1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2022

January 2022

Sponsor 

Fiber Broadband Association

Date 
Wed, 01/26/2022 - 10:00 to 10:30

 

RUS’s Reconnect Program was the first out of the gate to increase “build to” broadband speeds from 25/3 to 100/100Mbps. Join us for a fireside chat with the leader of USDA Rural Utilities Service as the Honorable Chris McLean provides an update on the progress and impact of the RUS Reconnect Broadband Program. Mr. McLean also serves as Assistant Administrator for RUS’ Electric program, presiding over a $48 billion loan portfolio. In recent years, the RUS annual lending budget for new electric infrastructure loans has exceeded $5 billion and much of this is for fiber.


Midco CTIO says fixed wireless is helping it push fiber further

Midco’s chief technology innovation officer Jon Pederson says the operator’s use of fixed wireless access (FWA) technology to serve certain remote locations is actually benefitting its efforts to expand its fiber network. Pederson, who has worked for the regional US broadband provider for more than three decades, explained Midco deploys fixed wireless access service for customers in some of the most remote parts of its footprint. As it runs fiber to new towers for that service, he said it’s also taking the opportunity to push fiber into nearby communities along the way.

Steps the Commerce Department should take to achieve the infrastructure bill’s broadband goals

The recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes the largest federal investment into universal broadband access in history. In doing so, Congress gave broadband responsibility to the states, with the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) providing oversight.  This piece lays out eight steps NTIA should take to improve the odds of success in achieving universal connectivity:

Facebook Promised Poor Countries Free Internet. People Got Charged Anyway.

Facebook says it’s helping millions of the world’s poorest people get online through apps and services that allow them to use the internet data-free. Internal company documents show that many of these people end up being charged in amounts that collectively add up to an estimated millions of dollars a month. To attract new users, Facebook made deals with cellular carriers in countries including Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines to let low-income people use a limited version of Facebook and browse some other websites without data charges.

Calibrating Digital Media Trends For the Post-Pandemic ‘New Normal’

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the central role of digital media in our everyday lives. We now are in a historic transition, from a nation organized for a pandemic response to a recovery that surely will create a “new normal.” So it’s timely and important to look back at how digital media has been shaped during this period, and more importantly, to assess what lies ahead, based on current data and trends. This post-pandemic new normal, however defined, will not be binary.

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