Internet/Broadband

LightBox CEO says more states are taking broadband mapping into their own hands

With billions in federal broadband funding already in hand and more on the way, a significant number of states are looking to map internet coverage within their borders to get a better understanding of where help is needed according to LightBox CEO Eric Frank. LightBox provides a geospatial mapping service and was previously tapped by officials in Georgia and Alabama to help create detailed broadband coverage maps.

Verizon Fios posts its best full year net adds since 2014

Verizon’s Fios internet net additions may have slowed year on year in Q4, but CEO Hans Vestberg said its total for the full-year 2021 was the highest in more than five years. The operator posted 106,000 total broadband net additions in the quarter, up from 76,000 in Q4 2020. That figure included 78,000 fixed wireless access (FWA) and 55,000 Fios Internet adds as well as the loss of 27,000 DSL customers. While the quarterly Fios figure was down significantly from 95,000 net additions in Q4 2020, full-year Fios Internet gains in 2021 totaled 360,000.

America's kids get an internet librarian

NewsGuard, a service that uses trained journalists to rate news and information sites, will become available to millions of public school students at the end of January 2022 through a partnership with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Kids increasingly turn to the internet when looking for homework help or doing research for school projects. But unlike books in a library or articles in a journal, online resources can be difficult to filter for quality and misinformation.

Midco CTIO says fixed wireless is helping it push fiber further

Midco’s chief technology innovation officer Jon Pederson says the operator’s use of fixed wireless access (FWA) technology to serve certain remote locations is actually benefitting its efforts to expand its fiber network. Pederson, who has worked for the regional US broadband provider for more than three decades, explained Midco deploys fixed wireless access service for customers in some of the most remote parts of its footprint. As it runs fiber to new towers for that service, he said it’s also taking the opportunity to push fiber into nearby communities along the way.

Steps the Commerce Department should take to achieve the infrastructure bill’s broadband goals

The recently signed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes the largest federal investment into universal broadband access in history. In doing so, Congress gave broadband responsibility to the states, with the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) providing oversight.  This piece lays out eight steps NTIA should take to improve the odds of success in achieving universal connectivity:

Facebook Promised Poor Countries Free Internet. People Got Charged Anyway.

Facebook says it’s helping millions of the world’s poorest people get online through apps and services that allow them to use the internet data-free. Internal company documents show that many of these people end up being charged in amounts that collectively add up to an estimated millions of dollars a month. To attract new users, Facebook made deals with cellular carriers in countries including Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines to let low-income people use a limited version of Facebook and browse some other websites without data charges.

Calibrating Digital Media Trends For the Post-Pandemic ‘New Normal’

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the central role of digital media in our everyday lives. We now are in a historic transition, from a nation organized for a pandemic response to a recovery that surely will create a “new normal.” So it’s timely and important to look back at how digital media has been shaped during this period, and more importantly, to assess what lies ahead, based on current data and trends. This post-pandemic new normal, however defined, will not be binary.

Mobile Network Experience Report, January 2022

OpenSignal's new USA 5G Experience report delves deeper into the 5G mobile experience. Key findings include:
  • AT&T now shares the Games Experience award with T-Mobile.
  • T-Mobile exceeds the 10 Mbps mark in Upload Speed Experience, having the fastest Upload Speed Experience.
  • T-Mobile keeps hold of the Voice App Experience award, ahead of Verizon and AT&T which tied.

The Looming Cost of a Patchwork of State Privacy Laws

In the absence of a comprehensive federal law, a handful of large states have passed or begun to enact data privacy legislation. More states are likely to pass similar laws in the coming years, which would create a patchwork of different and sometimes conflicting state privacy laws regulating the commercial collection and use of personal data.

A Review of Digital Equity Provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

This is our 6th entry in Keller & Heckman's blog series on the major provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Previous blog entries examined the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the $1 billion Middle Mile grant program, the Act’s support for broadband partnerships, the Affordable Connectivity Program, and the Act’s key cybersecurity provisions. This post reviews the Act’s provisions aimed at promoting digital equity by increasing broadband adoption and accessibility.

Steps the states should take to achieve the infrastructure bill’s broadband goals

To accomplish the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's broadband goals, Congress made states the key decision-makers, with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration providing oversight. This piece lays out nine actions every state should take in the development and implementation of its broadband plan:

FCC Mapping Hinders Broadband Grants

Hopefully by now, most communities with poor broadband will have heard about the gigantic federal grants on the way to provide broadband solutions. The largest is the $42.5 Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that will be administered by states, with the funding and the rules established by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The federal grants give priority to locations that are unserved (broadband speeds under 25/3 Mbps) and can also be used to fund underserved locations (speeds between 25/3 and 100/20 Mbps).

Report says regional municipal broadband utility in Maine is viable

A regional, municipal-owned broadband internet utility in Maine is viable according to a report from Axiom Technologies, a consultant hired by the local communities. The January 2022 report focuses on the creation of a utility to serve the four core communities of Rockland, Camden, Rockport, and Thomaston (ME). In June 2021, the charter towns of Camden and Rockport formed, by an inter-local agreement, a non-profit, regional broadband utility called the Midcoast Internet Development Corporation.

$116 million in grants announced for broadband construction in Vermont

The Vermont Community Broadband Board launched a $116 million broadband construction grant program that is set to fund projects beginning spring 2022. Vermont’s nine communications union districts, plus the small communication carriers and internet service providers that are working alongside the communication districts, can all apply for the funding.  “These grants are important to drive down the entry cost,” Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Community Broadband Board, told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday.

Faster internet speeds are linked to lower civic engagement in UK

Faster internet access has significantly weakened civic participation in Britain, according to a study that found involvement in political parties, trade unions and volunteering fell as web speeds rose. Volunteering in social care fell by more than 10 percent when people lived closer to local telecom companies' exchange hubs and so enjoyed faster web access. Involvement in political parties fell by 19 percent with every 1.8 kilometer increase in proximity to a hub.

Municipal fiber in the United States: A financial assessment

Despite growing interest in broadband provided by municipally-owned and operated fiber-to-the-home networks, the academic literature has yet to undertake a systematic assessment of these projects' financial performance. To fill this gap, we utilize municipalities' official reports to offer an empirical evaluation of the financial performance of every municipal fiber project in the US operating in 2010 through 2019.

Dish, other 12 GHz backers see 5G prospects rise in C-band’s wake

Remember the bit about the 12 GHz band that 5G proponents were using to advance their argument at the Federal Communications Commission? The one about “no federal encumbrances”? That seems to be rising to the top in the wake of all the recent problems associated with C-band spectrum. Granted, the 12 GHz band has its own set of challenges for the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition, which represents Dish Network, among others.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's Statement Regarding the Affordable Connectivity Program Rules

This $14.2 billion investment, a byproduct of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is the biggest program we have ever had to help ensure that every family can afford the broadband that is now essential for full participation in modern life." The chairwoman highlighted a number of additions to the Affordable Connectivity Program's rules, including "updated income qualifications" for the program, which "will open the door for more families to receive support." Chairwoman Rosenworcel stressed the importance of outreach to ensure the efficacy of the Affordable Connectivity Program, sayi

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks' Statement on the Affordable Connectivity Program Rules

The rules repeatedly affirm our decision to spend that money in ways that advance our digital equity goals. I am proud that my colleagues adopted my recommendation to commit to deploying the new tools Congress gave us with 'particular emphasis on reaching people of color, persons with disabilities, persons who live in rural or Tribal areas, and others who are or have been historically unserved, marginalized, or adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.' I intend to make sure we follow through on that commitment.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington's Statement Regarding the Affordable Connectivity Program Rules

For the most part, I am very satisfied with the resulting order, which incorporated extensive feedback from all commissioners’ offices, industry, and other groups outside of the FCC.

FCC Commissioner Carr's Statement on Affordable Connectivity Program Rules

I have been focused on ensuring that every dollar the FCC allocates through its programs goes to the families that Congress intended to benefit. And that is why I have been raising serious concerns since the beginning of last year about the risk of massive levels of waste, fraud, and abuse [in the Affordable Connectivity Program].

NHMC Condemns FCC Commissioners’ Xenophobic Statements

Federal Communications Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brenden Carr have used their positions as leaders of a federal agency to dehumanize and disrespect the immigrant community. At the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), we believe that no human is illegal and that every person deserves dignity and respect. As such, we condemn the Commissioners’ comments and statements following the release of the Affordable Connectivity Program rules and call for higher standards of morality, empathy, and humanity from those who sit on the FCC.

Public Knowledge Welcomes FCC Action to Offer Broadband Subsidies for Struggling Families

Despite having just 60 days to create rules for the Affordable Connectivity Program, the Federal Communications Commission’s Report and Order represents an impressive effort to protect consumers. The rules deftly balance the tricky transition from the Emergency Broadband Benefit to the Affordable Connectivity Program by preventing the most vulnerable consumers from experiencing bill shock while maintaining the ease of enrollment for those who have demonstrated their ability or desire to pay for broadband. Unfortunately, although device access remains key to closing the digital divide and in