Diana Goovaerts

AT&T achieved symmetrical speeds of 20 Gbps in its production network in a trial of 25G technology from Nokia. Eddy Barker, AT&T AVP of Mobility and Access Architecture, said the test highlights the future-proof nature of the fiber network it is deploying and is the latest step toward the likely commercial deployment of the technology in a 2024 timeframe. The operator has been working on 25G for some time.

Brightspeed is set to acquire assets in 20 states from Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) later in 2022, but has already homed in on one of those as the focal point for its planned $2 billion fiber build. The operator revealed North Carolina will be the home of an initial project which aims to reach 300,000 locations across 30 counties by the end of 2023. Target markets include the Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, High Point and Winstem-Salem areas.

Cox Communications talked up plans to invest more than $400 million over the next three years to expand its network to underserved areas in eight states, an effort it said is part of a broader multi-billion infrastructure initiative. The operator said expansion projects are underway in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Florida, Louisiana, California, Virginia and Arizona, which will use a combination of private funding and public-private partnership investments.

Much media and industry attention has been focused on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program since Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and for good reason. The $42.5 billion BEAD program alone accounts for the majority of the $65 billion in broadband funding the IIJA allocated to fuel broadband projects across the country. But Tribal communities are set to get their own dedicated influx of broadband funding, with money expected to flow in the coming months.

Local telecoms and cooperatives continue to organize to improve connectivity in their states, with Indiana becoming the latest hub of activity. A group of 17 internet service providers and cooperatives formed Hoosier Net, a consortium which aims to leverage members’ fiber assets to offer statewide middle mile infrastructure. Indiana previously had a statewide fiber provider called Intelligent Fiber Network which boasted more than 5,000 route miles of infrastructure.

Google Fiber agreed to alter its advertisements after the National Advertising Division (NAD) determined a number of its speed claims were unsupported, including the assertion that its service can provide “faster download speeds than you'd get with traditional cable.” The decision followed a challenge from cable player Charter Communications. In addition to the aforementioned claim, NAD also ruled against Google’s claims that it offers up to 77 times faster uploads and up to 12 times faster downloads.

Much ado has been made about the cost benefits that can come from operators shutting down their old copper and cable networks as they overbuild with fiber. But while Altice USA has joined the ranks of those pursuing extensive fiber rollouts, CFO Michael Grau said it’s not planning to ditch its cable assets anytime soon. Grau explained there are several reasons why its cable network will be sticking around. The first is purely logistical.

UTOPIA Fiber is putting the finishing touches on the second-largest municipal broadband network in the US, wrapping up a multi-year fiber build to more than 140,000 locations across West Valley City, Utah. UTOPIA executive director Roger Timmerman noted West Valley’s new asset is also the largest open access network in the country.

Verizon has spent the last several years building fiber rings in more than 60 markets outside of its traditional footprint, but that doesn’t mean it’s planning to use those assets to run fiber directly to every customer.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration chief Alan Davidson spoke at the Mountain Connect conference about broadband infrastructure investment. He expects NTIA to start doling out grant money later this year, though likely not from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program quite yet because it is tied to the availability of new broadband coverage maps from the Federal Communications Commission. Davidson noted that some have misinterpreted the BEAD rules as treating unserved and underserved locations the same, but that’s a mistake.