Competition/Antitrust

The last two years or so have seen a slew of broadband providers rename either themselves or their services. Some are even using a brand name as though it was a company, issuing press releases that scarcely reference the official corporate identity, instead using only the brand name as the protagonist. In the latter category is Windstream, which routinely issues press releases under the Kinetic name.

Deutsche Telekom is making good on its promise to become majority owner of T-Mobile US, paying $2.4 billion to SoftBank Group to increase its stake to 48.4 percent in the US company. Deutsche Telekom (DT), based in Bonn, Germany, bought 21.2 million T-Mobile shares at an average price of $113 per share. The move raised its stake in T-Mobile by 5.3 percent.

One-third of T-Mobile fixed wireless access (FWA) subscribers are in rural areas, according to an estimate from telecom financial analysts at MoffettNathanson. It’s a surprising finding, considering that the analysts estimate that only 6 percent of locations that can get T-Mobile fixed wireless are in rural areas. Forty-four percent of T-Mobile fixed wireless subscribers are in urban census blocks, which represent 74 percent of locations that can get T-Mobile fixed wireless, according to the estimates.

I was asked an interesting question recently: will fiber help the big telecom companies turn the corner to success? It’s a good question when looking at telcos like Frontier, Windstream, Lumen, and any others who are late to the game for converting copper to fiber. There are a lot of factors that will come into play, so the answer is likely to be different by company. On the plus side is a general consensus by many households that fiber is the best technology. There is a sizable percentage of homes in any market that will move to fiber given a chance.

Cable companies could soon find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place as battles with fiber-to-the-home providers for subscribers intensify. Analysts at Cowen Equity Research noted cable’s standard response to competition from these players has been to lock in subscribers with promotional rates.

The Federal Communications Commission heard from the public on April 7 as the agency focuses on plans to create broadband consumer labels. This was the second FCC public hearing on so-called nutrition labels as the agency revives an effort from late in the Obama administration to stick the information on internet service provider (ISP) plans. One common thread was that even when information is available on internet service quality, consumers don't know enough about the specifics to grasp what it means for their own online needs.

Google Fiber announced plans to move into its second city in Iowa, revealing construction is set to begin in the capital city of Des Moines (IA) later in 2022. The company said it is currently in the planning stages for the build, kicking off the permitting process ahead of actual its actual construction work.

AT&T and Verizon have talked up their copper retirement plans, but analysts say the technology is likely to stick around in the US at least until the end of the decade. That’s in part because copper is deeply entrenched in the country. There’s no question operators are eager to move away from copper and for good reason.

Consolidated Communications is building the biggest fiber-optic internet network in Maine and said it plans to offer connections to tens of thousands of homes and businesses by the end of 2022. It is building networks in Portland, Biddeford-Saco, the Augusta area, Rockland, Waterville, Falmouth, and Bangor. The goal is a comprehensive network covering nearly all the customers in the communities Consolidated has targeted.

On March 31, the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing called "Connecting America: Oversight of the FCC." Each of the current four Federal Communications Commissioners testified before the subcommittee, led by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and including Brendan Carr, Nathan Simington, and Geoffrey Starks. Rep.