Ore go n B roa db and A dvis ory Co unci l Me e t ing

September 27, 2018 Salem, OR

Attendance Members Present: Commissioner Stephen Bloom, Anne Carloss, Joseph Franell, Wade Holmes, Lonny Macy, Representative Pam Marsh, Jeremy Pietzold, Melody Riley-Ralphs, Dave Sabala, and Commissioner David Yamamoto Staff Present: Christopher Tamarin, Business Oregon Guests: Fawn Barrie, Oregon Cable Telecommunications Association; Zach Hodges, Jim Gardiner, Gardiner and Gardiner; Ray Garrison, NOKIA; Carrie Pipinich, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District; Patrick Sieng, Association of Oregon Counties; Nate Stice, Governor’s Office; John Talbott, Oregon State University; Stuart Taubman, Zayo Group; and Brant Wolf, Oregon Telecommunications Association Meeting was called to order at 9:17 am. Welcome, Introductions, Minute Approval Joe Franell called the meeting to order and asked for guest introductions. Minutes Dave Sabala moved that the July 26, 2018, minutes be approved as distributed. Jeremy Pietzold seconded the motion. The council approved the motion. Member Resignation Joe reported that Vice-Chair Michael Weidman has resigned from the council. Michael’s many years of service and many contributions were discussed and recognized. Joe will draft and send a letter of appreciation and recognition to Michael from the council. Joe asked the council members to consider nominations including self-nominations for Vice-Chair of OBAC for election at the next meeting. Joe also noted that the Chair position will be open for nominations and election in January 2019. National Broadband Activity Updates Chris Tamarin provided references on the following national broadband activity regarding infrastructure deployment, technology, market trends, public policy, and illustrations of the value of broadband adoption and utilization since the council’s last meeting.

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USDA USDA requested comments on its new $600 Million Rural Broadband Pilot Program under development. It is anticipated that Individual service providers will be able to apply for loans, grants or a combination of the two in the soon to be announced pilot program. The USDA rural broadband pilot was created in the federal budget adopted earlier this year and targets rural areas where no more than 15% of residents can get broadband at speeds of 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. In August, the USDA launched a new webpage featuring information about the importance of rural e-Connectivity and the ways the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing to help deploy high-speed broadband infrastructure in rural America. USDA Secretary Purdue said that “Rural high-speed broadband e-Connectivity is as important for economic development as rail, roads, bridges and airports—and as vital as the buildouts of rural telephone networks were decades ago, USDA is committed to being a strong partner with rural leaders in deploying this essential infrastructure.” Reliable and affordable high-speed internet e-Connectivity acts as a catalyst for rural prosperity by enabling efficient, modern communications between rural American households, farms, ranches, businesses, schools and health care centers. Yet, according to the Federal Communications Commission, 80 percent of the 24 million Americans who lack broadband access live in rural areas and on tribal lands. 5G The proposed T-Mobile—Sprint merger promises accelerated national deployment of 5G, which will also be deployed in fixed wireless configurations to compete with wireline broadband access services. T-Mobile has said that given the merger, its 5G network will be deployed nationwide by 2020 and the merged company’s 5G offering would support average speeds nationwide of 450 megabits per second and 100 megabits per second to 90% of Americans. In a T-Mobile FCC filing, the company said that following a T-Mobile Sprint merger the new T-Mobile will introduce fixed 5G and expects to win 1.9 million customers by 2021, and 9.5 million by 2024, which would make it the country’s fourth-largest home Internet Service Provider. By 2024, the company expects to be offering home internet service in 52 percent of U.S. zip codes. T-Mobile provided more details about its plans to offer a wireless-based video service this year saying it will also use its 5G network to deliver Layer3 TV via in-home broadband over the next two years. Verizon announced a 5G strategy provide a personalized one-to-one experience to both consumer and business customers including applications like entertainment, gaming, financial transactions, and real time business-to-business communications. Verizon sees certain scenarios when 5G is in full swing in two to three years, where people and businesses will opt to leapfrog fiber type connectivity and go to a 5G based solution instead.

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Verizon is looking to build a competitive edge in new 5G wireless technology by leading with video entertainment including YouTube TV and Apple TV, delivered over the high-speed, low-latency networks. Verizon is on track to be the first wireless technology provider to deploy 5G residential broadband service in the U.S. later this year, which will provide 20-50 times the bandwidth of 4G LTE technology and be a credible replacement for wireline broadband. As mobile devices become available in early 2019, the company expects to be first American carrier to launch 5G mobile service. Verizon is launching Verizon 5G Home, the world’s first commercial 5G broadband internet service, on October 1 in parts of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and Sacramento. And beginning Thursday at 8am ET, U.S. consumers can visit www.FirstOn5G.com to learn more about the service and sign up to be a “First On 5G” Member. VeIt is built on Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G network. Verizon expects to be the first company to bring 5G broadband internet service to consumers and to be the first to offer 5G mobile service. AT&T said it will deploy fixed wireless service beginning in late 2019 using spectrum in the CBRS band. AT&T CBRS fixed wireless deployments will target parts of “U.S. cities” where fiber cannot cost-effectively reach homes and businesses. In addition, a company spokesperson said the company will use the CBRS band for fixed wireless deployments. Those deployments are primarily in rural areas. AT&T has been deploying fixed wireless in rural areas where it received funding from the FCC Connect America Fund to cover costs. Until now, that service has used licensed WCS spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band and had provided relatively low speeds in comparison with fiber—10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. Sprint has partnered with LG for the creation of 5G smartphones, which are expected in early 2019. Also, the company intends to launch 5G networks in major metro areas, including Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. USA Today (8/14), Telecompetitor (8/14) The advent of 5G technology stands to be a major disruptive event, writes CMO Network's Daniel Newman. He identifies five key areas to watch as these changes play out, including immersive gaming and augmented reality. Forbes (8/14) Digital Inclusion Comcast has announced it has now connected more than six million low-income Americans to the Internet through its Internet Essentials program, which is the largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program for low-income families in the U.S. The company connected more than two million people in the last year alone, which is the largest annual increase in the program’s history. The company also announced it will significantly expand eligibility—for the eleventh time in seven years—to low-income veterans, nearly one million of whom live within the Comcast footprint. According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2016 American Community Survey, fewer than 70 percent of low-income veterans have Internet access, and less than 60 percent own a computer.

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“This program has had an enormous impact on millions of families and children who now have high-speed Internet at home, many for the first time in their lives,” said David L. Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. “We’re excited to extend that same opportunity to more than one million, low-income veterans. Veterans have stood up for our country, now it’s time for us to stand up for them by providing access to life-changing digital tools and resources.” Since 2011, Comcast has invested more than half a billion dollars to support digital literacy training and awareness, reaching more than 8.5 million low-income Americans. In addition, the company has sold more than 85,000 heavily subsidized computers. Comcast attributes some of the recent growth of Internet Essentials to its easy-to-use mobile application, which now accounts for more than a third of all enrollments. In addition, the company today released a new seven-year progress report. It contains detailed information about customer demographics and insights, as well as a history of the program’s evolution and key milestones. The company has also redesigned its Internet Essentials Learning Center with new content from Common Sense Media and ConnectSafely.org. The site now includes a variety of free videos, tools, and resources that can help individuals learn vital Internet safety and digital skills. Broadband Adoption Nearly half a million new broadband Internet subscribers joined the rolls of the largest U.S. cable and telephone providers in the second quarter of the year, according to new research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG). In the same period last year there was a net gain of 235,000 subscribers. According to the LRG report, the top broadband providers now represent 95% of the market, with the top cable companies having 62.9 million broadband subscribers, and top telephone companies growing to 34.2 million subscribers.

• The top cable companies added about 585,000 subscribers in the second quarter of the year—compared to about 465,000 net new subscribers in the second quarter of 2017.

• Cable company gains were telephone company losses. The telcos had a net loss of 130,000 broadband subscribers in the second quarter. However, that figure was far better than the 230,000 subscribers lost in the second quarter a year ago. Telcos have had net broadband losses in each of the past nine quarters

• Over the past year, broadband providers added nearly 2.2 million net new subscribers, less than the 2.5 million added during the same period a year ago.

Broadband Research Pew Research has announced a new broadband research initiative that will focus on identifying how states have addressed gaps in broadband connectivity. Pew will conduct research on broadband access and expansion, including the economic impacts of broadband and the collection, verification, and visualization of connectivity data. Pew plans to convene government, research, and industry leaders and other stakeholders for data-driven discussions about improving broadband access.

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Purdue University research published research in August concluding that rural Indiana would benefit from broadband connectivity. The report finds that for each dollar invested in rural broadband, $4 will go back into the economy through increased tax revenue and healthcare savings. The analysis found if investments in broadband were made statewide, Indiana would see about $12 billion over a 20 year period. And Purdue University agricultural economics professor Wally Tyner says that’s a conservative estimate. A newly released National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) study found that the lack of broadband access for 6.3 million electric co-op households results in more than $68 billion in lost economic value, according to new research by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The new report investigates the cost of the digital divide and the growing economic advantages to America’s rural communities. High costs and low population density are two barriers to rural broadband deployment. Nonetheless, roughly 100 electric cooperatives are bridging the digital divide and bringing broadband to their communities. The Michigan Consortium of Advanced Networks (MCAN), established by the state of Michigan, issued a report entitled, “Michigan Broadband Roadmap.” MCAN’s goals include enabling all homes and businesses in the state to have broadband at speeds of at least 25 Mbps upstream and 3 Mbps downstream available to them by 2022 and speeds of at least 1 Gbps by 2026. In addition, MCAN aims to see a 95% broadband adoption rate for the state by 2024. Recommendations include using a $20 million Connecting Michigan Communities grant to support between 50 and 100 projects annually that fund targeted investments that use broadband in innovative ways to increase economic activity. Priority will be given to proposals that are part of a comprehensive economic development strategy and that involve collaboration between broadband providers, municipalities, anchor institutions, philanthropic organizations and similar entities. Another recommendation is to create an annual $500,000 fund to provide matching dollars to schools applying for E-Rate funding from the Universal Service Fund schools and libraries program. Changing patterns of use Seventeen percent of US households now get their content solely from subscription-video-on-demand services, up from 11% last year, per a study from The NPD Group. The study found that 40% of consumers subscribe to just one service, while nearly one-quarter subscribe to three or more. MediaPost Communications (8/1). The shift to streaming video on demand continues. Walmart is now developing a streaming video service to rival Netflix and Amazon for as low as $8.00 per month. Broadband is a moving target Federal Communications Commissioner Rosenworcel is asserting that the current national standard of 25 Mbps is too slow and that, “It is time to be bold and move the national broadband standard ... to 100 Megabits per second,” in her dissent from the agency’s notice of inquiry for its annual broadband report.

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Public Safety The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced final rules [2] for a grant program that will offer up to $110 million to help states, territories, tribal organizations and the District of Columbia upgrade their 911 call centers to Next Generation (NG911) capabilities. Today, 70 to 80 percent of all 911 calls are placed from wireless phones, but most 911 call centers rely on decades-old networks capable of carrying only voice calls and limited amounts of data. The call centers have not kept pace with advances in consumer technology, and as a result cannot support callers who wish to send text messages, images, video, and other communications that utilize large amounts of data. NG911 enables 911 calls to contain digital information such as photographs and video. The technology will improve coordination among the nation’s 911 call centers, dynamically re-route calls based on location and call congestion, and connect first responders to key health and government services in the event of an emergency. In 2009, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration oversaw more than $40 million in grants through the ENHANCE-911 (E911) Grant Program. The Next Generation 911 Advancement Act of 2012 provided new funds for the program and broadened the eligible uses of those funds. These new uses include adoption and operation of NG911 services and applications; the implementation of IP-enabled emergency services and applications enabled by NG911 services; the establishment of IP backbone networks; and training of public safety personnel in 911 services. Telehealth On Thursday, August 2, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved a proposal to establish a new $100 million “Connected Care Pilot Program” to support telehealth for low-income Americans, especially those living in rural areas and veterans. Commissioner Brendan Carr has been leading the FCC’s efforts in this proceeding and announced the initiative earlier this month in an op-ed with Senator Roger Wicker.

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Small Cell Permitting The FCC voted this week on new small cell rules intended to accelerate the deployment of small cell wireless network infrastructure. Among other things, the FCC small cell rules would limit what municipalities can charge for reviewing small cell deployments. Four key elements of the small cell rules, include:

• Preventing certain types of local requirements that “can materially inhibit of effectively prohibit small cell deployment.”

• Allowing local governments to charge wireless providers for the costs of reviewing small cell deployment but proposing that fees represent a “reasonable approximation” of local governments’ costs and providing specific fee amounts above which the commission would presume fees to be unlawful.

• Establishing “shot clocks” requiring local governments to conclude approval processes within 60 days for small cells being added to existing infrastructures and within 90 days when a provider wants to put up a new small cell pole. Approval requests would not be automatically granted if the local government fails to make a judgement before the deadline, however.

• Local governments would be allowed to continue to require “reasonable aesthetic reviews” of proposed small cell deployments.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors "strongly opposes" provisions in the FCC report and order and declaratory ruling on wireline and wireless broadband deployment that it views as "subordinating local governments and their property rights to the benefit of the nation's communications providers." The USCM Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Tom Cochran said, "With little advance notice or engagement with local and state governments, the FCC action —which effectively prohibits local and state actions or policies having the effect of barring for some duration a private telecommunications company for accessing the public's rights-of-way—immediately disrupts local management regimes for the sole purpose of granting one group special federal protections and rights. This ruling also upends a key provision of federal law that was enacted overwhelmingly by Congress in 1996 to protect and respect local and state government property rights and their authority to manage these public assets." Technology IEEE has formed a new task group to work with manufacturers, operators and end users to build a global standard for light communications in wireless local area networking. The IEEE LiFi task group will focus on using solid state lighting, such as LED lighting, to wirelessly transmit high-bandwidth data. The task group, to be known as the IEEE 802.11 Light Communications Task Group will build on previous IEEE work. The umbrella 802.11 task group includes a wide array of interests from across the telecom industry, with representatives from chipset providers like Qualcomm, Huawei, Broadcom and Intel; infrastructure providers, including Cisco, HPE, Nokia and Ericsson; and device manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic, etc., noted the IEEE in a blog post.

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The standards that the LiFi task group will focus on will be known as 802.11bb. “IEEE 802.11 is ideally suited for LiFi because of the diversity, completeness, and proven track record of the ecosystem, as well as the Wi-Fi community’s success in bringing technologies into standards and, more importantly, into products,” said Nikola Serafimovski, chair of the IEEE 802.11 Light Communications Task Group, in a prepared statement. “The commercial success of LiFi requires a coherent approach from this broad ecosystem and the participation of world-leading organizations in the development of IEEE 802.11bb. This will lay the foundation for mass market product development and introduction, leveraging the ecosystem that has global deployments in billions of units.” According to IEEE, light communication is gaining ground because early uses show it is a viable global wireless solution particularly in EMI-challenged environments, such as hospitals, petrochemical plants, and airplanes, as well as in secure environments where RF is not sanctioned. Another consideration, according to IEEEE, is that Light Communications will substantially improve indoor connectivity, in both office environments and, most significantly, in the home. Indoor connectivity accounts for four-fifths of all wireless communications. Finleyusa.com Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CenturyLink has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission for permission to retire copper-based infrastructure in select Minnesota and Nebraska communities, with the intention of replacing the copper with fiber loops by the end of the year. The telecom also wants to switch certain facilities in Minnesota to fiber-fed digital loop carrier systems Verizon also recently asked the FCC for permission to retire copper in areas of New England, New York and Pennsylvania as it continues moving customers to fiber-based technology. After the retirement, Verizon will no longer offer services via copper facilities and cease maintaining them. The FCC is proposing to increase the Universal Service contribution factor to exceed 20%. It will be 20.1% for the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a new FCC public notice. An FCC spokesperson confirmed that it is the highest ever. And it means that just over one-fifth of every dollar that users spend on interstate and international telecom services (essentially long-distance voice services) will go toward the Universal Service Fund (USF) program. At one time the USF was a basic voice-focused program but as it has transitioned over the years to focus on broadband, the contribution base, however, has not been adjusted accordingly. A logical question is why we are using voice revenues to pay for a program that is now broadband-focused. Carrier industry associations suggested broadening the contribution base to include broadband service revenues several years ago, but the idea went nowhere. Opponents express concern that broadening the base would cause consumer bills to increase. Instead, voice consumers are footing the entire bill, which I suggest is another nail in the coffin of the legacy PSTN and TDM voice services, making it even more uncompetitive with VoIP services. FCC Universal Service contribution factor press release.

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TV White Space Airband Initiative Microsoft has said that it sees TV white spaces as the best option for providing broadband service to the majority of unserved rural areas, but also has noted that fiber-to-the-home might be an option in more densely populated rural areas. According to Microsoft, the most remote areas would be best served via satellite broadband. Announcements about Microsoft Airband partners have been coming at a fast pace of late. The latest one involves Agile Networks, a competitive broadband provider that has had considerable success with broadband wireless in Ohio. Microsoft and Agile will partner on a project targeting 110,000 people in rural Ohio who don’t have access to high-speed broadband today. The Microsoft Airband initiative aims to make broadband available to two million people in rural America by 2022 by working with a variety of service providers. As with other recent Microsoft Airband projects, the Microsoft Agile project will use TV white spaces technology – a broadband fixed wireless technology that uses vacant TV spectrum in areas where it is not in use by broadcasters. Other Microsoft Airband partners announced in recent weeks include rural-focused competitive companies focused primarily on broadband wireless, including: Skylark Wireless and Cv Wireless, along with Tribal Digital Village; and RTO Wireless. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced Airband partnerships with Declaration Networks and Packerland Broadband. Net Neutrality The California Legislature has given final approval to a bill, SB 822, the California Internet Consumer Protection and Net Neutrality Act of 2018 that would enact the strongest net neutrality regulations in the county. The bill now heads to Gov. Jerry Brown (D.) for his signature. It would prohibit fixed and mobile Internet service providers from "offering or providing services other than broadband Internet access service that are delivered over the same last-mile connection as the broadband Internet access service, if those services have the purpose or effect of evading the above-described prohibitions or negatively affect the performance of broadband Internet access service." In opposition to the bill, the telecom industry had argued that the measure goes far beyond the FCC's 2015 net neutrality order. State Broadband Activity Updates Chris Tamarin provided references on the following state broadband activity regarding infrastructure deployment, technology, market trends, public policy, and illustrations of the value of broadband adoption and utilization since the council’s last meeting. Fibersphere Atlanta, Georgia based Broadband provider GigaMonster will continue to expand its gigabit multiple-dwelling unit business with an additional $45 million in funding. GigaMonster also announced that it is merging with Portland, Oregon-based Fibersphere Communications, another MDU specialist. GigMonster is now serving over 25 markets nationwide. Multichannel News (8/15)

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High Tech in the North Coast A California internet entrepreneur wants to build a data center and technology incubator at the North Coast Business Park in Warrenton, a project that could help spark more diversity in the region’s economy. Mark Cox, a former Astoria resident and CEO of Agile Design is proposing to build a 100,000-square-foot data center, and technology incubation space. He hopes to open the center by the end of 2020.Cox founded a nationwide internet service provider called Global Frontiers Inc. in 1997 and a web-hosting company called Web Hosting Pros in 2004. Last year, he founded Agile Design to facilitate opening a new data center. Data centers have been rapidly moving to the Pacific Northwest and other areas that offer less-expensive rates for power and water and that have a robust telecommunications infrastructure. Cox said that he is also drawn by the North Coast’s proximity to undersea fiber-optic cables that help create the backbone of the global internet. The Northwest Open Access Network, a fiber-optic cable operator created by public utility districts in the state of Washington, recently announced plans to extend a land line through Astoria and Warrenton, citing the interest of a large-scale customer. [The Daily Astorian, August 8, 2018] Oregon Net Neutrality Law The Public Utility Commission has approved a notice of proposed rulemaking and released draft rules to implement provisions of a new law that requires state agencies to only contract with Internet service providers that abide by net neutrality principles. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2019. In addition, the commission said it would consolidate two rulemaking proceedings that were opened to implement the new law. The commission earlier this year opened a rulemaking "in order to specify the manner and form in which information disclosures shall be made by broadband Internet access service providers that are engaged in the provision of broadband Internet access service to a public body" (05/31/18). The new net neutrality law assigns several new responsibilities to the PUC. Among other things, the law requires a "broadband Internet access service provider engaged in the provision of broadband Internet access service to a public body" to "publicly disclose information regarding the provider's network management practices and performance characteristics and the commercial terms of the provider's broadband Internet access service sufficient for end users to verify that the service is provided in compliance" with the net neutrality law. The PUC is required to specify by rule the manner and form in which those disclosures are made.

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Small Cell permitting and deployment The League of Oregon Cities is cooperating with a consortium of telecommunications providers to organize and conduct a meeting of city officials and industry representatives to discuss the deployment of small cell and 5G technology in Oregon. The event will be held Thursday, October 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Salem Convention Center. As a result of regulatory and possible legislative activity both in Washington, D.C., and Salem, there is uncertainty as to how new broadband technology can most effectively be deployed, and what the appropriate role of cities should be. The meeting will be an effort to achieve greater understanding as to the needs of both local governments and service providers in facilitating local access to this new technology, while protecting the rights of cities to manage public facilities within their jurisdictions. This is an initial outreach to determine levels of interest in participating. A strong and collaborative showing of city officials, including members of the League’s Telecom and Broadband Policy Committee, is hoped for. As we are trying to get a preliminary head count, please indicate your interest in attending by responding to this email. Additional information, including an agenda, will be forthcoming. Electric Cooperatives Electric cooperatives becoming broadband internet access service providers is gaining traction. Electric cooperatives, like telecom cooperatives, tend to be community-focused—and when their communities lack high-speed broadband, they often undertake deployments on their own or through partnerships with neighboring telecom co-ops. Rural communities have become increasingly aware of the importance of modern broadband infrastructure to support economic development and for quality of life. A Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium was awarded $186 million in CAF II funding for Gigabit Broadband making it the third largest winner overall and the largest winner that pledged to build out service supporting gigabit service over a period of ten years. Twenty-one rural electric cooperatives including Douglas Electric submitted the joint bid. Municipal Broadband PDX A proposal is coming before the Portland City Council, for a public-owned Internet access provider that would be cheaper than Comcast and 40 times faster, and would pay for itself costing taxpayers nothing. Municipal Broadband PDX, is the brainchild of Multnomah County data engineer Michael Hanna, a former president and now chief steward at American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 88, the union which represents the employees of Multnomah County. Hanna’s vision is a new public Internet utility to provide good service, good prices, and good jobs. IBEW members would install the fiber optic cables, and AFSCME members would administer the network, just as they do in the Portland Water Bureau.

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Hanna and the Municipal Broadband PDX campaign are proposing that Portland, Gresham, and other cities in Multnomah County join together to pay for a feasibility study that looks at existing infrastructure and what it would cost to install fiber to the home in the Portland Metro area. To date, the Multnomah County Commission and the city councils of Fairview, Gresham, Troutdale, and Wood Village have voted to share the costs of the proposed feasibility study. The Portland City Council is expected to hold a hearing on it Oct. 30 and vote Nov. 7 on whether to join the other jurisdictions in the feasibility study. If they give the go-ahead, Multnomah County will move forward with the study, and make a decision next year. Undersea Cable coming ashore in Oregon As has been noted in past meetings, Oregon now has 15 undersea cables in service. The Hawaiki cable connecting to New Zealand and Australia went into service this past July, and the New Cross Pacific cable connecting to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China is scheduled to to turn up this year with several others in the pipeline. One of those in development is the Jupiter Cable which is planning to come ashore in Oregon, site yet to be selected, connecting to Japan and the Philippines and placed into service in 2020. Jupiter will also have an undersea leg down to Los Angeles. Illustrating the growing participation of content companies, the owner include Facebook, Amazon, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone of Japan. Oregon blockchain Leaders in Oregon business, education and economic development are betting on nascent blockchain technology to be foundational in the next era of technology and business model development. And they want Oregon to be an epicenter. At the center of the effort is the Oregon Blockchain Venture Studio, a new incubator-like program hosted by digital agency R/GA in conjunction with a series of high-profile corporate partners including Intel Corp., Nike Inc., Oregon Health and Science University, Portland State University and blockchain research organization Smith + Crown. Companies chosen to participate in the Blockchain Venture Studio will receive $100,000 in investment capital and will be required operate out of R/GA's Pearl District offices. All studio partners are able to make additional investments in the companies as well. The state of Oregon is also backing the venture through Business Oregon, and the Oregon Growth Board, which has committed $250,000 to the project over two years.

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Presentations John Talbott John Talbott is the Assistant Director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, and Director of the Sun Grant Western Regional Center at the College of Agricultural Sciences, Oregon State University. The mission of the Oregon State University Extension Service is to engage the people of Oregon with research-based knowledge and education that strengthens communities and economies, sustains natural resources, and promotes healthy families and individuals. John manages the research portfolio with the College of Agricultural Sciences. The Extension Service has sponsored re $90 million in business per year related to research enterprise John noted that the lack of adequate broadband internet access speeds is an ongoing problem for OSU at most of its agricultural stations around the state located in rural areas. This limits the functionality of the offices at the time that new digital applications for precision agricultural are being deployed. Many precision agriculture applications involve the deployment of sensors for the collection of data, up to terabytes of data. That data needs to be communicated. This often results in people having to physically go to the location of the sensors in order to download the collected data instead of being able to retrieve the data remotely using telecommunications. OSU has lost out on many grants and research projects because they were not able to demonstrate that they had the requisite telecommunications capabilities to support the projects. As a result, OSU must often serve as a sub-contractor on projects. Mobile wireless cellular service availability for data and voice is also a major problem. Oregon’s producers, ranchers and farmers, that would like to deploy precision agriculture technology simply cannot because of the lack of adequate telecommunications in rural areas. Solutions are needed. Regarding mobile wireless access, Joe recommended that OSU engage with OSCIO and the FirstNet project which will be expanding mobile wires broadband service availability in rural areas. Dave Sabala noted that Harney County is currently engaged in a broadband planning project and suggested that OSU engage as well. John noted that his Direct of IT is a member of that planning group. Melody Riley noted the OregonFiber Partnership as another source of solutions. Dave Yamamoto described the mobile wireless service access problems that exist at the coast in Tillamook County. Mobile wireless “deployables” were also discussed as prospective solutions.

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OSU Extension Service Sites

Chris asked if John and his staff would assist OBAC in describing the broadband needs, gaps and challenges facing smart agriculture/precision agriculture in Oregon for the Broadband in Oregon report. OBAC would like to “connect the dots” between broadband and digital agriculture technology applications. Brant Wolf Brant Wolf is the Executive Vice-President of the Oregon Telecommunications Association (OTA). The OTA is a trade association representing the telecommunications industry; the chief providers of voice and data communications in Oregon. Members include local exchange telephone companies, long distance carriers, wireless companies, cable companies, Internet providers, alarm companies, and over 100 suppliers of telecommunications equipment and services. Brant briefed the council on a legislative concept that is in development, to repurpose and modernize the Oregon Universal Service Fund (OUSF) with a goal of bringing high quality broadband to all of Oregon’s schools and libraries, and to rural areas of the state. The OUSF was created in 1999 to support basic telephone service (voice landline service) in high-cost-to-serve areas for carriers of last resort. Monies for the fund come from a surcharge on all retail telecommunications sales in Oregon, not tax dollars. The surcharge, approximately 6% rate applies to on items such as local service, Extended Area Service, intrastate long distance phone

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calls, and other related intrastate services. Items such as interstate and international long distance phone calls, interstate private lines, federal subscriber line charges, and DSL services that terminate on Internet Service Providers or mobile wireless service providers are not assessed the surcharge. Rep. Pam Marsh added that the OUSF is a social contract based on the belief that all Oregonians better off and benefit if all Oregonians have access to affordable basic telephone service and the purpose of the OUSF is to ensure that basic telephone service is available at reasonably comparable and affordable rates throughout the state. Today, voice telephone service is no longer basic service, broadband internet access service is. Brant noted that business and residential customers are steadily migrating away from basic telephone services to broadband and mobile wireless services for their voice and moneys supporting the OUSF are steadily declining. Broadband and mobile wireless services connect to and benefit from Oregon’s wireline network infrastructure, but do not support it through the OUSF. Brant noted that OUSF is no longer viable and sustainable in its current form. The legislative concept under development is to repurpose the OUSF to fund broadband telecommunications infrastructure and establish new revenue streams to the fund by placing a surcharge on mobile wireless services. Today, Oregon does not collect any fees from mobile wireless except for 911. Oregon ranks 52 out of the 52 states and territories on fees charged to mobile wireless services. Even with a 6%, surcharge, Oregon would be still in the bottom five states. Wireless service providers currently benefit from wireline infrastructure, but do not support it since the system of carrier access charges was eliminated by the FCC. To be sustainable, the OUSF needs to be modernized to reflect current services, technologies, markets and needs. The revenues to the fund need to be increased and the fund needs to support broadband deployment in high-cost to serve areas for both wireline and wireless carriers. Additionally under the legislative concept, new broadband funding programs to provide grants and loans for broadband planning, adoption, utilization, and deployment projects to be administered by Business Oregon as an infrastructure and economic development program would be created. The modernized USF will stabilize existing work in the high need areas, create a Broadband Fund that will issue loans/grants to help unserved and underserved communities with technical assistance, planning, capacity and infrastructure necessary to bring broadband to all areas of the state. This is not a new concept. States that currently have a Universal Service Fund and grant and loan programs for broadband development today include Washington, California, Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Providing an OBAC letter of support for this legislative concept was discussed and will be reviewed if a Bill is put forward in the 2019 Legislative Session. Joe thanked Representative Marsh for her advocacy and leadership and OTA for their involvement and support of broadband deployment and addressing the Digital Divide.

Minutes

Oregon Broadband Advisory Council Meeting, September 27, 2018, Salem Page 16 of 17

Work Session 2018 Broadband in Oregon report The council discussed the 2018 report to the legislative assembly and the Governor, which is due on November 1st. Chris Tamarin distributed the current working draft of the report to the council members. Chris reported that information for the report is being collected and asked that everyone review the working draft, in particular, the Executive Summary, the Recommendations, and the Concluding Remarks. Chris reported that OBAC has a survey of power utilities has been completed. The Broadband and Economic Development survey conducted with the Oregon Economic Development Association has been completed. Additional content will be provided by OCHIN, Telehealth Alliance of Oregon, Association of Oregon Counties, League of Oregon Cities, Oregon Department of Education, Office of the State CIO, 911 Centers, Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council, and industry associations. Broadband Champions report Chris reported that he has been gathering profiles of Oregon broadband champions which will provide a compelling illustration of the impact local champions can have, along with examples of related programs from across the country. We will combine findings from the Oregon experience with findings from other programs to develop recommendations for an Oregon Local Broadband Champion Program to foster and support broadband champions. The main push for this report will be in November after the Broadband in Oregon report has been submitted and after the Oregon Connections Telecommunications Conference. Public Questions/Comments The Oregon Connections Telecommunications Conference is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 18 and 19, 2018, at the Hood River Inn in Hood River. The 2018 conference will explore Digital Inclusion, the challenge of ensuring that all individuals and communities have access to affordable state of the art information and broadband communications services, and the skills, knowledge and support to use them. Conference information is available at www.oregonconnections.info. Meeting Schedule The September 27, 2018, meeting of the Oregon Broadband Advisory Council was held at the Local Government Center, 1201 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon. The next meeting of the council will be held on October 17, 2018, in Hood River. Meeting information will be posted on the council website. Meeting adjourned at 12:07 pm.

Minutes

Oregon Broadband Advisory Council Meeting, September 27, 2018, Salem Page 17 of 17

Approved by:

Signature on file October 17, 2018 Joseph Franell, Chair Date Oregon Broadband Advisory Council

Signature on file October 17, 2018 Christopher Tamarin Date Business Oregon