Internet/Broadband

I understand why folks are confused about the Federal Communications Commission's maps, because there are several major mapping timelines and issues progressing at the same time. The first issue is the FCC mapping fabric. The FCC recently encouraged state and local governments and internet service providers (ISP) to file bulk challenges to the fabric by June 30. The first mapping fabric issued in June 2022 was largely a disaster.

Citing a smear campaign to continue to prevent Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] from being seated as the fifth Federal Communications Commissioner, former Fox and ABC/Disney executive Preston Padden has written the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee to call out those tactics and advocate for Sohn, with whom he is not aligned politically. Padden also said he had been in contact with Fox’s Rupert Murdoch, an opponent of the Democratic nominee.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a major hand in broadband matters. The agency's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is responsible for overseeing a number of rural broadband funding programs, including the well-known multi-billion-dollar ReConnect loan and grant initiative. Andrew Berke has only recently taken the reigns as RUS Administrator, having been appointed by President Biden in October 2022.

 AT&T reported its fourth-quarter 2023 results, showing sustained momentum in customer additions across 5G and fiber and solid growth in wireless service and broadband revenues. Results include:

In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, the Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau has waived certain Lifeline program rules in thirteen previous Orders to provide relief for low-income households. The Bureau finds good cause exists to continue to waive the Lifeline recertification and re-verification requirements for those Lifeline subscribers residing on Tribal lands through April 30, 2023.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) is urging Congress to move the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to be the fifth member of the Federal Communications Commission. Her nomination has been held up for two years because not enough Democrats could be lined up to hold a Senate vote.

In 2020, West Des Moines (IA) entered a partnership with Google Fiber, the super-fast internet service that Alphabet offers in several US cities. But unlike previous cities that have participated in the decade-old initiative, West Des Moines is building the fiber conduit network itself, in exchange for Google Fiber promising to lay its fiber lines in front of every home and business in the city — not just in areas the company believes will be profitable.

With all of the recent buzz about fiber players getting prepared for acquisitions and incumbents expected to gobble up billions in forthcoming government funding, it’s not a far stretch to wonder if the rollup will result in less broadband competition across the country. But according to two leading telecom analysts, this is very unlikely to be the case post-mergers.

On January 18, 2023, the i2Coalition filed an amici brief with the US Supreme Court in Gonzalez v.

Charter Communications reported financial and operating results for the three and twelve months that ended December 31, 2022. Fourth quarter residential Internet customers increased by 92,000, compared to an increase of 172,000 customers during the fourth quarter of 2021. Spectrum Internet delivers the fastest speeds in Charter's footprint. Charter offers Spectrum Internet products with speeds up to 1 Gbps across its entire footprint.