The biggest Internet service providers will dominate a $42.45 billion broadband grant program unless the Biden administration changes a rule requiring grant recipients to obtain a letter of credit from a bank, according to a joint statement from consumer advocacy groups, local government officials, and advocates for small ISPs.
The letter sent today to US government officials argues that “by establishing capital barriers too steep for all but the best-funded ISPs, the LOC [letter-of-credit requirement] shuts out the vast majority of entities the program claims to prioritize: small and community-centered ISPs, minority and women-owned ISPs, nonprofits, and municipalities.”
The rule is part of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that’s being administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
well, I was optimistic but now we might still have the monopolies using the grants to line their pockets off the consumers by using our govt money.
Exactly what will happen and they won’t use to the grant money towards what it meant for.
It big grift and Biden gave it to them. Remember he is a centrist who caters to the rich.
Remember we paid for every home in America to have fiber optic internet in the 90s. They took the money, ran, and faced no consequences.
I mean he’s always been considered a moderate. The voting system encouraged him through since we can’t get voting reforms to pass. What I wouldn’t give for ranked elimination style voting or something… I’m so tired of being continually screwed by the system and it encouraging the gerrymandering that happened in my state despite our own laws against it
Having been in the broadband delivery business at all levels, I sadly report that small ISPs can’t compete in this marketplace to begin with. Reason being they don’t have the investments needed for last mile delivery. If they had the money needed to install landlines, or buy frequency leases, or fly a global satellite network then they wouldn’t be a small ISP. The best that they can do is develop resell relationships.
Part of the reason they can’t compete is cause of all the bullshit roadblocks the existing players put in their way. This was made readily apparent anywhere Google fiber tried to rollout and all of the crap they had to deal with to just roll out fiber.
It’s not that they don’t have the money to install the infrastructure, it’s that they don’t have enough money to fight all the legal battles just to do their jobs.
Not the existing players, your government. Telephone companies gained right of way from your state because everybody wanted a telephone. Cable companies made a deal with your municipality for right of way by paying for it with a non-compete clauses. Power companies did the same thing. Why would they put millions of dollars worth of infrastructure in the ground for anything less? Your state and local government, and by extension you, sold it to them.
The only ISPs that can compete are ones using existing power line infrastructure, so utility companies and cooperatives.
