BroadBand for america’s future: a vision for the 2020s by Jonathan Sallet Published by the Benton InStItute for BroadBand & SocIety 1 BroadBand for amerIca’S future: a vision for the 2020s a Benton Institute for Broadband & Society publication written by Benton Senior fellow Jonathan sallet This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. A copy of this license is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us Please include the following attribution when citing this report: Sallet, Jonathan. October 2019. Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s. Evanston, IL: Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. https://www.benton.org/publications/broadband-policy2020s 727 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL 60202 www.benton.org contents FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 IntRODuction: Broadband Is the New Railroad ................................................................................................ 7 CHapteR 1: High-Performance Broadband is a National Priority ......................................................................... 11 Section I: The Goal: High-Performance Broadband for All .............................................................................. 12 Section II: Growing the American Economy .................................................................................................... 13 Section III: Strengthening Communities .......................................................................................................... 16 Section IV: Empowering Workers ..................................................................................................................... 20 Subsection A: Implications of Growing Income Inequality ....................................................................... 20 Subsection B: Necessity of Digital Skills and Broadband in the Job Market ............................................. 22 Section V: Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 23 CHapteR 2: Deployment of High-Performance Broadband Networks to Unserved Areas ................................... 26 Section I: Connecting America’s Broadband Deserts ........................................................................................ 27 Subsection A: Charting the Course ........................................................................................................... 27 Subsection B: Deploying High-Performance Broadband ........................................................................... 30 Subsection C: Reaching Unserved Areas and the Claim of “Overbuilding” ............................................... 32 Subsection D: Deploying High-Performance Broadband on Tribal Lands ................................................ 35 Subsection E: Employing Reverse Auctions to Stretch Federal Dollars ....................................................... 36 Subsection F: Establishing Eligibility for Reverse-Auction Participation ................................................... 37 Subsection G: Establishing Requirements for Funded Deployment .......................................................... 37 Subsection H: Supporting State Strategies ................................................................................................. 37 Subsection I: Increasing the Effectiveness of Federal Efforts ...................................................................... 39 Section II: Policy Recommendations to Promote Broadband Deployment ...................................................... 40 Section III: Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 45 CHapteR 3: Promoting Broadband Competition ................................................................................................ 46 Section I: The Geography of Limited Choice: Oases and Deserts ..................................................................... 48 3 Subsection A: The Risks of Limited Competition ...................................................................................... 48 Subsection B: More Providers, More Competitive Benefits ....................................................................... 49 Section II: Bringing More Competition to More People ................................................................................... 51 Subsection A: Promoting Broadband Competition at the Local Level ....................................................... 51 Subsection B: Assessment of Current Federal Broadband Programs .......................................................... 59 Section III: Policy Recommendations to Promote Broadband Competition ..................................................... 61 Section IV: Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 63 CHapteR 4: Using High-Performance Broadband: From Networks to People .................................................... 64 Section I: Expanding Broadband Usage ............................................................................................................. 65 Subsection A: Creating an Affordability Agenda ....................................................................................... 65 Subsection B: Supporting Digital-Skills: Literacy and Beyond .................................................................. 72 Subsection C: Incorporating Digital Skills Training in Regional Economic-Growth Strategies ................. 75 Section II: Policy Recommendations to Promote High-Performance Broadband Adoption .............................. 75 Section III: Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 77 CHapteR 5: The Growing Role of Community Anchor Institutions in the Digital Age ....................................... 78 Section I: Supporting the Increasingly Important Missions of Community Anchor Institutions ...................... 78 Subsection A: Connectivity and Competition ............................................................................................. 79 Subsection B: From Places to People: Connecting Individuals to the Institutions .................................... 84 Subsection C: Community-Wide Connectivity: Institutions as Launching Pads for High-Performance Broadband Deployment ........................................................................................... 86 Section II: Policy Recommendations to Promote the Missions of Community Anchor Institutions ................. 89 Section III: Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 92 CHapteR 6: Stronger Communities and Democracy ............................................................................................ 93 CHapteR 7: High-Performance Broadband Policy Recommendations .................................................................. 97 Section I: Deployment of High-Performance Broadband Networks to Unserved Areas (Chapter 2) ................. 97 Section II: Promoting Broadband Competition (Chapter 3) ............................................................................. 101 Section III: Using High-Performance Broadband: From Networks to People (Chapter 4) .............................. 103 4 Section IV: The Growing Role of Community Anchor Institutions in the Digital Age (Chapter 5) ................ 105 Section V: Broadband Connectivity Best Practices ........................................................................................... 107 SIDebaRS The Economics of a Free Society ........................................................................................................................ 15 Rural Electric Cooperatives Deliver Broadband ................................................................................................ 34 Blandin Foundation: Champion for Rural Minnesota ....................................................................................... 38 Open-Access Networks: The Network as Virtual Marketplace .......................................................................... 47 Colorado Communities Are Doing It for Themselves ........................................................................................ 51 All “Broadband” Is Not the Same ...................................................................................................................... 57 Cleveland: Pulling Together to Solve Community Problems ............................................................................ 66 Michigan’s MERIT Network: Connectivity To and Through Community Anchors ........................................ 79 Imperial County: Closing the Homework Gap in a California Desert Community .......................................... 83 Libraries and Schools Join Hands to Connect New Mexico Pueblos ................................................................ 87 Broadband for a Healthier America .................................................................................................................. 89 Taking Hold of Their Digital Futures: Civic