Cornell Broadband Network Newsletter #3

Upcoming events:

• March 2, 2021--The Southern Tier Central Regional Planning & Development Board is hosting a virtual conversation about “Rural Internet Challenges & Opportunities” on March 2^nd at 5pm EST. The featured guest is Bob Knight, Executive VP & COO of  Harrison Edward Inc.  Bob is the national co-chair for the Public Officials Committee of the Fiber Broadband Association and 2021 Chairman of the Broadband Communities Summit. Topics to be covered include:
  • The value of broadband infrastructure and the data driven economy
  • Overview of technologies and how they work together
  • Examples of proven solutions for community development
  • Register here by February 28th:  https://forms.gle/n3NbMuf3JESyui1t8. This event is sponsored by Southern Tier 8 Regional Board, Southern Tier Central Regional Planning & Development Board and Southern Tier Network with the help of County Planning Departments & IDAs, Broome Tioga BOCES & the Appalachian Regional Commission.

• March 19, 2021—CBN’s third Zoom breakfast will be Friday, March 19^th at 8:30am EST. We will be hearing from Max Zhang, professor in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Max is the principal investigator on a recently awarded National Science Foundation grant to bridge New York’s digital divide by designing the nation’s first statewide Internet of Things public infrastructure. See https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/09/nsf-funding-help-erase-upstate-nys-digital-divide. The format of these Zoom Breakfasts is 20 minutes of informal comments and then 30 minutes of questions and discussion. We do a hard stop at 9:30am. Zoom details are:  https://cornell.zoom.us/j/7234328433?pwd=b3NGY3pOaitsRGgxYklkMEttTUFVUT09; Meeting ID 723 432 8433; Passcode: CBN.

New CBN Blog Posts: (see https://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/research/cpip/cbn/blog)

• PERM 75—A Roadblock to Broadband Buildout, February 12, 2021 | By Kurt Anderson, Director of Development and Strategy-Ithaca Area Economic Development
• Operating and Maintenance Costs, not Capital Costs, Conspire Against Rural Broadband Cooperatives, February 16, 2021 | By Todd Schmit, Associate Professor-Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
• The Collective Will Is There to Solve the Rural Broadband Challenge, February 18, 2021 | By Stephen V. Smith, founder and VP of Broadband Strategies of WordSouth,

Notice of Grants:

• New: 2021 Multi-Investigator Seed Grants - The University’s Office of Academic Integration advances research and discovery by supporting collaborations between the Cornell Ithaca campus, and the Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech campuses in New York City. The Office has announced an RFA for 2021 Multi-Investigator Seed Grants. For 2021 deadlines and application links view the Multi-Investigator Seed Grant RFA.

• New: National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) - The NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program within the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) offers researchers the opportunity to transform new knowledge into societal benefits through translational research and technology development efforts which catalyze partnerships to accelerate innovations that address significant societal needs. To access more information, including requirements for the internal competition, click View competition

  • Internal Submission Deadline: Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at 5pm
  • Anticipated award amount: PFI-TT up to $250,000 for 18-24 months. PFI-RP up to $550,000 for 36 months.
  • Solicitation: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19506/nsf19506.htm
  • Webinar: https://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/pfi/resources.jsp
• New: NSF Spectrum Innovation Initiative - National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research (SII-Center) NSF 21-558. Letters of Intent due March 1, 2021. Application submission window: April 1-30, 2021.  NSF's goal is to promote transformative use and management of the electromagnetic spectrum, resulting in profound benefits for science and engineering, industry, and other national interests. The focus of a spectrum research SII-Center must chart out a trajectory to ensure United States leadership in future wireless technologies, systems, and applications in science and engineering through the efficient use and sharing of the radio spectrum. Anticipated award is $5M per year for five years, with potential to renew.
• The Office of Academic Integration requests applications for 2021 Multi-Investigator Seed Grants—For 2021 deadlines and application links,  view the Multi-Investigator Seed Grant RFA.
• The Center for the Study of Inequality (CSI) has announced the 2020-21 Faculty Research Grant program. The deadline for proposals is April 1, 2021. For details, click https://inequality.cornell.edu/faculty-research.

News:

• As a follow-up to last month’ conference on Broadband’s Role in Rural Economic Development: Exploring the Intersection between Community and Agricultural Broadband Needs hosted by the APLU, below are links to certain parts of the program:

  • The link to a video of the introduction and to Gigi Sohn’s speech- https://youtu.be/vT5SRbMMOKQ;  A transcript of Gigi Sohn’s speech, courtesy of the Benton Institute;
  • Notes and slides as available from each of the breakouts:
    • Breakout 1: Targeting Investments in Rural Broadband that Enable Rural Economies and Communities (Recording)
    • Breakout 2: Building Partnerships to Maximize the Economic Benefits of Broadband Technologies (Slides)
    • Breakout 3: Advancing Technology to Enable Universal Access (Recording)
    • Breakout 4: Digital Ready Workforce (Recording and Notes)
  • Slides with research agenda moving forward.
  • Also, for research funding opportunities click NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program.
    

• Millions Of Americans Can't Get Broadband Because of a Faulty FCC Map. There's A Fix—Shara Tibken, CNET, February 19, 2021. A fundamental flaw in closing the digital divide is not knowing where the problems actually are. We're finally about to see changes. (This story is part of Crossing the Broadband Divide, CNET's coverage of how the country is working toward making broadband access universal.)

• Press Release (February 17, 2021) FCC Reviews Progress on Emergency Broadband Benefits, Covid-19 Telehealth Program, and Efforts to Improve Broadband Availability Data—The  Federal Communications Commission today heard presentations from staff on the newly established emergency broadband program for struggling households, the next phase of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, and the Commission’s efforts to collect more precise and granular broadband availability data. https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-reviews-emergency-broadband-telehealth-broadband-data-progress?utm_campaign=Newsletters&utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email
• Governors Start 2021 By Expanding Access to Broadband, February 6, 2021--Governors are proposing record levels of investments in broadband infrastructure. See article for a state by state summary. https://www.nga.org/news/commentary/governors-expanding-access-broadband-2021/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters&utm_source=sendgrid
• Expediting Broadband Deployment: Creating Incentives For Investor-owned Utilities (Podcast)  In this episode of the Broadband Bunch (hosted by Telcompetitor), industry experts Heather Burnett Gold and Karen Jackson discuss how Investor-Owned Utilities can help end the digital divide for rural broadband throughout rural America.
• Data Analytics Can Improve How We Design Broadband Strategies, Edward Oughton, February 16, 2021.  Internet access is essential for economic development and helping to deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially as even basic broadband can revolutionize the opportunities available to users. Yet, more than one billion people globally still live in areas without internet connectivity. Governments must make strategic choices to connect these citizens, but currently have few independent, transparent, and scientifically reproducible tools to rely on. As part of the World Bank’s Digital Economy for Africa program, a new assessment approach has been developed to help test the effectiveness of different universal broadband strategies. The new approach takes advantage of data analytics methods to help robustly assess the effectiveness of different strategies in terms of broadband capacity, coverage, and cost. This involves two important innovations. https://www.benton.org/blog/data-analytics-can-improve-how-we-design-broadband-strategies?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters
• “How the Biden Administration Can Expand Rural Broadband”, Sue Halpern, The New Yorker, February 10, 2021  https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-the-biden-administration-can-expand-rural-broadband . Note the narrative at the end of the article about the experience of Slic Network Solutions, “a forty-three-person operation in the far reaches of New York State that won just under a million dollars in the R.D.O.F. auction, [that] illustrates the challenge of funding broadband piecemeal, through grants and auctions.”
• Boston Mayoral Candidate Wu Eyes City-owned Broadband Network   https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/01/business/mayoral-candidate-wu-ey…  See also https://www.michelleforboston.com/plans/digital-equity
• NY broadband internet bill vetoed after Andrew Cuomo declines to act, February 2, 2021 https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/02/02/ny-broadband-internet-bill-vetoed-after-andrew-cuomo-declines-act/4346039001/
• White Paper: Evaluating the Capabilities of Fixed Wireless Technology to Deliver Gigabit Performance in Rural Markets, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association-The Rural Broadband Association, February 1, 2021. https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/10201387611048/Letter%20and%20technical%20whitepaper%20on%20Gigabit%20standards%20020121.pdf?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters
• CARES Money for Broadband: Insights Gained from County Projects, Jed Pressgrove, Government Technology, February 3, 2021.  The proposition of pursuing funding for broadband can seem unwise when a short timeline is involved. Here are lessons learned from counties that had to spend CARES dollars in the face of a fast construction deadline. https://www.govtech.com/network/CARES-Money-for-Broadband-Insights-Gained-from-County-Projects.html?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters
• Podcast: Crossroads: The Infrastructure Podcast-EY and John Laing talk broadband Interview with Sue Lee of Ernst & Young and Sebastian Caputto of John Laing discussing ongoing public and private initiatives with broadband https://fast.wistia.net/embed/channel/z8h3prypqf?wchannelid=z8h3prypqf&wmediaid=p0ut6hfw3o
• To Bridge the Digital Divide, Cities Tap Their Own Infrastructure, Linda Poon, Bloomberg CityLab February 8, 2021.  The challenges of virtual school have pushed some cities to try new ideas for expanding internet access. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-08/cities-try-new-ideas-to-narrow-digital-divide?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters
• Broadband Myths: Are High Broadband Prices Holding Back Adoption? Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, February 8, 2021.   Broadband affordability is a problem for some Americans, but not the “crisis” advocates claim. U.S. broadband prices are comparable with those charged abroad and by U.S. municipal networks. To ensure affordability for everyone, we need a better subsidy program for low-income households, not changes to industry structure. Read the report.
• What May Be Ahead for Biden’s Infrastructure Plan? Dan Lohrman, Government Technology, February 6, 2021. Following the passage of his stimulus plan in the U.S. Senate last week, President Biden is next expected to unveil how he will improve America’s infrastructure, including transit, innovation and energy. https://www.govtech.com/blogs/lohrmann-on-cybersecurity/what-may-be-ahead-for-bidens-infrastructure-plan.html?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters
• “Rep. James Clyburn Signals Return of $100B Broadband Bill, Multichannel News, February 120, 2021. https://www.nexttv.com/news/rep-james-clyburn-signals-return-of-dollar100b-broadband-bill?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletters.  Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn said Wednesday (Feb. 10) that he plans to reintroduce the Internet Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act. The bill would invest $100 billion to close the digital divide.

The Cornell Broadband Network  is a virtual community of people

on Cornell’s various campuses and people outside of the University

who are doing research on and are engaged in broadband-related projects.

 As a part of the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy , CBN’s mission is to provide visibility

into these efforts in order to build partnerships

and foster collaborations across the entire University.

For more information, email CornellBroadbandNetwork@cornell.edu.