Phil Britt

Schools and libraries have until 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on August 13 to complete their applications for the Federal Communications Commission's Emergency Connectivity Fund. The program is designed to help close the digital divide by providing schools and libraries with funds to pay for the purchase of laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers, and broadband connections for off-campus use by students, and school staff, as well as library patrons, and is available to support off-campus learning.

Recent research shows that more than 4-in-10 (41 percent) US broadband households now use a standalone broadband service. Standalone service, defined as broadband without bundled pay-TV service, is up from 33 percent in the first quarter of 2020.

A partnership between Quintillion and Arctic Slope Telephone Association Cooperative (ASTAC) is bringing 25/3 Mbps broadband service to Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost point in the US. Since January 2018, ASTAC has installed over 62 miles of fiber networks connecting almost 2,200 locations to fiber, while Quintillion has laid over 1,600 miles of cable off the Alaskan Coast and down the Dalton Highway.

In a joint letter to the White House and Congress, the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), INCOMPAS, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA), the Telecommunications Industry Association, USTelecom – The Broadband Association, the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA), and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) asked for any infrastructure legislation to include support for broadband-related job skills. The

The US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a Windstream bankruptcy exit reorganization plan. With the restructuring plan approved, the company expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a privately held company in late August. The restructured company will cut its debt by about two thirds, a total of $4 billion, and will have access to approximately $2 billion in new capital to expand 1 Gig Internet service in rural America. 

The COVID-19 crisis has led to a sharp rise in broadband consumption during business hours, which jumped by 41% in one week. Overall broadband usage in March is on track to outpace the previous monthly record, researchers said. The pandemic has driven a massive uptick in people working from home, relying on broadband networks serving individual homes rather than enterprise networks. OpenVault’s data finds:

One in five smartphone owners say they don’t see a need for 5G technology or will wait until it is proven before upgrading, according to a new 5G smartphone pricing report from Strategy Analytics. The major barrier to the upgrade is the price of 5G capable devices, which are around $1,000 or more. Seven-in-10 of those surveyed cited price as a barrier to upgrading. However, almost half of those with $1,000 phones today, who Smart Analytics classifies as premium buyers, are willing to pay more. Among the survey’s other findings:

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development received 53 applications requesting more than $635 million in loan-grant combination funding in the first round of the USDA ReConnect Pilot Program. The USDA made $200 million available for loan-grant combination projects in the first round of funding. The applications came from rural areas across 33 states, representing 1,099 farms and 859 businesses. Though the loan-grant application process is closed, the government will still accept applications for low-interest loans through July 12.

Within the next five years, 5G networks will generate more than one quarter (26%) of wireless service revenue, according to new research from Strategy Analytics. But despite the expected impressive technical performance of 5G, the overall 5G revenue impact globally on the wireless service providers will be stagnant, the research firm added. The latest research also shows that any growth in 5G will be slow for the next 18 months before the technology gains strong momentum in 2021 as network coverage improves, phone prices fall, and use cases mature.

Early data from USTelecom’s broadband mapping pilot in Missouri and Virginia indicates the new methodology is working and is “superior to other [mapping] proposals,” the lobbying group tells the Federal Communications Commission. The broadband map pilot is an effort aimed at better defining where there are gaps in rural broadband coverage.