Competition/Antitrust

Boost Mobile appears happy with an earlier go selling Cox prepaid home internet service at its retail stores in a few markets, as distribution has expanded more broadly to all Boost store locations within the cable operator’s footprint. In December 2021, Boost Mobile, the Dish-owned prepaid brand, started selling Cox’s Straight Up Internet service in select stores in Las Vegas (NV) and Phoenix (AZ) while mulling a wider push.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said that the company’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service runs on “the best network.” Roberts was referring to the fact that Xfinity Wireless rides on Verizon’s network due to a wholesale agreement between the two companies. Roberts bragged that Comcast and Verizon recently updated their agreement to make improvements. The wholesale agreement specifies that Comcast can use its Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum to offload mobile traffic from Verizon’s network.

Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei revealed the operator’s long-talked about multi-gig service launch is fast approaching and it expects to announce the first of hopefully many broadband grant wins in the coming weeks. Goei said Altice in recent months has stepped up promotional activity in areas where it overlaps with Verizon’s Fios service in order to “keep the pressure up” on its competition. He added it could soon gain the upper hand in their ongoing battle.

Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said that despite slowdowns in broadband growth, he sees little threat to the business from new competitors like fixed wireless, adding that rural expansion, offering a competitive product and bundling with mobile should help subscriber additions continue to rise. Roberts said he sees four areas where the company can boost broadband growth: expanding its footprint, competing more aggressively, bundling with other products like wireless and growing its business services reach.

Home internet is one of the most maddening services in the United States. But since the pandemic showed just how bad things have become, we’re beginning to see some change. Decades of one failed policy show how far the US has to go to achieve better, fairer online access for all. Over the past two decades, government regulators have written and rewritten rules that have landed on a straightforward goal: that Americans who live in apartment buildings may pick their internet provider, even if the landlord has a preferred provider.

Verizon will cover more than 175 million people with its 5G Ultra Wideband service by the end of 2022, according to executives. In 2021, Verizon said it expected to provide service Ultra Wideband 5G to 175 million people over the course of 2022 and 2023, so it’s hitting that target significantly faster than previously planned. They expect to cover at least 250 million people by the end of 2024. Verizon currently serves 100 million people with its C-band 3.7 GHz spectrum.

Verizon has set a goal of becoming the only nationwide broadband provider. According to the company, this will be made possible through a combination of Fios fiber broadband, Verizon Home fixed wireless, and satellite broadband service. The company already has Fios available to 16 million locations, which will increase to more than 18 million by year-end 2025, when the company expects to have 8 million Fios internet subscribers.

AT&T recently announced multi-gigabit broadband plans on its fiber connections. The company has priced 2-Gbps broadband at $110 per month and 5-Gbps broadband at $180. AT&T isn’t the first company to offer multi-gigabit broadband speeds and joins other large internet service providers (ISPs). For now, multi-gigabit broadband is mostly a marketing gimmick. It’s a way for an ISP to tell the public that its networks are fast.

Public Knowledge filed a Petition for Declaratory Ruling urging the Federal Communications Commission to declare Voice over Internet Protocol as a Title II “common carrier” telecommunications service. Communications Workers of America, Center for Rural Strategies, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, Next Century Cities, The Public Utility Law Project of New York, and The Utility Reform Network joined the filing.