States are making plans for awarding funding in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The issue is particularly complex because concerns have arisen about how soon the Federal Communication Commission's National Broadband Map will be accurate enough to be used for that purpose. BEAD Program Director Evan Feinman advised states that they could do their own challenge process for the FCC Broadband Map. One state that plans to rely, in large part, on the FCC map is Idaho. Ramón S. Hobdey-Sánchez, broadband program manager for the Idaho commerce department, said “our plan is to have the underlying foundation of that map be the FCC data and we will layer other data on top of that.” Maine is an example of a state that did its own broadband map. As Andrew Butcher, president of Maine Connectivity Authority, explained, the state created an intelligence platform that aggregates data from multiple data sets. Butcher sees that map playing a key role in determining unserved areas. The state did, however, file 130,000 availability challenges in time for the January 13 filing date encouraged by the NTIA. The FCC is still in the process of adjudicating those challenges but has accepted a high percentage of the ones that have been addressed so far, according to Butcher.

Iowa’s Department of Management (DOM) is kicking off a series of 50-plus town hall-style meetings to learn directly from residents what broadband and digital services they need. The in-person meetings, which DOM announced on March 6, started on March 14 and will run through late May. They will cover four topic areas: accessibility, affordability, digital devices, and digital skills. One reason the meetings are not available virtually is to emphasize local, in-person participation, said Matt Behrens, the state’s chief information officer. “We want to be out in the communities, we want to visit with people and we don’t want to make any assumptions that they’ll have the technology or the connectivity in order to participate virtually.” Those who attend will have a chance to break into groups to discuss the four topic areas. Although Behrens said there is no target number of attendees, the more the better. “The more folks that we have attend, the more robust the discussion will be, the more ideas that we’ll get,” he said.

Cable companies’ wireless offerings are a bigger threat to wireless providers than wireless providers’ broadband offerings are to cable companies, according to a new research note from industry financial analysts at SVB MoffettNathanson. It’s a contrarian view at a time when fixed wireless offerings from T-Mobile and Verizon are stealing cable broadband subscribers and the mobile market is heavily saturated. The researchers base their analysis on several key market realities. One of the most critical is that the wireless industry is roughly twice the size of the broadband industry. Exacerbating this, ISPs have a lot to lose in the broadband market, where they currently have about 29% of the market, with revenues of $26 billion. Meanwhile, cable companies have a lot to gain in the wireless market, where they currently have a 2% share, with revenues of $4 billion. The concept of true convergence plays heavily into the analysts’ research. Convergence means more than simply bundling services together, the analysts said. The research note cites two examples of this type of convergence. One example is fixed wireless networks that use mobile infrastructure, yielding a cost advantage in comparison with offering both services over separate infrastructure. The researchers expressed concerns, however, about whether mobile infrastructure can support both services long-term – a concern that others also have expressed. (MoffettNathanson argues, however, that Verizon and T-Mobile fixed wireless access (FWA) offerings may be able to support service in rural areas for a long time.) 

Bluepeak struck a franchise agreement with the City of Norman, Oklahoma, to bring fiber service to nearly 55,000 residents and businesses. The operator is pouring $55 million in capital into the buildout, marking Bluepeak’s largest investment in a single market outside of South Dakota. Asked what made Bluepeak select Norman as its next expansion target, an representative said proximity was a key draw. The city is close to Bluepeak’s other expansion markets in Shawnee and Midwest City (OK), which made going into Norman a “smart investment.” “Our fiber-to-the-home network is built to enhance growth, spur economic development and meet the needs of consumers in Norman well into the future,” said Bluepeak CEO Rich Fish. As for the project’s timeline, Bluepeak said it’s too early to give an estimate on when construction can begin or service availability, and that the operator will know more once it’s planned out its budget. Aside from Oklahoma, Bluepeak currently offers service in southwest Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. In 2023, it’s aiming to add more than 50,000 new fiber passings.