Infrastructure Draft Would Have NTIA Define 'Low-Cost' Broadband

The Senate failed to invoke cloture Wednesday on the shell bill (HR-3684) for a bipartisan infrastructure package under negotiation. Republican members of the group working on the measure believe the legislation will be ready next week with enough GOP support to proceed. A 157-page draft of part of the bipartisan measure’s broadband language gives NTIA responsibility to define low-cost broadband service options for grantees. It would set a minimum speed threshold below what fiber advocates are seeking for projects receiving money from a $40 billion pot slated for NTIA-administered state-level grants. The overall proposal, which President Joe Biden backed last month, allocates $65 billion for broadband (see 2106240070).

Senators voted 49-51 on cloture for HR-3684, below the 60-vote threshold. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., immediately filed a motion to reconsider. Bipartisan group member Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told reporters he anticipates “we’ll be ready if we get a vote on Monday.” Eleven Republicans wrote Schumer they will support invoking cloture once the bill text is finished.

“We have made significant progress and are close to a final agreement,” the bipartisan group said in a statement. “We will continue working hard to ensure we get this critical legislation right -- and are optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance, this historic bipartisan proposal.”

The bipartisan draft allows states and jurisdictions to submit to NTIA “a proposed definition of ‘low-cost broadband service option’ that shall apply to subgrantees." The administrator would have the final say over what constitutes “low-cost” service in each jurisdiction and will be required to “publicly disclose” that definition. An earlier draft included placeholder text that said the issue was "pending agreement on language."

The proposal would require grant recipients to provide 100/20 Mbps “with a latency that is sufficiently low to allow reasonably foreseeable, real-time, interactive applications” and ensure network outages don’t exceed an average of 48 hours per year. Fiber supporters have been pushing for lawmakers to require 100/100 Mbps symmetrical service on projects paid via the infrastructure bill (see 2106280054).

The proposed state broadband grant program would disburse a minimum of $100 million to all states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Another $100 million would be divided among American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands. The proposal includes $500 million for NTIA middle-mile grants and mirrors language from the Digital Equity Act. It would make changes to Tribal Broadband Connectivity program language, including extending some deadlines.

NTIA would be required to delay releasing $40 billion until the FCC releases revised coverage maps mandated under the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act. The draft would require the FCC and NTIA to “standardize and coordinate reporting of locations at which broadband service was provided using” program money and “provide a standardized methodology” for reporting.

Lobbyists emphasized details remain in flux and the draft likely doesn't constitute the infrastructure package's full broadband title. The plan is believed to include $15 billion for USDA’s ReConnect program (see 2106290066). Negotiations continued Wednesday afternoon.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota and seven other panel Republicans urged Schumer Wednesday to “work through regular order to advance broadband-related provisions in any bipartisan infrastructure legislation.” Advancing “broadband legislative proposals through the committee of jurisdiction, with subject matter expertise, is critical to ensuring that resources are appropriately targeted to communities in need, and any new broadband programs are implemented with the proper oversight,” they wrote Schumer.

Former FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said Wednesday he’s “pleasantly surprised” by the leaked broadband language. The group appears to have “moved away from some terrible policies” that congressional Democrats proposed earlier this year (see 2103110037) in legislation like the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-1783/S-745) like symmetrical speed and pro-municipal broadband “mandates,” he said during a virtual Institute for Policy Innovation event. He said it would be preferable if the measure also aimed to lower barriers to broadband deployments like what House Commerce Committee Republicans proposed in February (see 2102160067), but that’s unlikely to happen.