UTOPIA Fiber is putting the finishing touches on the second-largest municipal broadband network in the US, wrapping up a multi-year fiber build to more than 140,000 locations across West Valley City, Utah. UTOPIA executive director Roger Timmerman noted West Valley’s new asset is also the largest open access network in the country.
The American Association of Public Broadband (AAPB) is concerned the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s broadband infrastructure funding guidelines pose a challenge for local and state governments seeking to boost municipal broadband. The challenges include a cumbersome application process with a letter-of-credit requirement which serve as steep barriers to entry for local government, nonprofits and small ISPs.
Verizon has spent the last several years building fiber rings in more than 60 markets outside of its traditional footprint, but that doesn’t mean it’s planning to use those assets to run fiber directly to every customer.
In a meeting with the Federal Communications Commission's Telecommunications Access Policy Division, USTelecom argued that the Commission should commit to launching a proceeding to modernize the Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions system by ensuring that the services and entities that contribute reflect the purposes and beneficiaries of the USF. USTelecom said the FCC should request additional authority from Congress as necessary to ensure it can substantially expand the contributions base.
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau seeks comment on a petition filed by the National Lifeline Association (NaLA) seeking clarification of the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) and Enforcement Bureau (EB) Chiefs’ authority to suspend a participating provider’s Affordable Connectivity Program enrollments and hold a participating provider’s funding based on the “adequate evidence” standard , or in the alternative, reconsideration of the removal rule (47 C.F.R. § 54.1801(e)(2)).
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