The National Broadband Mapping Coalition monthly call series continued with a call on December 18. Dustin Loup opened by outlining the agenda for the call, which included NTIA’s request for comments on BEAD performance measures, observations on Final Proposal Data from several states, and thoughts on priorities for the year ahead.
Public comments on the Draft Performance Measures for BEAD Last-Mile Networks were due to NTIA on December 19, 2024, the day following the call. Alexis Schrubbe said that her University of Chicago team did not prepare a response but offered to share data they have collected on broadband speed variability. Dustin commented that the FCC reporting requirements for broadband performance follows closely with past requirements for similar programs.
Continuing the discussion on reporting requirements, Dave Taht shared a link to the Bufferbloat.net NTIA response. Alexis offered to forward results on latency derived from testing done in Milwaukee, observing that it is becoming recognized as a more serious issue. Testing frequency was also discussed, with Bryan Darr of Ookla recommending deploying a private endpoint server to accommodate the volume of test data. He also mentioned another upcoming FCC deadline, this one on December 27th for statements supporting or opposing a Petition for Rulemaking on standardized broadband speed testing protocols.
The conversation then shifted to the Final Proposal Data from Louisiana, Delaware, and Nevada. Dustin displayed a spreadsheet with the analysis he performed on the data posted by the three states. In particular, he highlighted the cost per location passed associated with various technologies. Fixed wireless appeared to have the highest cost, possibly due to the remote nature of the locations served. Jake Varn of Pew reported similar observations when asked by Dustin, who promised more analysis details in the coming months.
The discussion of issues in the year ahead began with thoughts on the possibility of BEAD funding clawbacks after the new administration takes office on January 20th. While funds already committed for planning should be safe, uncertainty surrounds deployment funding as states continue to work on sub-recipient agreements. On another issue related to government actions, the recent news regarding a potential ban of TP-Link equipment due to its Chinese origins raised concerns about the availability of alternate sources of routers for both ISPs and consumers.
Finally, the challenge of measuring broadband performance all the way to the customer was discussed. Embedding testing capabilities in routers is preferable to deploying network probes on customer premises, which may be met with customer resistance and privacy concerns.
A recording of the call is available to Coalition members on request (info@marconisociety.org). Dustin announced that the next National Broadband Mapping Coalition call will take place on Wednesday, January 22.
