USTelecom

USTelecom released its Industry Metrics and Trends 2020 report highlighting key elements of the broadband boom and investment story. USTelecom will weigh in soon explaining why the Federal Communications Commission should no longer mandate so-called network unbundling, a relic from a different (and far less competitive) era. Key highlights from the USTelecom Industry Metrics and Trends 2020:

Consumers and providers have made the transition from legacy voice to broadband and mobile communications services.

USTelecom met with FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Jessica Rosenworcel and their chiefs of staff on August 7 and 8, 2019 to discuss preliminary findings from the Broadband Mapping Consortium Pilot Project that USTelecom is leading along with ITTA and WISPA. USTelecom said structure counts per census block in the pilot states versus 2011 census housing structure data are incorrect for nearly 50% of census blocks, and the 2011 census housing structure data is both over-inclusive and under-inclusive.

US broadband provider capital investment increased by approximately $3 billion in 2018, continuing the positive momentum shift that began in 2017 when the Federal Communications Commission initially signaled its intention to restore a forward-looking regulatory framework for broadband.  According to a preliminary analysis of 2018 company data, USTelecom estimates that US broadband providers invested approximately $75 billion in 2018, up from $72 billion the prior year.

USTelecom, the Independent Telephone andTelecommunications Alliance (ITTA) and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) filed a letter on April 12, 2019 on their fixed broadband mapping proposal.

Patrick Halley is USTelecom’s new Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Regulatory Affairs, the broadband group announced. He joins the association from leading communications law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP (WBK), where he was a partner advising communications providers and trade associations on strategic, policy, and legal matters. Halley will lead the association’s advocacy efforts before the White House and Executive Branch, regulatory agencies, courts, and other government entities in Washington, DC and beyond.

U.S. broadband providers continue to deploy and upgrade networks to bring consumers across the nation ever-faster service and more competitive choice, according to a new USTelecom and CensusNBM analysis of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband availability data for mid-year 2017. This research demonstrates the real economic impact of broadband capital investment dollars: more and faster broadband for American consumers and businesses.