Legislature(2017 - 2018)CAPITOL 106
02/15/2017 09:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation: Broadband Access and Capacity in Alaskan Schools | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
February 15, 2017
9:12 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Harriet Drummond, Chair
Representative Justin Parish, Vice Chair
Representative Zach Fansler
Representative Jennifer Johnston
Representative Chuck Kopp
Representative David Talerico
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Lora Reinbold
Representative Geran Tarr
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: BROADBAND ACCESS AND CAPACITY IN ALASKAN SCHOOLS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LEONARD STEINBERG, Senior Vice President
Government Affairs
Alaska Communication Systems (ACS)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the overview of broadband
access and capacity in Alaskan schools.
COLIN UNDERWOOD, Program Manager
Education and Health Care
Alaska Communication Systems (ACS)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the overview of broadband
access and capacity in Alaskan schools.
TINA PIDGEON, General Counsel
Chief Compliance Officer
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs
General Communications Incorporated (GCI)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the overview of broadband
access and capacity in Alaskan schools.
CHRISTINE O'CONNER
Executive Director
Alaska Telephone Association (ATA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the overview of broadband
access and capacity in Alaskan schools.
ACTION NARRATIVE
9:12:54 AM
CHAIR HARRIET DRUMMOND called the House Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 9:12 a.m. Representatives
Drummond, Talerico, Johnston, Fansler, Parish, and Kopp were
present at the call to order.
^PRESENTATION: Broadband Access and Capacity in Alaskan Schools
PRESENTATION: Broadband Access and Capacity in Alaskan Schools
9:13:42 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND announced that the only order of business would
be a presentation on the broadband access and capacity in
Alaskan schools.
CHAIR DRUMMOND provided an outline of the status of broad band
currently enjoyed in the state, and particularly to the public
schools. She said:
We've heard a lot from different school districts
about how they are utilizing virtual learning and new
technologies, but I think it will be helpful for all
of us to learn more about the accessibility issues
come parts of rural Alaska face due to geography. As
someone representing Anchorage, I know it's easy to
take for granted free Wi-Fi at coffee shops,
restaurants, bars, even department stores and banks.
But in many rural communities, a library may be the
only place to go with free Wi-Fi, and schools struggle
to meet the needs of their students. We expect to
provide at least 100 kbps for broadband, and we have a
long term goal of 1,000 kbps but currently Unalaska
City School District is dealing with 13 kbps. I was
shocked to learn that during the AASB fly-in this
week.
9:15:27 AM
LEONARD STEINBERG, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs,
Alaska Communication Systems (ACS), began the broadband access
and capacity presentation, paraphrasing from a written
statement, which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
I have lived in Alaska for most the last 40 years and
have two sons who are in the Anchorage public schools.
I, personally, care about the future of our state and
our youth, as do my 650 colleagues in Anchorage,
Fairbanks, Kenai, Juneau and many other communities
across Alaska. Alaska Communications is an advocate
for an effective and future-oriented public education
system in our state, and we, in conjunction with the
Boys and Girls Club, have annually recognized youth of
distinction with a program called Summer of Heroes.
I will share a brief overview of our company and our
broadband investments. Colin will then share specific
education projects which we've been involved in and
his expertise in federal funding for broadband
services for schools.
The need for high-speed broadband to connect Alaska's
schools has never been greater. The 2014 Statewide
Broadband Taskforce Report states, "We no longer need
to debate the benefits and role that broadband plays
in the economy. The use of broadband services is
prevalent in nearly all that we do from trade,
commerce, education, and health care, to finance,
government services, knowledge transfer, social
networking, or simply entertainment. Technology, the
internet, and connectedness are part of our daily
lives." We agree. And, we have been working with our
industry colleagues, the state and federal government
to improve broadband infrastructure in Alaska.
Alaska Communications has a 120-plus-year history
connecting our state and have transformed over that
time, from a phone company, to a broadband and IT
services company. Our purpose is to be a partner for
Alaska organizations, listen to their needs and work
together to find solutions. We believe we must earn
the trust, every day, of our customers. That includes
customers at home, wanting to Facetime with a family
member, to larger customers like the Kenai Peninsula
Borough School District, wanting to connect their
students with the rest of the world.
At the same time, we are one of three publicly traded
companies based in Alaska. As such, we must balance
our responsibilities to our customers, employees,
communities and shareholders. We look for every
opportunity to invest in broadband, as long as it
makes good business sense to do so. In just the past
four years, we have invested around $140M of capital
in our state. These investments range from building
out fiber infrastructure, to updating applications and
systems critical to serving customers.
For example:
In 2014, we partnered with Chugachmiut, a tribal
native organization, to bring 2,200 residents in the
Prince William Sound region better access to
healthcare through broadband-enabled telehealth.
In 2015, we partnered with Quintillion to acquire an
underutilized fiber optic system on the North Slope,
expanding high-speed broadband to better serve
Alaska's oil and gas industry.
Just last year, we became Alaska's first Microsoft
partner to offer a private connection to cloud
services; we also became the only Microsoft-certified
gold education partner in the state.
We have served the Kenai Peninsula Borough School
District, for more than 10 years, building out
broadband infrastructure to schools, including those
in remote communities, bringing 21st-century
technology to Alaska's largest geographic school
district.
And in Anchorage we have connected every school with
fiber to provide the best possible connections to the
internet.
Our core network (which you can see in the map
provided to you) extends across the state from the
North Slope to the Lower 48. It includes two, diverse
undersea fiber optic cables connecting Alaska with the
rest of the world, secure access to private and public
cloud servers for new cloud capabilities, two,
diverse, fiber optic cables connecting Anchorage and
Fairbanks, a fiber optic network on the North Slope,
two fiber routes on the Kenai Peninsula and to Kodiak,
two fiber routes into Juneau and microwave links
throughout parts of Southeast and Kodiak Island. In
addition, we offer end-to-end IT solutions, such as
security and network monitoring, and partner with
industry leaders like Microsoft, Aruba, Watchguard,
Barracuda, Nimble and more.
In addition, we are very excited to become
Quintillion's first reseller of its fiber optic
network. Quintillion is on track to bring high-speed
fiber to five communities this year that, to date,
have relied solely on satellites for communications
outside their towns and villages. In essence,
Quintillion will be a wholesale provider, and we are
looking forward to facilitating access to their fiber
in schools, health clinics, and businesses in those
communities.
I will now invite Colin to talk about federal funding
available for schools, through the e-rate program, and
how that has and can continue to benefit Alaska
schools.
9:21:58 AM
COLIN UNDERWOOD, Program Manager, Education and Health Care,
Alaska Communication Systems (ACS), addressed the committee,
paraphrasing from a written statement, which read as follows
[original punctuation provided]:
I serve as the Education Program Manager at Alaska
Communications. I am the proud father of a very
bright 4-year-old son, my wife and I are looking
forward to watching our son grow in the Alaska public
school system.
The E-rate program began in 1996, along with the other
Universal Services, with the first funding issued in
1998. E-rate funding is percentage based on the
poverty of a school, ranging from 20 to 90% funding
support. E-rate has grown from a 1.25-Billion-dollar
program to over three Billion in the past 18 years.
As of June 30, 2016 Alaska has received over 500
Million dollars in E-rate support since 1998, and
during the 2015 fund year, July 1 to June 30, Alaska
received just over 100 Million dollars in E-rate
support.
The E-rate program provides financial support for much
needed broadband connectivity to schools and
libraries, but sometimes being percentage based
funding, school districts are not able to afford the
broadband speeds they need. Accessibility and
affordability are equally important.
As my colleague Leonard mentioned we have served the
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District for over 10
years. In 2013 we built terrestrial microwave
services to Nanwalek and Port Graham, to bring high
speed broadband to the schools in those communities;
enabling the students to participate in video
conferencing real time distance education, and
allowing them to collaborate with other students in
the district and across the State.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District was able
to purchase this new broadband infrastructure, thanks
to the support of the E-rate program. But like all
school districts across the State, the district is
paying a higher monthly rate, than similar services in
an urban setting, due to the sparse population and
remoteness of these communities.
However, with changes to the E-rate program last year,
the program will now support upfront, one time
payments of broadband infrastructure construction,
with the expectation that E-rate recipients will see
at least a 50% drop in their monthly service, or urban
like pricing. Additionally, the E-rate program will
also allow for matching funds up to an additional 10%
in support, if a state or tribal entity contribute
funds to the construction. This opportunity should be
seen as a method to provide greater and new broadband
capacity to communities lacking such access today.
While we are proud of our investments and partnerships
to expand broadband in Alaska, we recognize there are
still many remote communities across our state that
will be left unserved, and this is our challenge.
9:24:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON confirmed that ACS provides Kenai
schools with broadband, noted the lack of high speed access to
the district, and asked about a fiber optic option.
MR. UNDERWOOD reported that Kenai does have high speed
connection availability and offered to provide further
information.
9:26:25 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER concurred with the speaker's
characterization that much work still needs to be done, and
expanded the scope of the statement opining, "Not just much
work, but ... a vast majority still needs to be done..." He
asked to know the five communities Quintillion plans to resell
fiber connections to.
MR. STEINBERG responded that the subsidy capacity will be
established in [Pt.] Barrow, Wainwright, Pt. Hope, Kotzebue, and
Nome. Deadhorse will receive service from the Dalton Highway
service access link via a separate contract.
REPRESENTATIVE FANSLER referred to a network map, available in
the committee packet, and noted that it shows local voice and
data switch sites at specific locales. He asked what
constitutes a data switch.
MR. STEINBERG responded that ACS owns and operates facilities
that are located in communities, but does not own or operate the
facilities that connect the community with the rest of the
world. Inter-exchange services are accessed, which are
owned/controlled by different entities, such as AT&T Alascom or
GCI, utilizing satellite or micro-wave systems.
9:31:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH pondered the possibility of the federal e-
rate program being scaled back, and how the action might affect
ACS and Alaska's telecommunication rates.
MR. UNDERWOOD said it's unlikely that there would be a
catastrophic change; however, certain opportunities might go
away in the ensuing years, as some districts are currently
receiving service at a discount.
MR. STEINBERG added that discontinuance of the federal e-rate
program would make broadband unaffordable to schools. A typical
district would experience a rise in service rates from $10,000
to $100,000 per month, if it had to pay the true/full costs.
9:34:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP recognized the capacity for broadband to
bring together global classrooms and learning opportunities
throughout rural Alaska. He asked whether there are regulatory
hurdles, that the legislature should address, that are
problematic for the company's efforts in expanding broadband
development or inhibiting its carrier partnerships.
MR. STEINBERG explained that much of the legislation is archaic
and encouraged the legislature to review and update the existing
laws and rules.
9:37:37 AM
TINA PIDGEON, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Senior
Vice President, Governmental Affairs, General Communications
Incorporated (GCI), said GCI has invested billions in
technology, and she provided a map to indicate the
infrastructure of the broadband and satellite networks that
exist or are planned through 2017. The map indicated fiber,
microwave and satellite connections. Each of these
technological approaches have positive and negative aspects, but
all are needed to provide connectivity throughout the state. It
is a high cost to connect with some rural areas. She provided
contrasting maps to emphasize the advances that have been made
to build important infrastructure, during the last six years.
She continued, referring to a prepared statement, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
What this map shows [is] a statewide map of
infrastructure that's available. It focuses on
infrastructure that connects communities from a
central point in the community to the internet
backbone. This is not only GCI's infrastructure. It
represents information we were able to gather from the
other providers as well. In some locations there are
multiple networks available, for example in a
community you might have fiber and microwave
connectivity, and/or satellite connectivity.
What this map represents is both existing and planned
networks through 2017. Everything that is fiber is
either existing or not quite online projects. The
purple is the microwave connectivity and where you see
black dots that represents communities that are
connected via satellite only. Each of the technologies
has positives and negatives but we have to be able to
utilize all the tools in the toolkit in order to
maximize connectivity on a statewide basis.
The three largest hurdles when it comes to statewide
connectivity are a combination of: geographic
complications, low population, and overall high cost.
The map also is overlaid with the boundaries of school
districts. So it gives you an idea of what type of
services might be available by school district. Before
I talk about the positives of any individual network
capabilities, I also want to show you a map of where
the connectivity stood just six years ago. Fully
acknowledging that there are both cost and
infrastructure hurdles to be overcome. I do want to
identify for the committee that providers throughout
the state with the existing resources available
including the e-rate program have truly been able to
make some remarkable advances in the last six years.
And to the extent those resources and programs that
remain in place, I anticipate there is continued
progress that will still be made.
9:42:41 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON asked whether all of the infrastructure
build-out was via the federal e-rate program or if other grants
were involved. She also asked for a prediction regarding the
future of the grants.
MS. PIDGEON referred to the work done in the Yukon Kuskokwim
region and said the initial ability to extend a combination of
microwave and fiber network was due to a federal stimulus
program. The initial award was $88 million in federal funds
with half provided in the form of a loan; a 50/50 investment.
The investment in that area provided a platform to extend
connections further into the delta region. The ability to
continue to fund, upgrade, and maintain the networks depends on
ongoing funding, which includes the e-rate program.
9:44:44 AM
MS. PIDGEON reviewed the connectivity options and said fiber is
considered to be ideal for what it can provide and how it can be
supported. In some situations it may be difficult to maintain
fiber and microwave can be a good alternative considering
geographic challenges and cost constraints; however, upgrading
microwave is significantly more expensive. Satellites have a
latency factor that can cause delays in communications. Thus,
connectivity is not the issue but rather the length of response
time, which can prove to be difficult. She noted that
technology improvements are being addressed for satellite
service. Bandwidth is the major cost factor that inhibits many
areas, she said, and continued paraphrasing from the prepared
statement:
From the education perspective it goes without stating
that broadband is critical to schools and the
education mission. The reverse is also true. Schools
and education are critical to extend broadband out
into the communities because without the large
capacity usage it would be very difficult to make the
large investments throughout the state simply to
provide service based on residential usage alone. It
would be very difficult to make that investment and
get any sort of return or be able to service the
network in any way going forward. It's my
understanding that the committee has heard from school
districts [(SD)] and has probably heard many examples
of the usage of distance learning. I hope you won't
mind if I just provide a few examples.
Lower Kuskokwim SD largest videoconferencing network
in the state. Across five studios it is able to
provide simultaneous 5 class sessions at a time.
Kodiak SD Students there participated utilizing
broadband services in an international competition,
winning by providing real solutions to real problems,
proposed by NASA.
NW Arctic Borough SD Focus on partnering with the
Alaska Technical Center to focus on Career Pathways in
areas such as education, healthcare, process
technology, and culinary arts.
Schools have also participated in mandated online
testing, dual enrollment for high school and college
courses, and video conferencing that allows not only
in district learning, but to utilize resources across
districts as well.
It is possible to provide all of these services across
any technology at that point the question really comes
back to cost.
Technology can also be used to facilitate cost
savings. The focus of this map and this hearing have
been mostly the between community connections. Schools
also have to have inside, internal connections. And
what's been traditionally called inside wiring, which
is actual physical lines within the walls and that
becomes very expensive in terms of maintenance and
upgrade. It's also possible through technology now to
utilize more cost effective Wi-Fi services to allow
for connectivity in the building.
I'll simply note in wrap up that there is also the
ability of accessing resources in the cloud, which may
also provide opportunities for cost saving on hardware
investments that are typically occurring on the ground
today.
9:52:44 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 9:52 a.m. to 9:53 a.m.
9:53:27 AM
CHRISTINE O'CONNER, Executive Director, Alaska Telephone
Association (ATA), addressed the committee, paraphrasing from a
prepared statement, which read as follows:
ATA's members include the landline and wireless
providers in Alaska and these days that means
broadband.
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today.
I would like to take a few minutes to talk with you
about the Alaska Plan, which is the foundational
funding mechanism allowing us to have broadband in
rural areas.
What is the Alaska Plan? It is targeted funding to
operate, upgrade and extend broadband availability in
remote Alaska.
It supports improved and new fixed (landline) and
mobile (wireless) broadband as well as voice service,
it increases broadband access, but just as
essentially, it sustains existing broadband networks.
I'd like to touch briefly on the underlying funding
which is enabling the Alaska Plan to move the needle
on broadband for Alaskans. Similar to the old rural
electrification program, the universal service fund
was created to extend networks throughout the United
States, even in places where there was no business
case to support the network.
Universal service funding has been crucial to Alaska's
networks, without it our networks would be a shadow of
what they are today. In many, many of our towns and
villages, there is no economic business case for
broadband without Universal Service support. But with
USF funding, companies have been able to build and
operate broadband networks and will be expanding and
upgrading them over the 10 years of the AKP.
The Alaska Plan is a solution to an urgent problem.
Beginning in 2011, reform efforts at the federal level
were a poor fit for Alaska. Alaska's broadband
providers absorbed an average 21% reduction in the
support for operating and investing in broadband
networks in just 4 years. Universal service support
was curtailed and broadband service threatened and
delayed.
August, 2014: Chairman Wheeler and Commissioner
O'Rielly toured Alaska and challenged industry for a
solution. ATA members formed a working group to
develop an Alaska Plan. We worked closely with the
FCC and our congressional delegation to advocate for
the Plan. It was finally adopted last fall.
The AKP freezes existing USF support, it re-targets
resulting broadband improvements to areas outside
Alaska's major urban centers.
It's very important to note that this is the same pot
of money which had been dedicated to Alaska (reduced
from 2011 levels) and is essential to operating
broadband and voice networks. It has now been
stabilized and re-targeted to move it from urban areas
to the more rural.
This is support that is essential to operating and
maintenance of our existing networks today, except now
it will stop declining, it is predictable, and is tied
to specific obligations. For example, rural providers
rely on AKP funding for 25% to 45% of their operating
revenue. Without it, networks would go dark.
Predictability is an essential benefit of the Alaska
Plan. When companies are investing in infrastructure
which may have a useful life of 30 years or more, it
is essential to have some certainty in what resources
will be available to support that investment.
The Alaska Plan adds that certainty to drive
infrastructure. Carriers participating in the Alaska
Plan have committed to specific, measurable
obligations in return for stability in funding.
The FCC conducted a rigorous review of each company's
performance plan. The obligations are tailored to
each company's resources and capabilities. It was
very important that each company do as much as it
could with the funding, but that the bar was not set
so high that it was unachievable and would cause a
company to lose support entirely. And as I've touched
on, loss of support would be catastrophic for our
providers.
The Alaska Plan introduces a new level of
accountability to USF in Alaska with new monitoring,
reporting and potential penalties. The FCC is
particularly focused on mapping locations of broadband
service as well as monitoring availability of middle
mile. Each company will report progress annually,
certify to their benchmarks and provide detailed
location reporting. If, at the end of 10 years the
targets are not met, the companies will pay back 1.8
times the support.
In Summary, the Alaska Plan is an essential funding
mechanism which will both operate and deploy broadband
service to Alaskans in rural areas over the next 10
years. It brings the stability essential to investing
in broadband infrastructure.
My members are committed to meeting their obligations
under the plan, and work is already underway to bring
more broadband to their communities.
9:59:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked about the source of the funding that
she reported provides 45 percent of the operating budget for
rural Alaska.
MS. O'CONNER responded that rural companies are able to have
operating revenues funded, ranging from 25-45 percent, via the
Alaska Plan universal service funding.
REPRESENTATIVE KOPP questioned what middle-mile monitoring
covers.
MS. O'CONNER replied that the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) is concerned with the lack of middle-mile in some areas of
Alaska. Middle-mile is the connectivity, for example, from
Dillingham out to the world. The FCC is requiring an every
other year report on the availability of service that covers the
middle-mile.
10:01:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE PARISH asked about the life span for cable.
MS. O'CONNER answered that it varies, offered that copper cable
can provide service in excess of 30 years, and deferred further
comment.
10:01:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON noted that there is a new FCC chairman,
and asked whether funding changes are anticipated under the new
administration.
MS. O'CONNER responded that there is a commitment to rural
broadband, and no role backs are expected.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHNSTON said the field is changing quickly,
especially regarding satellite development. It would be good to
know what may be in store for the northern hemisphere based on
technology that is being applied in the southern hemisphere.
The commission that formed the report and adopted plans two
years ago could now be considered outdated, she pointed out.
10:04:31 AM
MS. PIDGEON offered that there are a number of projects that
have been announced, or are under consideration, such as the low
Earth orbit satellites (EOS). The opportunities that these
devices hold for Alaska are two-fold: 1) providers of the
networks are not just looking at demand for service in Alaska,
but rather globally, creating a much different set of cost
characteristics; 2) an EOS which because it's networked and
operates closer to Earth, can overcome latency issues and
minimize the response time between points A and B. These
satellites may exceed the efficiency of fiber connectivity, she
said, and offered to provide further information.
10:06:26 AM
CHAIR DRUMMOND thanked the participants and announced the next
meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Education Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 10:06 a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| GCI_House_Education_2_15_2017_Map 2.pdf |
HEDC 2/15/2017 9:00:00 AM |
|
| GCI_House Education_2_15 Map.pdf |
HEDC 2/15/2017 9:00:00 AM |
|
| AKCS2125_Joint_Venture_Map_Revise_v1 LowRes 7.13.16.pdf |
HEDC 2/15/2017 9:00:00 AM |
|
| 2017-02-15 Alaska Plan for House Education.pptx |
HEDC 2/15/2017 9:00:00 AM |
|
| NETWORK MAP UPDAT 6_29_2015.pdf |
HEDC 2/15/2017 9:00:00 AM |