Diana Goovaerts

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) urged Congress to incorporate worker protections in a proposed infrastructure deal that includes billions in broadband funding, aiming to ensure its members aren’t cut out of buildout efforts. Specifically, CWA’s newly launched Build Broadband Better campaign calls for the legislation to include enforceable provisions which protect workers’ right to organize and prohibit companies that receive federal broadband funding from subcontracting construction work to circumvent union workers. While the infrastructure package is expected to be the primary

US broadband provider WideOpenWest (WOW!) inked a pair of deals to sell off five service areas for a combined $1.79 billion. WOW!’s move includes two separate transactions: a $1.13 billion deal with Atlantic Broadband covering its Cleveland and Columbus (OH) markets and a $661 million sale of its Chicago (IL), Evansville, (IN), and Anne Arundel (MD) service areas to Astound Broadband. The deals are expected to close in the second half of 2021.

The Federal Communications Commission released a breakdown of its enrollment numbers for the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program. Overall, the FCC figures showed 3.08 million households were signed up for benefits as of June 27, with 75,880 of these on Tribal land. That figure was up from the 2.3 million the FCC touted on June 7.

Broadband might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about farming, but an executive from heavy equipment company John Deere argued maybe it should be. Nancy Post, director of the Intelligent Solutions Group at John Deere, stated that connectivity has been an integral part of farming for a long time, noting satellite in particular has been used for at least 20 years to help steer tractors out in the fields of rural America.

UK operator BT teamed up with satellite company OneWeb to explore how the latter’s service could help close broadband gaps in areas beyond the reach of its mobile and fiber networks. Working together under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies aim to determine how connectivity from OneWeb’s constellation could be used to deliver increased coverage and capacity to consumers and businesses in remote areas across the UK. In addition to using OneWeb’s technology to improve mobile service, they aim to explore other connectivity options including fixed wireless access broadband.

President Joe Biden backed a new $1.2 trillion infrastructure package which would shave $35 billion off the funding total originally proposed for broadband improvements, insisting the lower amount was still enough to connect every citizen to high-speed internet. The bipartisan plan negotiated by Senate leaders includes $65 billion for broadband infrastructure, a steep drop from the $100 billion Biden pitched in March 2021. Little detail was available about how the broadband funds would be spent; analysts at New Street Research speculated some $40 billion could be devoted to grants for state

Shrihari Pandit, CEO of fiber ISP Stealth Communications, argued the creation of an open access conduit system across the US could help spur broadband competition by lowering barriers to entry for new players. Pandit pitched the construction of a conduit highway akin to the Interstate, which would allow fiber to be more easily run between cities and towns. The CEO stressed the government should only be responsible for building the conduits and not for running fiber or other lines, leaving decisions about what technology to use up to providers.

Enterprise fiber provider Lightpath charted a course to double-digit revenue growth, planning to spend millions to expand its footprint and serve more customers through a combination of network extensions and acquisitions. Lightpath is jointly owned by Altice and Morgan Stanley and has hitherto operated within Altice’s traditional footprint in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. However, it gained a foothold in Massachusetts through three acquisitions focused in the Boston area.

An advanced optical technology, hollow core fiber (HCF) is a potential tool to help slash network costs and enable advanced use cases with latency-sensitive requirements. The fundamental idea behind HCF is that light travels faster through air than glass. Thus, as the name implies, HCF cables have been designed to have an air-filled center channel which is surrounded by a ring of glass tubes. Generally, a cross-section of a hollow core cable looks a bit like honeycomb with a hole in the middle.

AT&T is looking to give cable companies a run for their money after years of lax competition, with CFO Pascal Desroches expressing confidence in its ability to steal share. The company is currently aiming to double its fiber footprint to 30 million customer locations by the end of 2025; Desroches reiterated that AT&T will primarily focus on filling in coverage within and adjacent to its existing footprint.