States
are
poised
to
receive $42.5
billion
in
broadband
grants thanks
to
the
2021
infrastructure
bill.
While
a
lot
of
this
money
will
be
going
to
the
usual
entrenched
monopoly
incumbents,
a
lot
of
it
is also going
to
a
growing
list
of
popular cooperatives,
municipalities,
and
city-owned
utilities to
expand
affordable
fiber.
This Broadband
Equity
Access
and
Deployment (BEAD)
program
is
going
to
help
bring
a
lot
of
competition
and
new
fiber
into
numerous
markets.
So,
as
per
obstructionist
party
tradition,
Republicans
are
trying
to
kill
or
undermine
it
at
every
possibility.
Republicans
voted
against
the
program,
but
then
immediately
turned
around
and took
credit
for
the
local
improvements
among
their
constituents.
They
worked
tirelessly
to
try
and
keep
this
money
from driving
competition
into
Comcast
and
AT&T
markets.
They’ve
also
launched
show
hearings
after
learning
that
the
BEAD
program
is
(gasp) trying
to
make
sure
this
new
broadband is
affordable
to
poor
people.
Then
there’s
Trump
FCC
pick
Brendan
Carr.
Carr,
you’ll
recall,
spends
all
of
his
time whining
about
TikTok (a
sector
he
doesn’t
regulate),
but
none
of
it
on
helping
telecom
consumers
(a
sector
he
actually
regulates).
And
when
he
can
focus
on
telecom,
it’s
generally
either
to
lobotomize
corporate
oversight,
or
do
some
favor
for
unpopular
companies
like
Comcast
and
AT&T.
Like
this
new
missive
in the
Wall
Street
Journal (paywall)
that
tries
to
claim
the
BEAD
program
is
a
“flop”
because
it
has
taken
some
time
to
implement
it:
“Kamala
Harris lamented
recently
that
“in
America,
it
takes
too
long
and
it
costs
too
much
to
build.”
She’s
right.
But
she
failed
to
mention
that
those
costly
delays
are
a
feature,
not
a
bug,
of
her
progressive
policies.”
What
Carr doesn’t say
is
that
a
primary
reason
it
has
taken
three
years
to
get
this
component
of
the
infrastructure
bill
off
the
ground was
a
direct
result
of
Carr’s
own
incompetence.
The
Trump
and
Ajit
Pai
FCC
(of
which
Carr
was
a
key
member) completely
mismanaged
the
FCC’s
$20.4
billion
Rural
Digital
Opportunity
Fund
(RDOF),
resulting
in
billions
of
dollars
in
fraud
and
various
delays.
The
Pai
FCC’s
mismanagement
of
RDOF
was so severe,
when
it
came
time
for
the
Biden
administration
to
put
an
agency
in
charge
of
the
BEAD
program, it
selected
the
NTIA
instead
of
the
FCC.
That’s
directly
on
Carr;
but
he
just
(whoops)
doesn’t
mention
that
bit.
Progress
has
been
slow
because
the
NTIA
has
been
trying
to
do
all
of
the
stuff
the
FCC
failed
to
do,
like properly
map
broadband
access to
ensure
the
money
is
spent
properly.
And
do
a
better
job
screening
applicants
to
make
sure
they
can
actually
deliver
the
broadband
networks
they
promise.
The
Carr
and
Pai
FCC
didn’t
bother
with
this
last
bit,
resulting
in
a
long
line
of
RDOF
applicants
(including
Musk’s
Starlink)
getting
billions
of
dollars
they
didn’t
deserve,
for
projects
they
couldn’t
build.
That
resulted
in
a
ton
of
defaulting
bidders,
and
it
has
taken
years
for
the
Biden
FCC
to clean
up
the
Trump
FCC’s
mess.
Worse,
some
of
the
communities
stuck
in
default
over
RDOF
bids
now can’t
qualify
for
BEAD
funds,
boxing
them
out
of
a
generational
broadband
funding
opportunity
due
to
Trump
FCC
incompetence.
Starlink
in
particular
was
poised
to
receive
nearly
a
billion
dollars
from
Trump
to
deliver
expensive,
satellite
access
to a
handful
of
airport
parking
lots
and
traffic
medians.
The
Biden
FCC
(correctly)
retracted
that
award,
stating
it
wasn’t
clear
that
the increasingly
congested
Starlink
network could
actually
deliver
consistently
promised
speeds.
They
also
said
Starlink
access
was
expensive,
instead
redirecting
these
funds
toward
more
“future
proof”
and
affordable
local
fiber
and
wireless
access.
I’ve criticized
the
Biden
FCC
plenty;
but
on
this
particular
point
they
were
absolutely
correct.
Still,
Musk
and
Republicans
have
been
throwing
a
noisy
hissy
fit
ever
since.
Carr
continues
it
in
the
pages
of
the
Journal,
falsely
claiming
the
FCC
engaged
in
“regulatory
warfare”
because
it
didn’t
give
a
billionaire
a
billion
dollars
for
slow,
expensive
broadband
access:
“As
I
noted
in
my
dissent
at
the
time,
the
FCC’s
revocation
couldn’t
be
explained
by
any
objective
application
of
the
facts,
the
law
or
sound
policy.
In
my
view,
it
amounted
to
nothing
more
than
regulatory
lawfare
against
one
of
the
left’s
top
targets:
Musk.
Rural
communities
stuck
on
the
wrong
side
of
the
digital
divide
are
paying
the
price.”
That
the
GOP
cares
about
the
“digital
divide”
is
a
fiction.
That
the
party
cares
about
funding
broadband
access
to
rural
communities
is
a
fiction.
That
the
party
cares
about
government
being
efficient
with
taxpayer
money
is
a
fiction.
Republicans
have
fought
against
improving
the
quality
and
affordability
of
broadband
access
for
the
better
part
of
thirty
years,
both
by
undermining
regional
competition,
and
by
dismantling
what’s
left
of
corporate
oversight
and
consumer
protection.
It
routinely
goes
out
of
its
way
to
protect
entrenched
monopolies
like
AT&T
and
Comcast
from
competition
and
accountability at
every
turn.
Carr’s
goal
is
to
paint
the
BEAD
infrastructure
bill
program
as
a
boondoggle,
knowing
full
well
money
from
the
popular
program
will
begin
to
flow
to
local
constituents after the
election
season.
As
with
all
government
programs
BEAD
certainly will
have
problems,
but
in
this
instance
the
NTIA
is actually
trying
to
do
things
right.
That
takes
time.
BEAD will have
a
transformative
impact
on
many
rural,
disconnected
markets.
I
know
this
because
part
of
my
work
involves talking
to
a
different
red
or
blue
municipality
every
single
week,
which
all
tell
me
they’re
poised
for
some
amazing
improvements.
And
Carr
certainly
doesn’t
want
locals
understanding
that
Republicans
have
tried
to
dismantle
a
popular
program that’s
actually
benefiting
them.
Should
Trump
win
the
White
House,
you
can
be
fairly
certain
Carr
will
be
the
next
agency
boss.
He’s
outlined
what
he’ll
do
in
his
Project
2025
chapter
on
how
the
FCC
should
be
run,
which
largely
involves
repurposing
the
agency
to harass,
tax,
and
nanny
tech
companies that
don’t
kiss
the
authoritarian
ring,
and
harass
media
companies
that
speak
critically
of
King
Trump.
You
can
be
absolutely
sure
Carr
will
redirect
as
much
BEAD
money
as
possible
to
Elon
Musk
and
monopolies
like
AT&T,
and
dismantle
the
most
useful
parts
of
BEAD
(like
the
efforts
to
fund
popular
community-owned
broadband
networks).
Carr
is
a
Trump
sycophant
of
the
highest
order,
and
if
he’s
put
in
charge
of
the
nation’s
biggest
telecom
and
media
regulator,
the
dysfunction
won’t
be
subtle.
Trump’s
Likely
FCC
Boss,
Brendan
Carr,
Tries
To
Undermine
Popular
Infrastructure
Bill
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