October 2022

As America approaches ‘internet for all,’ deep caution for ‘middle mile’ detour

In 2021, Congress and the administration agreed upon a bipartisan approach to bridging differences in digital investment and delivery. But now, even before a single dollar of the bill’s rural broadband deployment funding has gone out the door, governors in both red and blue states are rushing to pour tax dollars into an entirely different strategy they hope will solve the same problem, and a new Senate bill proposes to potentially spend billions more replicating these state initiatives nationwide. Even for Washington, DC, this bipartisan rush to ramp funding for “middle mile” networks is a

Middle-Class Affordability of Broadband: An Empirical Look at the Threshold Question

To receive subsidies to expand broadband to unserved areas under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) requires states to implement plans to ensure middle-class affordability. Since the NTIA did not conclude that broadband was unaffordable for middle-class households, the threshold question is whether broadband is affordable to the middle class. Affordability, which has no formal definition, is defined by reference to adoption.

United States' Mobile and Fixed Broadband Internet Speeds Quarter 3 2022

A market analysis, based on Q3 2022 mobile data, which examined several categories, including upload speeds, multi-server latency, consistency, video score, 5G video score, 5G performance, 5G availability, and 5G consistency. See the following for the rankings of each mobile provider in each category:

Sponsor: 

Fiber Broadband Association

Date: 
Wed, 10/19/2022 - 10:00 to 10:30

How much will it cost to reach universal broadband availability in the United States? Answering that question requires understanding network construction costs, estimating the number of unserved and underserved locations, and defining “broadband” – and that is exactly what Vantage Point Solutions has done in their recent whitepaper, Cost of Bringing Broadband to All.

Larry Thompson, PE, co-author of the paper, will discuss the methodology and findings of the report during this Fiber for Breakfast presentation.



Sponsor: 

Federal Trade Commission

Date: 
Wed, 10/19/2022 - 09:00 to 16:00

The Federal Trade Commission is hosting a virtual public event to explore the risks and harms associated with a growing array of marketing practices that make it difficult or impossible for children to distinguish ads from entertainment in digital media and how to protect children in this advertising landscape.

The event will feature remarks by FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, as well as a presentation and three panel discussions.



Sponsor: 

New America

Date: 
Tue, 10/25/2022 - 11:45 to 13:45

A new space race to provide high-speed broadband service from orbit is shifting into high gear. These wireless broadband networks are literally ‘out of this world,’ as companies like SpaceX and Amazon launch thousands – soon, tens of thousands – of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite. Their success could be key to truly universal connectivity, especially in rural areas and developing nations, but they are not free from controversy.



Price of Residential Internet Drives Customer Choice, J.D. Power Finds

Fixed and wireless broadband customers cited price as the number one reason they would switch service providers in a new J.D. Power study. The report analyzes consumer sentiment and operator achievement across five categories: performance and reliability, cost of service, billing and payment, communications and promotions, and customer care. Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power, said the first two categories alone account for nearly 60% of an operator’s score. "So obviously keeping the lights on is job number one. It’s got to work, it’s got to work all the time.