Telecommunication

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

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.

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.

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.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) just announced plans to unleash more than $1 billion in fresh funding for rural broadband via its Broadband ReConnect Program, but not everyone is rejoicing. Claude Aiken, CEO of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA), warned new rules adopted for the latest funding round could effectively cut fixed wireless access providers out of the running.

Evercore ISI media analyst Vijay Jayant predicts that while Q3 broadband subscriber increases will be lower than they have been in the past few quarters, it won’t be that dramatic of a decline. This comes just as cable operators are preparing to release their Q3 results. Comcast is expected first out of the gate, with its Q3 earnings report due on October 28, followed by Charter (Oct 29), Altice USA (Nov 4) and Cable One (Nov 4).

The Federal Communications Commission adopted an order ending China Telecom America’s ability to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications services within the United States. The Order on Revocation and Termination directs China Telecom Americas to discontinue any domestic or international services that it provides pursuant to its section 214 authority within sixty days following the release of the order.

AT&T reported third-quarter results that showed continuing customer growth in wireless, fiber and HBO Max. “We continue to execute well in growing customer relationships, and we’re on track to meet our guidance for the year,” said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. “We had our best postpaid phone net add quarter in more than 10 years, our fiber broadband net adds increased sequentially, and HBO Max global subscribers neared 70 million.

Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA) announced that Virginia has received a record number of local and private sector applications to match state broadband investments, putting the Commonwealth on track to become one of the first states to achieve universal broadband access by 2024. Virginia anticipates more than $2 billion in total broadband funding, thanks to local and private sector matching funds that go beyond the $874 million in state appropriations since the Governor took office in 2018. The Virginia Telecommunication Initiative is the Commonwealth’s broadband program.