On January 11 at 1 p.m. ET, the fifth multi-association monthly webinar series will take place. This webinar will focus on Cybersecurity Requirements of BEAD, presented by USTelecom – The Broadband Association and CTIA. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires certain baseline cybersecurity requirements for BEAD sub-grantees. This webinar will include an explanation of what it means for a network service provider to have a plan that reflects the NIST Framework and Executive Order 14028.

Register here to hear from USTelecom, CTIA and leading cybersecurity expert Ola Sage of Cyber-Rx.

About the Webinar Series

Leading broadband industry associations have come together to launch a series of monthly educational webinars for state broadband leaders, NTIA, communities and other key stakeholders focused on key topics related to implementation of the $42.45 billion NTIA BEAD broadband infrastructure funding program. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect every American with broadband, elevating quality of life for generations to come.

Past webinars are available to view on demand:

• Broadband Supply Chain Mitigation Strategies for NTIA BEAD
• Leveraging BEAD for Workforce Development
• Meeting BEAD Affordability Requirements
• How Can Permitting & ROW Affect Broadband Deployment

This webinar series is brought to you by ACA Connects, Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), CTIA, the Fiber Broadband Association, INCOMPAS, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association, USTelecom - The Broadband Association and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA).

On January 19 from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET, the NTIA Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (OMBI) will host a webinar to help attendees learn how to be involved in NTIA initiatives to further broadband access and digital equity in their communities. OMBI works with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and their educational and community partners to promote broadband connectivity, digital opportunities, and inclusive innovation in historically underrepresented and marginalized communities.

This webinar will provide an overview of OMBI; the NTIA Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program; and the NTIA Digital Equity (DE) Programs. NTIA will provide guidance on how attendees and stakeholders can become involved in these initiatives and directly participate in state, local and regional planning efforts around broadband and digital equity. Speakers include: 

• Kevin Hughes, Acting Director, Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives, NTIA
• Evan Feinman, Director of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment BEAD Program, NTIA
• Angela Thi Bennett, Digital Equity Director, NTIA

Register here to attend the webinar.

The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its January 26 open meeting, where it will consider:

• Ensuring 988 Reliability and Resiliency – An NPRM that would consider establishing reporting and notice requirements for service outages potentially affecting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
• Rural Health Care Program – An Order on Reconsideration, Second Report and Order, Order and Second FNPRM that would rescind rules requiring support for the Rural Health Care Telecommunications Program to be calculated using a database, improve processes for invoicing and program caps, and propose additional enhancements to calculations of support and a mechanism to allow the participation of newly eligible healthcare providers.

The FCC's Broadband Data Task Force recently announced in a Public Notice that the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window opened on January 3, 2023, for submitting broadband availability and other data as of December 31, 2022.

All facilities-based broadband service providers may now begin filing in the BDC system data that reflects where they made mass-market broadband internet access service available by the end of last year. Such data must be submitted no later than March 1, 2023.

Entities that choose to submit verified availability data in this filing window, such as authenticated state, local and Tribal governmental entities that are primarily responsible for mapping or tracking broadband coverage in their jurisdictions, must also submit their availability data no later than March 1, 2023.

Filers should submit their data in the BDC system. For additional information and questions regarding the Broadband Data Collection, please visit the BDC website.

The FCC launched a proceeding to strengthen its rules for notifying customers and federal law enforcement of breaches of customer proprietary network information (CPNI). The FCC will look to better align its rules with recent developments in federal and state data breach laws covering other sectors.

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released last week and adopted by a unanimous vote of the full Commission will launch a formal proceeding to gather information on this important issue and also take comment on rule changes proposed by the FCC. The action seeks to better address telecommunications carriers’ breach notification requirements. The FCC proposed eliminating the current seven business day mandatory waiting period for notifying customers of a breach. The FCC also proposed clarifying its rules to require consumer notification by carriers of inadvertent breaches and requiring notification of all reportable breaches to the FCC, FBI and U.S. Secret Service.

The FCC also seeks comment on whether to require customer breach notices to include specific categories of information to help ensure they contain actionable information useful to the consumer. The Notice also proposed to make consistent revisions to the Commission’s telecommunications relay services (TRS) data breach reporting rule.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) recently joined Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and a bipartisan group of their colleagues in sending a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to ensure the FCC’s national broadband maps satisfy the goals of the Broadband DATA Act and provide a reliable depiction of broadband availability across the nation. 

“We have heard from constituents, state and local governments, and service providers alike of continuing concerns about the accuracy of the map, ranging from persistent issues with missing or incorrect serviceable locations to potentially overstated claims of coverage by providers,” the Senators wrote. “To ensure the map can be used for decisions about where to direct tens of billions of dollars for broadband deployment, it is critical that these issues be examined and addressed in a systematic and thorough manner.” 

“We recognize that these steps will require more work now in ensuring all serviceable locations are represented and in sorting through challenges as to the availability of service and to the underlying Fabric data,” the Senators continued. “But these processes must not be short-cut or millions of Americans in need of broadband risk being short-changed.” 

In addition to Feinstein, Capito and Rosen, the letter was also signed by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).