Jeff Baumgartner

Officials with ACA Connects and EducationSuperHighway spelled out a series of concerns they have about a proposal from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that aims to ban "bulk billing" for broadband in apartments, condos and other types of multiple-dwelling units (MDUs). Bulk billing agreements typically enable MDUs to negotiate discounted rates for broadband services

Ahead of the confirmation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that the agency plans to vote to restore network neutrality on April 25, a top policy analyst weighed in to say that he doesn't expect a return of the rules to alter the way that broadband service providers operate. Like its 2015 predecessor, this version of the rules will again attempt to reclassify broadband as a more heavily-regulated "Title II" commu

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program is poised to "provide a material stimulus" to broadband service operators with respect to government-subsidized footprint expansion, but the "dollars will flow later than originally expected," a top policy analyst predicts. It's unlikely that a "significant number" of BEAD-funded networks will become operational in 2025, New Street Research's Blair Levin explained in a 

For rural operators, fixed wireless access (FWA) technologies have served well to "edge-out" and deliver services to areas that can't be reached by cable and fiber networks cost-effectively.

Fiber network deployments have reached a milestone as they now pass more than 50% of US households, according to recent data from the Fiber Broadband Association and RVA Market Research and Consulting. Almost 69 million of those locations are "unique" fiber homes, meaning that about 9 million are passed by more than one fiber provider. The share of broadband technology is also evolving. While hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) remains the primary way of delivering broadband, fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) and fixed wireless access (FWA) will continue to make their presence felt in the coming years.

While there's still a chance that funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will be extended beyond April, one top policy expert fears that a successful extension faces an "uphill struggle." That was the assessment of New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin, who shared his latest thoughts on the perils of the program in a research note. A pressing issue, he points out, is that ACP was not woven into Congress's latest budget package.

With the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) increasingly likely if Congress does not quickly step in with more funding, broadband operators are adjusting their game plans to continue to serve customers who have been benefiting from the program. Comcast, which has about 1.4 million customers on ACP, is no different.

Gigapower, the AT&T-BlackRock joint venture, has identified several towns in the southern Minneapolis-St. Paul area as expansion targets for a multi-gigabit fiber network that will be underpinned by an "open access" framework. Gigapower's expansion there will include Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Eagan, Savage, Apple Valley, Burnsville, Farmington, Lakeville, Rosemont and Shakopee.

A new sports streaming bundle from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros.

Lumen Technologies expects to build fiber to an additional 500,000 locations in 2024, matching its pace for 2023. However, some industry watchers believe Lumen could open itself up to fiber overbuilders if it can't accelerate its pace. During Q4 2023, Lumen deployed fiber to another 126,000 new locations, down from 141,000 in the prior period, but ahead of the 113,000 that analysts were expecting.