Telecommunication

Rural residents of Placer County (CA) often don't have reliable Internet. The county's Board of Supervisors voted on a project to try to change that. The board unanimously approved a grant for Wave Broadband of Roseville to build fiber-optic Internet infrastructure in parts of Auburn, North Auburn and Penryn, the first phase of a long, concerted effort to bring high-speed Internet to the county's rural communities.

Nokia is throwing its weight behind an initiative it calls Broadband Zero, aiming to help connect as many people as possible with a minimal impact on the environment. Sandy Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia, said the company’s Broadband Zero campaign is based on four key pillars: zero left behind, zero limits, zero touch and zero waste. She explained the first pillar is focused on applying fiber and fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies to connect every home and building as quickly as possible.

Virgin Media O2 is on course to double the broadband speeds available on its existing cable network, following a pair of real-world trials which delivered 2.2 Gbps. The operator said the tests conducted in Edinburgh and Birmingham utilized DOCSIS 3.1 technology alongside Virgin Media O2’s Hub 4 router, which is offered as standard to customers taking its 1 Gbps service.

Consolidated Communications is delivering symmetrical gigabit fiber internet to nearly 9,000 residents and businesses in Charleston, Mattoon, Shelbyville and Taylorville (IL) by the end of 2021. Thousands of residents can now benefit from the new fiber-to-the-premises internet network delivering reliable, high-speed connectivity with highly competitively priced plans. Plans start at just $35 per month, and symmetrical 1-gig service is available for $70 per month. All plans include equipment and installation, and a one-year price lock with no contract required.

Cable broadband operators are concerned that localities could start putting a thumb on the scale for Google Fiber when it comes to broadband service, and they want the Federal Communications Commission to nip that notion in the bud. The current battleground over the extent to which municipalities can build out broadband is West Des Moines (IA). Incumbent provider Mediacom Communications wants the FCC to require the city to stop construction on Google Fiber‘s network, stop marketing service to residents and reconfigure the network and contract.

In a letter to the California State Senate, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) refused to sign Senate Bill 556 which would prohibit local electric utilities from "unreasonably denying" the leasing or licensing of utility poles to communications service providers. The bill would also require mobile service providers to measure and report their progress towards meeting the goal of universal broadband access for the areas they provide service.

We are on the cusp of an opportunity to close the remaining digital divide with a once-in-a-generation investment in broadband infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which, if passed by the House and signed into law, would devote tens of billions more toward the deployment and affordability of broadband, with the goal of connecting every American.  But how do we spend these funds wisely? Policymakers must aim for the best return.

The Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative announced a multi-year, $100 million-dollar construction project to replace all of its copper and coaxial cable network within its Brunswick County (NC) service area with a new 100 percent fiber optic network. At the conclusion of this project, every cooperative member will have access to the company’s FOCUS Broadband fiber optic service with internet speeds up to one Gigabit. The project is expected to take up to eight years to complete and is slated to start in January of 2022.

Starry, a Boston-based fixed wireless broadband provider, is going public with FirstMark Horizon Acquisition Corp in a business combination valued at $1.66 billion. It marks a big turning point for Starry; the provider is using 802.11 technology to disrupt the home broadband space, going up against cable companies and increasingly, wireless carriers. The company charges $50 per month for internet service.

Fueled by the slowdown of broadband subscriber additions, Wells Fargo media analyst Steven Cahall estimates that as penetration rates rise and DSL competition sputters, the cable sector could be entering a period of diminished profitability. Most cable operators have warned that subscriber additions would be lower as pandemic lockdowns disappeared and workers returned to their offices. But adding to the pressure is increased penetration of homes with annual household incomes above $25,000 — now at about 100 percent — and the continued slide of digital subscriber line (DSL) service.