Telecommunication

Senate Commerce Committee plans quick turnaround for FCC nominees

The Senate Commerce Committee is planning to pull together a wide-ranging confirmation hearing for the week of November 15 to hear from a bevy of President Joe Biden’s telecommunications nominees. The Federal Communications Commission nominees are Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, who’s up for another term, and new commissioner pick Gigi Sohn.

Open Radio Access Networks: A Primer for Policymakers

Open Radio Access Networks (Open RANs) would define open standards and interfaces between components of wireless RANs, providing a unique opportunity to diversify the supply chain by separating today’s integrated, single-provider RAN systems into modular parts. This report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation provides the history of Open RAN, the technology's benefits and challenges, and recommendations for policymakers. The key takeaways are:

Revved-Up FCC 3.45-GHz Spectrum Auction Gets In Gear

With little movement in the top markets and increases of only tens of millions of dollars per round in the rest of the country, the Federal Communications Commission is looking to get bidders in the 3.45-GHz midband spectrum auction off the sidelines and move toward the finish line. By round 85, the auction had raised $21,426,504,290 in gross bids. That is about 50 percent higher than the reserve price the FCC set of $14.775 billion to make sure the auction covers the price of relocating federal users of the 100 MHz of the band the Department of Defense agreed to share.

Sens Manchin and Sinema could end up deciding whether Biden secures a Democratic majority at FCC

Republicans are lining up against one of President Joe Biden’s long-awaited picks for the Federal Communications Commission — which means the outcome of this White House priority could come down, once again, to Sens Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). At stake are Democrats’ hopes for a majority on the five-member FCC, which has been mired in a 2-2 partisan split for all of Biden’s term. That in turn will determine whether the agency can get to work on progressives’ telecommunications priorities, including a revival of the agency’s Obama-era net neutrality rules.

USAID Awards AT&T a $182 Million Task Order for Global Network Services

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded AT&T a $182 million Task Order agreement to support its domestic and international wireless and wireline connectivity needs. Under this Task Order, AT&T will continue to provide wireline voice and data services to USAID domestic locations while significantly expanding the scope of services it provides. AT&T will consolidate USAID’s disparate networks onto the company's global IP voice network and provide mission-critical connectivity in support of an additional 90 USAID international locations.

Comcast Seeks FCC Clarity on Lift Zones Waiver

Comcast wants the Federal Communications Commission to clarify that it can continue its Lift Zone pilot project beyond the 2022 expiration of a waiver it obtained from an E-rate program rule. The FCC agreed in October to let Comcast test expanding its Lift Zone diverse broadband access program from community centers so libraries that receive E-rate funding. It did so by extending its pandemic-related waiver of the prohibition on gifts from providers to E-rate school and library recipients until June 30, 2022.

Multi-gig competition to heat up as fiber takes center stage

Analyst firm GlobalData tipped cable to lose ground to fiber over the coming years as competition among broadband providers peddling multi-gigabit services intensifies. Tammy Parker, principal analyst at GlobalData, said the multi-gigabit marketplace is already heating up despite the fact that very few households actually require such speeds.

Build Back Better Includes $1 Billion-Plus for Broadband

President Joe Biden‘s $1.7 trillion-plus Build Back Better legislative package has more than $1 billion for various better broadband building programs. According to a draft copy of the framework unveiled October 28, it includes:

Shentel raises fiber expansion target by 50 percent, pauses fixed wireless access build

Regional US operator Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel) kicked its fiber plans into high gear, raising its expansion target by 50 percent and aiming to reach 450,000 serviceable addresses by 2026. At the same time, however, the operator said it would pause further expansion of its Beam Internet fixed wireless access service. Shentel CEO Chris French cited “strong momentum” behind its Glo Fiber product's business development, construction and sales as driving factors for the move.

WOW! Completes $661 Million Sale of Three Service Areas to Astound Broadband

WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone, a leading broadband service provider, announced the completion of the sale of its Chicago (IL), Evansville (IN) and Anne Arundel (MD) service areas to the Astound Broadband group for $661 million. The completion of the Astound Broadband transaction follows WOW!’s completed sale of its Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio service areas to Atlantic Broadband, announced in September 2021. Combined, the two transactions have generated gross proceeds of $1.8 billion, enabling WOW!

FCC Opens Filing Window for Supply Chain Reimbursement Program

The Federal Communications Commission opened the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program filing window for providers of advanced communications service with 10 million or fewer customers to seek reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in removing, replacing, and disposing of Huawei and ZTE communications equipment and services.

Senate Unanimously Passes Secure Equipment Act of 2021

The US Senate unanimously passed the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 (H.R.3919), introduced in June by Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Steve Scalise (R-LA), that would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from reviewing or issuing new equipment licenses to companies on the FCC’s “Covered Equipment or Services List” that pose a national security threat.  The Secure Equipment Act would prevent equipment manufacture

Consolidated keeps fiber pedal to the metal in Q3, plans new branding push

Consolidated Communications is on pace to exceed its 2021 goal for gigabit-capable fiber upgrades after the independent telco reported that it had achieved 97,000 upgrades in the third quarter. The figure, reported as part of the company’s third quarter earnings, comes after Consolidated reported 76,000 fiber upgrades in the second quarter this year and 46,000 in the first quarter as it embarked on a goal to reach almost 2 million fiber upgrades by 2025.

Charter lowers its 2021 broadband growth forecast after significant slowdown in Q3

Charter Communications scaled back its forecast for broadband net addition growth in the full year 2021 after posting a significant slowdown in subscriber gains in Q3. The company gained 265,000 internet customers across the two segments in Q3 2021, raising its year-to-date total to 1.02 million. The Q3 figure marked a significant year-on-year drop from 537,000 in Q3 2020 and sequential slide from 400,000 net adds in Q2.

Infrastructure Bill’s Broadband Plan Shrouded From Scrutiny

Congress is poised to shield a $42 billion broadband grant program from federal transparency and privacy laws, hampering oversight of money expected to flow mostly to telecommunications companies. In a bid to cut through red tape and speed delivery of the broadband funds, the Senate-passed Infrastructure Investment and JOBS Act includes a provision that suspends certain rules the federal government ordinarily has to follow in administering programs.

The startup that wants to disrupt big internet providers

A new startup backed by funding from AOL founder Steve Case and Laurene Powell Jobs wants to break up broadband monopolies across the country. Underline, a community infrastructure company, began building its first open access fiber network in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in October 2021. Under the open access model, Underline builds and operates the fiber network while multiple service providers can use it and offer service to customers.

'Untidy' confirmation process likely as President Biden nominates FCC commissioners

President Joe Biden is ready to fill some key vacancies at the Federal Communications Commission. The White House has nominated current Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel for permanent chair of the agency and Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to sit as the third Democratic commissioner on the FCC. The nominations are not a surprise in the telecom world according to Blair Levin of New Street Research. Senate confirmations for the picks are still needed.

USDA’s new ReConnect broadband grant rules dramatically expand eligible areas and effectively redefine broadband

With the release of a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has made important changes for Round 3 of its ReConnect Program. RUS has included a preference for local governments, non-profits, and cooperatives as applicants and added additional points to those applications. Further, RUS is expanding eligible areas beyond the FCC’s 25/3 definition of broadband.

Comcast reels in 300 thousand broadband subscribers as growth slows

Comcast raked in 300,000 broadband net additions in Q3 2021, a figure that was less than half the number it added in 2020 and lower than the pre-pandemic gain it posted in the comparable period of 2019. The operator added 633,000 subscribers during the pandemic in Q3 2020 and 379,000 broadband customers in Q3 2019. Comcast CFO Michael Cavanagh previously warned that the operator expected net additions to slow in Q3.

FCC Announces Agenda for November 18, 2021 Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the November 2021 Open Commission Meeting:

One-Fourth of US Households Subscribe to Broadband But Not Pay-TV

A new analysis by The Diffusion Group (TDG) finds that the number of US households subscribing to a broadband service but not a pay-TV service will grow from 38 million in 2020 to 54 million in 2025, up 42 percent in the five-year period. “By 2025, nine-in-ten US households will use residential broadband, of which roughly half will use a pay-TV service from a legacy or virtual MVPD [Multichannel Video Programming Distributor],” said Paul Hockenbury, veteran industry researcher and TDG senior analyst.

We Will Have a Dream Team FCC and NTIA, But You Still Have To Fight For Your Right To Broadband

President Biden has finally made his critical telecommunications appointments to fill out the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA). As expected, Biden named Acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as full chair and renominated her to fill her expired term. As hoped, he also nominated my former boss and all-around Telecom Boss Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to be the third FCC Commissioner.

Wholesale Fiber is the Key to Broad US Fiber to the Premises Coverage

Public investments in open-access fiber networks, instead of more subsidies for broadband carriers, will bring high-speed internet on a more cost-efficient basis to millions of Americans and create an infrastructure that can handle internet growth for decades, according to a new report.