A robust internet connection has become indispensable in our lives. During the COVID pandemic, US broadband networks performed resiliently even during historic surges in internet traffic when many companies and schools went entirely remote, according to performance tests and reports. But besides powering our digital lives, it’s important to ensure that broadband is meeting consumer expectations and evolving in the right direction.
Two independent telecom service providers–TDS Telecom and Shentel–have touted their increasingly fiber-focused broadband expansion plans. Jim Butman, president and CEO of TDS Telecom, said TDS is pressing ahead with a self-funded fiber expansion that mostly will focus on out-of-territory growth, with a few exceptions where the provider uses a full fiber deployment to defend some of its ILEC areas from competitive overbuilders. “We have plans over the next five years to make the business much more fiber-centric," said Butman.
Charter Communications rolled out a new fixed internet plan which will effectively offer free service to customers who qualify for the Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The move follows similar efforts from Verizon, Comcast and Mediacom to make fixed service available at no cost to ACP customers. But the catch is that most ACP subscribers are using the subsidy money for mobile broadband. The operator’s new Spectrum Internet 100 plan includes access to download speeds of up to 100 Mbps with no data caps as well as a modem, router and in-home Wi-Fi.
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded four grants as part of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.
For anyone planning on funding a broadband project with a grant, there are some important costs to consider. First, grants don’t cover all assets. Most grants cover network assets and assets needed to connect to customers, but grants typically don’t cover vehicles, computers, furniture, test equipment, and any other assets needed to launch a new internet service provider (ISP) or a new market. Grants also aren’t going to cover major software costs like upgrades to billing systems or marketing software.
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