Rosenworcel Says Washington Should Support Local Internet Ideas
AUSTIN -- Federal government should support local efforts to close the “homework gap,” said FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Tuesday at the NATOA annual conference. She urged tweaking E-rate to support connected school buses, federal grants for library Wi-Fi hot spot lending, and creating a federal clearinghouse for sharing these and other local ideas. “I don’t think all good ideas come from Washington,” she said.
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“Local solutions deserve federal support,” Rosenworcel said. Recent changes to the Lifeline program to support broadband and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ConnectHome program are good federal efforts, she said, but "We need to do more and I think that more happens at the local level. We need to tap into the creative efforts to bridge the homework gap that are happening in communities all across the country.”
The federal government could spread an idea from Coachella Valley, California, to install Wi-Fi on school buses by supporting it with the FCC’s E-rate program, Rosenworcel said. The Library Service and Technology Act grant program, run by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, should support libraries lending Wi-Fi hot spots, she said. Also, the FCC or Department of Education should create a “clearinghouse” for these and other local ideas, she said.
Internet speeds provided under Lifeline should be watched closely as the program rolls out, Rosenworcel said in response to an audience question. The FCC now defines advanced telecom services as 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up, but under the Lifeline changes, fixed broadband providers must offer 10/1 Mbps speeds. “That program won’t thrive and it won’t be successful if we don’t monitor it carefully to make sure that the right people have access, there’s no fraud or waste in the program, and that the speeds we have today are actually viable going forward,” Rosenworcel said.
“Huge innovation” happens especially at the municipal level, “where people actually expect things to get done,” Austin Mayor Steve Adler (D) said in an earlier keynote. As part of its smart city efforts, Austin is embedding sensors into a portion of a state highway that runs through the city, he said. Soon, the city will have lights that "change and sequence in real time based on the speed and frequency of cars that are passing underneath,” he said. Google is testing self-driving cars on city streets, he added.
Wireless carrier efforts to install small-cell equipment for 5G services appeared to be top of mind for the mayor. “Certainly, over the last few months, I’ve been tied at the hip with all the telecom companies in trying to get small cell systems set up,” he said. “I’m learning a lot about that.” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said earlier this month the agency will drive 5G growth by working with local governments to speed siting of new wireless facilities, and industry also asked some states to streamline siting rules for small cells. NATOA Executive Director Steve Traylor recently said local government officials would be glad to work with the FCC and industry on small-cell siting issues but don't see an immediate problem (see 1609080074). The 5G siting issue is to be a subject of multiple sessions at the NATOA conference this week.