Thursday, August 5, 2021
Headlines Daily Digest
Today's Events: FCC Meeting and Broadband Infrastructure Program Webinar
Don't Miss:
Bipartisan Infrastructure Package Has True Bipartisan Backing
How Starlink’s Satellite Internet Stacks Up
The State of US and European Broadband Prices and Deployment
Infrastructure
Satellites
Wireless/Spectrum
Platforms/Social Media
Education
Labor
Advertising/Marketing
Company News
Stories From Abroad
Infrastructure
Throughout lawmakers’ partisan wrangling to iron out the details of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the popularity of major provisions held strong among voters according to new polling from Morning Consult and Politico. All of the six potential investments included in the survey received over 50 percent support from voters of all parties. Overall, broadband infrastructure expansion receives support from 66% of voters, 78% of Democrats, 61% of Independents, and 56% of Republicans.
Satellites
How Starlink’s Satellite Internet Stacks Up Against HughesNet, Viasat and Fixed Broadband
- Starlink speeds beat satellite-based competitors in the US, can’t top fixed broadband: Starlink was the only satellite internet provider in the United States with fixed-broadband-like latency figures, and median download speeds fast enough to handle most of the needs of modern online life at 97.23 Mbps during Q2 2021. No satellite internet providers were as fast as the 115.22 Mbps median download speed for all fixed broadband providers in the US during Q2 2021, but it beats digging twenty miles (or more) of trench to hook up to local infrastructure.
- Satellite internet speeds in the US are increasing, mostly: Satellite internet is newer and speeds fluctuate as technologies improve and as more users are added to sometimes crowded networks. Data from Speedtest Intelligence during Q1-Q2 2021 shows some of these struggles as median download speeds for both Starlink and HughesNet dipped in February and then rose again through the period only to dip again in June.
- Starlink performance varies at the county level, but not widely: While there was about a 100 Mbps range in performance between the county with the fastest median download speed and the county with the slowest median download speed, even the lower-end speeds are well above the FCC’s Baseline performance tier of at least a 25 Mbps download speed.
Verizon is enlisting artificial intelligence models to help place thousands of 5G wireless transmitters for optimal performance. The models, designed by in-house data scientists and other employees, factor in a number of variables that can alter the strength of 5G signals, like buildings, bridges, terrain, the position of the transmitter, as well as other transmitters nearby. Later this year, the company will begin a multibillion-dollar rollout of midband spectrum, which expands coverage of its existing ultra wideband 5G wireless service. The largest US carrier, Verizon began using the AI models in 2018 to determine the best spots to install transmitters for its ultra wideband spectrum and is using AI again for its midband spectrum, considered the sweet spot in terms of range and speed. Verizon expects to cover 100 million people with midband spectrum by March 2022. Other carriers are also using AI in their 5G plans; T-Mobile, which is also bringing out its midband 5G network, has used AI models to help engineers prioritize the locations for upgrading its 4G gear to 5G.
US operator Mediacom revealed work is well underway on a plan to expand high-speed broadband to 500,000 new locations over the next three years, stating construction projects are currently in progress in 20 communities. The company has been working with state and local government agencies in Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin to facilitate its plan. In addition to the work already underway, Mediacom has “broadband grant applications pending approval in roughly 30 additional communities.” Additionally, Mediacom last month launched a fixed wireless broadband product called Bolt, which uses the 3.5GHz spectrum it won at auction in 2020. The operator previously stated its broadband expansion plan would include a combination of new builds, line extensions and fixed wireless access service. The company's comments came after it posted Q2 2021 results which showed a 5.9% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to $557 million. Mediacom is the fifth-largest cable operator in the US, serving more than 1.4 million homes and businesses across 22 states.
The current state of the broadband market is unlike anything seen over the past two decades, with operator enthusiasm high and money pouring in from all sides, according to Corning’s Director of Fiber-To-The-Home Market Development Joe Jensen. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jensen pointed to the pandemic as a catalyst for much of the current activity, noting it validated the idea that broadband is critical infrastructure and helped spur higher fiber take rates among consumers. Yet telecommunications still face a number of challenges, among these figuring out how to get a cut of all the new funding and finding the labor force to get their projects done. Though there’s a glut of money available to fuel broadband builds, navigating all the different programs is hard. The main issue is “understanding the right fund to use and how to apply,” Jensen said. Competition over limited labor resources is another ongoing problem, as is access to reliable coverage data. Jensen stated the latter is “frustrating our customers as they go to apply for funding.” For operators looking to connect rural and remote areas with fiber, gaining access to middle mile transport is also proving to be difficult. Yet despite the difficulties, Jensen said there is still a lot of positive momentum.
This analysis evaluates claims of a “broadband affordability crisis.” First, we review several international comparisons of broadband prices alongside the data on differing deployment. Any consideration of how US broadband prices stack up must take into account such deployment differences as well. Second, we provide a new analysis showing how broadband and telecom industry revenues have significantly declined as a share of the overall economy. Major findings include:
- US broadband providers provide much better coverage than their European counterparts.
- The distribution of broadband service at various speeds is extremely uneven in European countries compared to the US.
- European broadband providers have been underspending their US counterparts for years, focusing on dense cities rather than the more-expensive-to cover, low-density areas.
- Total broadband and telecommunications revenues have grown much slower than the economy as a whole, but their services have become far cheaper.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org) and Robbie McBeath (rmcbeath AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
© Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2021. Redistribution of this email publication — both internally and externally — is encouraged if it includes this message. For subscribe/unsubscribe info email: headlines AT benton DOT org
Kevin Taglang
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