Andrew Burger

Just shy of 220 million people worldwide have gigabit broadband availability, according to the latest Gigabit Monitor from test and measurement vendor Viavi. That’s roughly 3 percent of the world population.

Seventeen percent of the population – 56.4 million people – have gigabit broadband access in the U.S. That’s the highest number of people in any country in the world. Overall, there are 603 gigabit broadband deployments up and running in a total of 41 countries worldwide –72 percent more than there were in June 2016 by Viavi’s count.

Libraries in five states – Georgia, Maine, Nebraska, South Dakota and Washington – number among a total of nine projects awarded funding and support from the Gigabit Libraries Network (GLN) and San Jose State University’s School of Information (iSchool) to expand the Libraries WhiteSpace Project. Launched with grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Libraries White Space Project funds are awarded to libraries that have initiated projects in partnership with other community service organizations to explore and develop innovative uses for TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum to provide remote fixed and portable library broadband access points at new locations. The first of these is slated to open this summer, GLN and iSchool explain.

Fixed broadband is “on thin ice” in the US as the mobile first generation may be fueling broadband cord cutting, according to ReportLinker. Although the majority of households still access the Internet via fixed connections (cable, telecommunication, fiber, etc.), nearly 4 in 10 said they usually use mobile for home Internet access, according to the research.

ReportLinker points to Census Bureau data as further evidence of broadband cord cutting. According to the Department of Commerce agency’s report, the number of US households that rely solely on mobile devices and wireless network connectivity for Internet access doubled to 20 percent between 2013 and 2015. The shift is particularly strong among young adults.

ARRIS will acquire Ruckus Wireless and ICX Switch business from Broadcom subsidiary Brocade Communication System for $800 million in cash, as well as unvested employee stock awards. The deal is contingent upon Broadcom successfully completing the acquisition of Brocade Communications, which owns both ARRIS’ acquisition targets. Acquiring Ruckus and ICX Switch will further expand ARRIS’s presence in wired and wireless networking technology and markets beyond the home to encompass the education, public venue, enterprise, hospitality and MDU market segments. Off the back of acquiring Ruckus and the ICX Switch business line, management intends to create a business unit dedicated to marketing innovative wireless networking and wired switching technology that can meet the needs of various industry sector verticals. ARRIS previously acquired Motorola and Pace. “We’ve set an aggressive growth strategy for ARRIS that includes expanding our technology breadth and depth with a focus on wireless broadband,” said CEO Bruce McClelland.

TDS Telecom (TDS) announced it would receive $3 million in Minnesota Dept of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) funds and invest another $3 million to expand and improve rural broadband services in parts of Crow Wing and Cass Counties. Elaborating, TDS said it would expand broadband service and high-speed wireless Internet access to serve more than 3,400 unserved households and a variety of local organizations.

Included among the latter are more than 60 businesses, 142 small enterprises, and a number of community “anchor” institutions. The project will impact residents and businesses in parts of Backus, Hackensack, Ideal Corners, Pequot Lakes, Pine River, and Woman Lake, according to a TDS press release. DEED is part and parcel of Minnesota’s effort to bridge the urban-rural digital divide. DEED announced it would invest a total of $34 million to fund 42 broadband infrastructure projects in rural areas across the state.

There are 30 percent more computing devices, as well as 45 percent more connected devices, on average in US broadband households with Wi-Fi access as compared to those without it, according to new market research from Parks Associates. Parks found 71 percent of broadband households with Wi-Fi or Apple AirPort networks. Other key findings include:
Over 50% of US broadband households with Internet speed under 1 Gbps would upgrade to gigabit-speed services if offered, and 34% are very likely to upgrade.
7% of US broadband households have only one device connected directly to the broadband modem using Ethernet.
Wi-Fi households own an average of 5.7 computing devices and 8.1 connectable CE devices.

Growing numbers of Americans are relying on Internet, and increasingly mobile broadband, connectivity to earn their livings. Broadband connectivity also offers numerous and varied opportunities for consumers to save money, and the Internet Innovation Alliance highlights the top 10 of them in a new study about broadband economic benefits.

Starting out with the Labor Department’s ¨2015 Consumer Expenditure Survey¨ IIA went online to search for discounts on essentials such as housing, apparel, gasoline and food, as well as more discretionary spending, such as the cost of leisure activities. In its latest report IIA zooms in on online shopping savings for five of the 12 largest U.S. cities by population: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and Jacksonville. Some of the resulting data required specific, city-level analysis while other was broader based. Online savings opportunities were greatest in the entertainment category. Consumers could save significantly by ¨cutting the cord¨ on a traditional cable TV subscription and relying on an OTT streaming video/TV service, such as Netflix, IIA highlights in an infographic about the broadband economic benefits.

High-speed, reliable broadband is an important factor in deciding where to live, according to a new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) satisfaction survey conducted by research and consulting firm RVA LLC for the Fiber to the Home Council. Ninety-one percent of respondents said quality broadband was “very important” in choosing a community in which to live — second only to “safe streets,” which was cited by 98 percent of respondents.

Other highlights of the RVA/ FTTH Council research:

• North America has experienced record growth in fiber to homes for the last 3 years of which Google, according to analyst reports, makes up a relatively small piece.
• During 2004-2013, large telcos (Verizon, AT&T, CenturyLink and Frontier) accounted for about 83 percent of the FTTH build, while other providers added just 17 percent of the annual additions.
• But in the last three years, the large telcos only accounted for about 52% of the build while the “other 1000” FTTH providers added 48 percent in aggregate. And Google’s only one of those.
• In addition, Internet users with FTTH connections are clearly more satisfied than those who don’t have them, according to FTTH Council’s report. More than 7 in 10 survey respondents with gigabit FTTH connectivity (73%) and 57% of those with standard FTTH connections said they were ¨very satisfied¨ with reliability (service up-time). That compares to 37 percent of those with cable Internet and 38 percent with telco DSL connections.
• Similarly, 7 in 10 of those with gigabit FTTH and 51% of standard FTTH were ¨very satisfied¨ with the download and upload speeds. That compares to 38 percent of those with cable and 30 percent of those with DSL connections when it comes to download speed, and 32 percent and 29 percent, respectively, regarding upload speed.

The number of US fixed broadband subscribers dropped by nearly 200,000 on a net basis in 2Q 2016, a decline of 0.2 percent, according to the latest market data from Point Topic. A 4 percent decline in the number of copper-based broadband connections was the main factor, the market research specialist says. AT&T, Century Link and Verizon’s DSL lines dropped 7.7%, 1.6% and 27.2%, respectively quarter over quarter.

That contributed to a drop in AT&T’s overall fixed broadband customer base, which fell 123,000 in 2Q. It appears AT&T has shifted its strategic focus to LTE wireless and satellite broadband service provision, Point Topic, as well as other industry observers point out. AT&T recently acquired DirecTV and called a halt to U-verse set-top box (STB) production earlier this year. Management in Sept announced it is phasing out the U-verse brand completely, with the intention of folding its assets and resources into initiatives that enhance its DirecTV-driven and future service offerings and market presence. Notable among these is an effort to build a home gateway that can connect to AT&T’s broadband satellite and wireless networks.

Three US and one Australian city joined the US Ignite Smart Gigabit Communities Program, the federal public-private non-profit partnership announced Sept 26. Adelaide, Australia became Smart Gigabit Communities’ first international partner, joining Albuquerque (NM), Salisbury (NC), and Washington (DC). An initial set of 15 US communities joined in the launch of the Smart Gigabit Communities initiative in June with the goal of creating a network that encompasses gigabit networks and smart city technology. Each Smart Gigabit Community will develop two advanced technology solutions that include gigabit network or gigabit public services applications. Those will be shared with other participants.