Diana Goovaerts

The Federal Communications Commission is working to release new, better broadband coverage maps later in 2022. But in the interim, it released a fresh batch of data based on Form 477 submissions from operators. Fierce sifted through the data to find the states with the best and worst internet coverage, as measured by the percentage of the population without access to any ADSL, cable, or fiber providers offering speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps up. In Mississippi, nearly 21% of the overall population lacked access to fixed broadband providers.

AT&T is planning to deploy its fiber service in Mesa, Arizona, making it the sixth operator to target the Phoenix suburb. Such overlap is becoming more commonplace across the country as incumbent operators and new entrants alike disclose their fiber plans. This trend raises an interesting question: how many fiber players are too many for one market, especially when you consider many cities will also have an incumbent cable provider? In short, the limit does not exist.

AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies lined up alongside utility providers in arguing against changes to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) pole attachment regulations, pitting the unlikely partners against cable and fiber providers alike. At the heart of the current FCC debate are proposed reforms which would force pole owners to share the cost of replacing poles with attachers, rather than leaving the latter to shoulder the entire cost burden.

Cable companies Charter Communications and Comcast have each raked in at least $100 million in state broadband grants in 2022, leading the pack of operators scrambling to secure government funding for expansion efforts.

Comcast plans to extend its network to more than 3,400 locations in Spring Hill, Kansas, as it continues efforts to expand its footprint and boost broadband growth. Including the newly announced project, Comcast has publicly disclosed expansions in at least seven states so far in 2022 and won grants for projects in three more. Though Comcast plans to work with the City of Spring Hill on the two-year, $9 million project, city officials noted the build will be solely funded by the operator.

Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr made headlines when he denounced the FCC's decision to deny Starlink $885.5 million in broadband subsidy support from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction.

In April 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to free up 1,200 megahertz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, earning cheers from Wi-Fi and fixed wireless groups. But more than two years on, scuffles between industry associations representing cable, broadcasting, utility and public safety interests have left the future of the 6 GHz band in limbo. The spectrum is extremely important to cable operators and operators in general because it enables cable companies to offer the fastest service not only to your home but within your home via Wi-Fi technology.

Conexon Partner and former Federal Communications Commission planner Jonathan Chambers warned that the FCC’s broadband mapping effort is headed for disaster—flagging potential issues with state-level mapping efforts which he said could slow or bias the funding allocation process for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program support. There are two primary problems at the federal level. The first is the method Congress has chosen for calculating the ratio of BEAD funding given to each state on top of the baseline $100 million allocation that has been granted across the board. Un

New broadband provider Brightspeed is now planning fiber expansion work in more than a dozen states, outlining its ambition to reach tens of thousands of new locations across South Carolina and Kansas. The operator is targeting up to 14,000 passings in South Carolina, with plans to hit an additional 36,000 passings by the end of its five-year buildout; and in Kansas, as it aims to reach 10,000 new passings and an additional 45,000 locations.

More than a year and a half after the close of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, fixed wireless providers Starry, Nextlink and Resound Networks are still waiting for their winning bids to be authorized. The companies have expressed confidence their subsidy money will come through. Starry, Nextlink and Resound were among the top 10 winners in the RDOF auction, collectively winning just over $1 billion. That means they account for about half of the $2 billion in remaining bids the FCC has left to process.