INCOMPAS News -- November 8, 2021

Vol. 17, No. 43

November 8, 2021

Infrastructure Bill: ‘Build Broadband Right, Right Now’

On November 5, the House of Representatives passed the Senate bipartisan infrastructure package that includes historic funding for broadband deployment. The legislation will now head to President Biden.

In response, INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering and Mignon Clyburn, co-chairs of the BroadLand USA campaign released the following statement:

“With Congress in agreement on a historic investment in new networks it is imperative that our nation build broadband right, right now. Building broadband right means investing in future proof networks that deliver faster speeds and lower prices. Building broadband right means every community has the necessary broadband infrastructure that will support fixed and mobile access. No family, no community and no neighborhood will be denied the internet access they need to succeed and secure the jobs of the future. Building broadband right means we correct the mistakes of the past, rejecting monopoly policy and unleashing the power of competition - proven to bring more investment, innovation and affordability to consumers and small businesses. Now is the time to build broadband right, and we have no time to waste.”

INCOMPAS Board Elections: Call for Nominations

INCOMPAS is now accepting nominations for its Board of Directors to fill open seats for the next two-year term. To be eligible to run for the Board, Service Provider member companies must be in good standing and run for an opening in their designated voting category (Small, Medium or Large).

Voting member companies (Service Providers) may nominate themselves or other member companies within their voting category to be candidates. All nominations should indicate the company and the name of the company representative.

Key dates around board elections include:

November 8, 2021 - Call for nominations in each member category

November 17, 2021 - Nominations must be submitted to Julia Strow before close of business

November 18, 2021 - Slate of candidates announced and electronic voting begins

November 29, 2021 - Voting period closes

December 1, 2021 - Election results during the INCOMPAS Annual Meeting, which will take place virtually at 3 p.m. ET

For information on the 2021 Board nomination and election process, please email Julia Strow.

House Passes Bill Eliminating Barriers to Rural Internet

The House passed H.R. 3193, the E-Bridge Act, which was introduced by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), with broad bipartisan support. This bill removes hurdles for broadband projects under Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants, including difficult last-mile efforts that often delay rural broadband deployment.

H.R. 3193 also ensures that local communities can partner with the private sector in carrying out broadband projects and gives communities more flexibility in complying with their funding match requirements. By increasing the reach of broadband to rural and economically distressed communities, the E-BRIDGE Act will help:

Attract new businesses and support current businesses in distressed regions of the country,
Strengthen healthcare systems and delivery of medical care to vulnerable populations,
Lay the groundwork for economic recovery in these areas, and
Better prepare these communities for future disasters or epidemics.

NTIA to Host Technical Assistance Session on

Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host Technical Assistance (TA) sessions in connection with the Connecting Minority Communities (CMC) Pilot Program authorized and funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. NTIA’s CMC Pilot Program is a $268 million grant program to build the broadband and digital technology capacities of our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and to support broadband access, adoption, and digital skills within those institutions and in their surrounding anchor communities.

The CMC TA Sessions are designed to help prospective applicants understand the eligibility and programmatic requirements of the CMC Pilot Program and to assist applicants prepare high quality grant applications before the application deadline on December 1, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EST. The CMC program team will address live questions during these technical assistance sessions to aid prospective CMC Pilot Program applicants.

NTIA will offer 60-minute CMC TA Sessions on the following dates (click the links to register):

Administration Issues Cybersecurity Executive Order

The Biden administration issued a sweeping executive order last Wednesday mandating that nearly every federal agency patch hundreds of cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The new mandate would cover almost 300 security flaws discovered since 2017, which would be listed in a new federal catalog, and would apply to all executive branch departments and agencies except the Defense Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as cybersecurity is managed separately for the military and national security.

The new Directive and an associated fact sheet can be found at Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01.

Bill Seeks to Speed Up Cloud Technology Adoption

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced The Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act (S. 3099) to codify the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) so federal agencies can adopt secure cloud technologies to help make government operations more efficient. FedRAMP was created in 2011 by the Office of Management and Budget as a risk-based approach for adopting cloud technologies within the government. The legislation would also modernize the process by which cloud products are reviewed, establish metrics, improve security and authorize $20 million to operate the program.