrastructure investment should be based on techn­ology-neutral criteria, allowing for a combination of solutions that are adapted to local needs and can be rapidly and cost-effectively deployed. With limited funds to tackle all three parts of the digital divide  —  deployment, affordability and adoption  —  ensuring the most efficient use of funds is critical. For deployment, while policymakers may reasonably favor the use of fiber optics where feasible, they should resist the urge to foreclose other next best solutions, especially in those hardest-to-serve areas where, even with government subsidies, it may be uneconomical to lay miles and miles of fiber to serve a single household.

To get infrastructure legislation passed, now’s the time to make practical funding allocation decisions to ensure that the gap between digital haves and have-nots can be closed with the federal dollars made available. Fiber costs $20,000 per mile, by some estimates, and connecting every home with fiber in rural, mountainous and sparsely populated locations would prove prohibitively expensive.

In short, fiber should be deployed when reasonable, based on geography and population density. It may not make sense, for example, to bring fiber to Supai, Arizona, which can only be reached by foot, pack animal or helicopter. In some cases, subsidizing satellite internet services could prove more cost effective than reaching every end point with fiber.  

Use market mechanisms to maximize broadband deployment: Federally funded broadband deployment should be structured in a market-sensitive way. Over the past decade, the Federal Communications Commission has developed a competitive funding allocation process, via reverse auctions, to ensure broadband projects produce the greatest benefit for the dollars expended. The auctions maximize efficiency as bidders compete against one another to offer the lowest price at which they are willing to provide their services.

It would make sense to hold a series of auctions, rather than a single auction, to benefit from lessons learned from previous bidding rounds. Additionally, holding multiple auctions would help ensure that unserved communities don’t fall through the cracks, in the event that there is no round-one bidder for certain areas. 

The more bidders the merrier: In order to encourage a highly competitive market, all qualified, proven and capable bidders should be welcomed into the process. Strong guardrails should be put in place to ensure entities seeking to bid have the resources required to deliver on their promises. Once these standards are met, the more bidders the better.

No priority or favoritism should be given to any category of bidder based on for-profit or not-for-profit status. The goal is to get the job done, and it’s in Americans’ interest that the entities best suited to build and operate broadband networks be trusted with taxpayer dollars.

The digital divide has been a problem for the past quarter-century. Closing the gap is now a national priority, and bipartisan support for a solution has never been stronger. With the appropriation of federal dollars for broadband now likely, a well-considered allocation plan along these lines is the next essential step.

Rick Boucher was a Democratic member of the U.S. House from Virginia for 28 years and chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet. He is honorary chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA).

Acting Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has sent a clear signal that she is still a big fan of network neutrality rules, and that she is no fan of the Trump administration petition to the agency to regulate social media using Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

That was made known as she presided over her first public meeting as acting chair, wielding the gavel from home and saying there was much on the FCC’s plate.

The commission’s being currently at a 2-2 political tie, she pointed out, will obviously have an impact on the timing of big-ticket items.

Asked about those two issues and how she planned to proceed, Rosenworcel said she had made it clear that as a commissioner she did not favor commission action on the petition from the National Telecommunications & Information Administration asking the agency to cut back on internet service providers’ protections under Section 230.

ALSO READ: ISPs Prepare for Flood of Broadband Billions

“I do not believe the FCC should be the president’s speech police,” she said. While she said she had no other insights on the petition, filed by the Trump administration in July 2020, clearly it is not getting traction if she remains chairwoman. 

On that topic, asked if she anticipated having the “acting” removed from her title, she said she would leave that up to the White House.

With respect to net neutrality, Rosenworcel said the record reflected that she supported net neutrality — she voted against the Restoring Internet Freedom order that eliminated the rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization — and that the FCC was “assessing right now what the best way forward is, conscious of the composition of the commission.” Most on both sides argue the best way would be for Congress to clearly establish exactly what the FCC’s authority over net neutrality is. 

Rosenworcel was asked about her plan for a top-to-bottom review of the agency, but suggested it was regular procedure for anyone taking over an agency to review issues in every bureau to see if they need a revamp.

One signal Rosenworcel has clearly sent is that there needs to be more intra- and inter-agency cooperation, communication and coordination, including around national security reviews of communications companies and tech.

EBB Must Flow

One big-ticket item that can’t wait is the FCC’s standing up of the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund (EBB).

The commission has until next week to come up with a framework for handing out that money. It will be based on the Lifeline subsidy program already in place, but unlike Lifeline it is a six-month program using that $3.2 billion congressional allocation rather than an ongoing subsidy funded by fees on telecom bills.

At last week’s hearing, Republican commissioner Brendan Carr very publicly said he thought priority should be given to remote learning, an issue right in Rosenworcel’s wheelhouse. But she signaled the FCC was bound by the language of the legislation, which cited multiple constituencies of equal eligibility.

In a strategy it has boldly labeled “The Internet for the Future,” Cisco Systems has rolled out a revamp of its end-to-end network infrastructure portfolio.

Boasting support from Comcast, AT&T, CenturyLink, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and The Walt Disney Co., Cisco said its new line of silicon, optics and software will power the 5G, 400G (Gigabits per second) and video streaming ambitions of operators and service providers into the next few decades.

"We are dedicated to transforming the industry to build a new internet for the 5G era," Cisco chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins said, trumpeting the initiative.

Cisco’s broad-ranging announcement is highlighted by Silicon One, a unified, programmable silicon architecture that can work anywhere in the network and be deployed in both fixed and modular form factors. Cisco called Silicon One the “foundation” of its routing portfolio going forward, with an eventual target speed of up to 25 Terabits per second. The first generation of the chip, the Q100, supports a network bandwidth speed of 10.8 Gbps, which is competitive with the 12 Terabytes per second speed of Broadcom’s Tomahawk3 chip.

Developed by Google, the silicon will free Cisco from being dependent on the product cycles of Broadcom and other vendors.

As Cisco noted, multiple types of silicon are used across a network, or even within a single device, driving up the time and cost of developing new features and testing them. A unified programmable approach will improve these economics, the company believes.

"Facebook has been a strong advocate for network disaggregation and open ecosystems, launching key industry initiatives such as the Open Compute Project and the Telecom Infrastructure Project to transform the networking industry," said Najam Ahmad, VP of network engineering at Facebook, supporting Cisco’s press announcement. "Cisco's new Silicon One architecture is aligned with this vision, and we believe this model offers network operators diverse and flexible options through a disaggregated approach.”

Cisco’s new 8000 series router line will be the first platform built on the back of the Silicon One Q100 processor. The 8000 series will support SONiC (Software for Open Networking in the Cloud), an open-source software for managing thousands of network devices released by Microsoft three years ago.

Cisco said Comcast is in ongoing trials with the 8000 series, with the first actual commercial deployment being Saudi Telecom Co. (STC).

Although the U.S. ranks No. 1 in 10 of the 38 categories in a new global "Net Vitality" study, American broadband systems often fall into the middle range in many factors when compared with those in other countries, according to the report, which the Telecommunications Research and Policy Institute unveiled on Wednesday (March 7).

Nonetheless, the "Net Vitality 2.0" report puts the U.S. among the five top-tier countries for global broadband internet ecosystem leaders; but that ranking is based on factors beyond actual Internet operations.

The new study updates a 2015 report. Both reports were intended to help policymakers develop appropriate rules to encourage broadband expansion, according to the reports' author, Stuart Brotman, a University of Tennessee professor and long-time policy official.

The U.S. and United Kingdom made the Top Five in both the 2015 and the new Net Vitality reports, but this year China, Germany and Canada have replaced South Korea, Japan and France as leading broadband Internet ecosystem countries. Brotman said he believes that Australia and Singapore are candidates for a future Top Five list, "thanks to their innovation and competitiveness."

The five leading countries for Broadband Communications Infrastructure are South Korea, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland and the Netherlands. The U.S. is #18, according to the new study. As for Broadband Access and Affordability, the top five are South Korea, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Norway; again the U.S. is #18. In Average Fixed Broadband Connection Speed, the top five are South Korea, Norway, Sweden, China and Switzerland, with the U.S. coming in at #13.

U.S. systems rank highly in Internet "market attractiveness," "technology efficiency" and IPv6 adoption, according to the report (see chart). In key categories such as Fixed Broadband Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, the U.S. ranks 24th, well behind relatively small countries such as Monaco, Switzerland and Denmark (ranked 1-2-3) , but also below France, South Korea, Germany, U.K., Canada and China.

The U.S. also scores poorly in categories such as "inherent cyber risk" (#41) and "information and communications technology development" (#27).

The study found that all of the most widely used personal computer operating systems and the top web browsers (Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer) originated in the U.S.

Policymaking Tool
As a former National Telecommunications and Information Administration official, a telecom policy advisor to the U.S. State Department and veteran academic (with relationships at Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford), Brotman insists that one value of the comparative analysis is to put broadband and Internet policies into a global matrix.

He contends that the widespread reliance on using service and operations data to compare broadband deployment in different countries "has become too narrowly focused on raising these metrics nationally." Calling such comparative analytic approaches "flawed," he said mixing and matching data that measure different things, such as advertised versus actual broadband network speeds, leads to faulty conclusions.

Against that problematic background, Brotman said he believes that the Net Vitality analysis is a more pertinent document because it uses "more timely, reliable, and comprehensive data reflecting the broadband Internet ecosystem, along with relevant macroeconomic forces that help shape it," such as eCommerce and eGovernment utilization.

In many countries, the regulatory structure provides "too narrow a foundation for Net Vitality," Brotman said. "Rather, the Wide Open Internet is what the United States and other countries around the world should be trying to achieve." He characterized "the Wide Open Internet" as one that "encompasses the broader goal of an efficient ubiquitous broadband Internet ecosystem with virtually unlimited applications and content available on multiple devices."

The new analysis is based on data from the United Nations (including the International Telecommunications Union,) the World Economic Forum, the World Wide Web Foundation plus academic and corporate research. It includes material on more than 130 countries, although not every nation has been ranked in every category.

Brotman characterizes the five leading countries as sharing "one commonality: they have benefitted the most when government challenges companies to raise their aspirations, increase the pace of innovation, and expand the scale of investments.”

Legislators from both houses of Congress and both sides of the aisle have written to President Donald Trump asking him to include broadband in any infrastructure initiative.

Trump has pledged to spend a trillion dollars on an infrastructure effort, but has not yet fleshed out a proposal

Forty-eight senators have signed onto a letter that asks the President to address infrastructure needs for the "deployment of high-speed, reliable broadband for all Americans," the office of Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai has already promised to make closing the digital divide a priority of his chairmanship, Tuesday announcing the creation of an advisory committee to help with that effort by coming up with model codes to speed permitting and rights of way, and clearing away regulatory "red tape."

The senators said improving broadband access must be a priority of Congress, as well as the administration.

A similar letter, King's office said, was sent to Trump by the House Broadband Caucus, co-chaired by Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio).

The Senate letter is reprinted in full below:

Dear Mr. President:

As you work with Congress to address the infrastructure needs of our country, we urge you to prioritize policies as part of any infrastructure initiative that will promote deployment of high-speed, reliable broadband for all Americans. Expanding access to broadband, both rural and urban, is the infrastructure challenge of our generation and we cannot afford to wait to make progress on this important goal. 

The internet has changed the way businesses reach their customers and workers do their jobs. From large companies that employ thousands to small businesses on Main Street, broadband access is not a luxury, it is a necessity. The internet expands opportunities for commerce and strengthens our economy. A broad agenda to promote broadband access will empower Americans living in every community – from urban city centers to rural towns – with economic opportunities that will jumpstart growth in jobs and wages. In fact, for every $5 billion invested in broadband infrastructure, 250,000 jobs are created and with every percentage point increase in new broadband distribution, employment expands by 300,000.

These benefits can only be fully realized when connections are fast, reliable, and affordable. That is why improving broadband access must be a priority in the 115th Congress and broadband must be part of any discussions regarding infrastructure investments to meet the demands of the 21st century economy. In addition, policies that reduce barriers to investment in communications infrastructure and streamline the deployment process will play a key role in expanding economic growth.

In order to maintain the United States’ position as a global leader for innovation, we must invest to expand our broadband infrastructure. This effort should include bringing broadband connections to locations where economic conditions or geography have made deployment difficult and improving the quality and affordability of existing broadband connections.

We look forward to working with you to expand broadband access to all Americans.

The president-elect has pledged a trillion-dollar infrastructure makeover. Broadband buildout backers want to make sure that's a priority of that effort.

In a letter to Donald Trump, Sen. Shelley Capito (R-W. Va.) asked that broadband deployment be a "core component." Capito pointed out that as many as 74% of the residents of her state lack what she called "proper access" to broadband services.

Capito pointed to an FCC study that found that 56% of West Virginia resident don't have access to broadband services that meet its benchmark speeds; that number is as high as 74% in rural parts of the state.

“West Virginia needs to grow and diversify its overall economy, and Iinternet access is fundamental to that transition," Capito said. "It is essential that all communities have access to Internet platforms that will help them connect and compete on a global scale. Small, rural communities across my state lack this fundamental infrastructure – and lack access to vital opportunities as a result."

Capito suggested that deregulation and increased accountability were the way to go, including "reducing barriers to investment in infrastructure, streamlining the regulatory environment for wireless providers, encouraging public-private partnerships, and ensuring accountability on behalf of the taxpayer for federally funded projects."

Asked about Capito's request on a press call with the Trump transition team Monday, a Trump transition team spokesperson did not talk specifics, but told Multichannel News that "broadband is obviously very important, and I would assume that that will be something that the president-elect will be addressing as we start talking about the nation's infrastructure needs after he is sworn in next month."

The spokesman, calling it the "social media stat of the day," pointed out that the president-elect's Facebook posts from the Army-Navy game resulted in more than 1 million likes.