Fierce

T-Mobile is making steady progress with its initiative to offer fiber internet service. It’s now selling fiber service in 13 markets, according to the “availability” tab on its T-Fiber website. The wireless carrier seems to prefer working with providers who build open-access networks. These networks are deployed by one company and then leased to multiple internet service providers, which can then offer broadband service to end customers. In its 13 markets, the company is working with:

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez, who joined the agency in September 2023, said that her top priorities for the FCC include setting the stage for vibrant competition and promoting connectivity for every consumer. Key to that connectivity is making spectrum available, which the Commissioner said is an area of top importance.

There’s a lot of talk in the financial world, speculating that Dish Network will file for bankruptcy. The talk seems to be stemming from the fact that Dish has made some complicated corporate and financial maneuvers in the last few months. In late 2023, EchoStar Corporation acquired Dish Network.

Mears Broadband, a fiber network construction contractor, has launched as a standalone company just in time to support the flood of broadband deployment slated for later in 2024. For the last five years, Mears Broadband was a division of Mears Group, a subsidiary of Quanta Services that provides construction services for fiber broadband projects. CEO Trent Edwards explained the untethering will allow Mears Broadband to make decisions without impacting the 13 other companies within Mears Group.

Consolidated Communications is one step closer to taking its company private, as shareholders approved the proposed $3.1 billion acquisition by Searchlight Capital Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI). Approximately 75% of Consolidated’s shareholders voted yes on the private equity deal, which is expected to close by the first quarter of 2025.

T-Mobile has yet to take possession of the 2.5 GHz spectrum that it acquired via auction in 2022 to fill holes in rural territories across the US, but it’s ready to roll when the spectrum does become available. Congress passed legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to release the 2.5 GHz spectrum from Auction 108 and President Joe Biden signed the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement (SALE) Act into law in December 2023.