Carl Weinschenk

Regional operator Ritter Communications has been awarded eight grants totaling about $44 million to provide all-fiber broadband networks in Arkansas. The grants were awarded through the Arkansas Rural Connect (ARC) program, which is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The eight grants are in addition to other ARC grants previously made to Ritter, bringing the total ARC funding awarded to the provider to $67 million. Ritter will supplement the funding to “ensure ubiquitous network coverage” and make the final connections to homes and businesses.

Windstream has completed the first phase of deployment in Green County (KY) under the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) by bringing access to 109 locations in the city of Greensburg. An additional 409 homes will be given fiber access by the end of the year. The Green County RDOF award of $1.5 million will be supplemented by an investment of $2.3 million by Windstream. Windstream’s Kentucky RDOF commitment is to bring fiber to the home (FTTH) services to more than 15,700 addresses across the state during the next six years.

Metro by T-Mobile has joined the Federal Communications Commission’s new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Doing so enables the company to offer free service. Beginning January 27, qualifying new and existing low-income Metro by T-Mobile subscribers are eligible for free wireless service with high-speed smartphone data. Eligible subscribers also can get as much as $30 off all Metro by T-Mobile smartphone plans with data or as much as $75 for those on Tribal lands. All those subscribing to the offerings will have access on the carrier’s 5G network and Scam Shield security.

Cable operators who do not own mobile infrastructure often use infrastructure from mobile network operators (MNOs). They use this infrastructure as mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). These arrangements enable them to bundle fixed and mobile broadband into single packages, generally with an initial focus on Wi-Fi services. MVNO platforms are a partial solution, however, because they offer different and sometimes less than optimal levels of control over subscriptions and service elements.

Fiber Minnesota merged with two other fiber transport carriers – Broadband Visions (BBV) and SM Broadband (SMB) – to create what it says is one of the state’s largest transport networks. The new entity will operate under the Fiber Minnesota brand. It will have a backbone of 3,900 route miles, which is 60 percent more than the network had before the move. The newly constituted company will reach “nearly all corners of the state,” including rural areas that often are left behind, with redundant connectivity.

Regional operator Horizon has acquired Consolidated Cooperative’s commercial fiber business in Ohio. The deal adds 450 fiber miles to augment Horizon’s existing Columbus (OH) network and extend northward through Delaware, Marion and Richland counties. Consolidated Cooperative’s separate residential fiber business was not part of the deal. Horizon said that Consolidated’s commercial clients will see no disruptions and will continue to be served according to the terms of their contracts. The company currently has more than 5,500 route miles of fiber in the Midwest.

The OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) 2021 second-quarter report shows the percentage of subscribers with faster internet speeds is growing, and they are consuming much more data. During Q2 2021, the percentage of subscribers with 1 Gbps or faster service reached 10.5 percent compared with 4.8 percent provisioned for that speed in Q2 2020.

Mediacom Communications subsidiary MCC Iowa LLC filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission seeking review of the rights-of-way management practices of the city of West Des Moines and what the company calls the city’s exclusive relationship with Google Fiber. It focuses on what MCC Iowa says is a $50 million taxpayer financed conduit network that the city is building for the exclusive use of Google Fiber.

The State of Illinois will contribute $7 million toward a $22 million Shawnee Communications broadband expansion project in unserved and underserved areas in the southern part of the state. The funding comes through the Connect Illinois program. More than 2,550 residents in Mitchellsville, Rudement, Buncombe, Vienna, Pulleys Mill, and Goreville (Saline, Johnson and Williamson counties) will get broadband via a fiber to the home network. Some residents will get service in 2021, with project completion slated for 2023.

Comporium won a grant to increase broadband speeds in some areas of Transylvania County (NC) via a $2.8 million grant from North Carolina’s Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Program. The improvements will require a total of more than $7 million to complete. The grant will help bring 1 Gbps service to more than 800 customers. It will feature construction of 105 miles of fiber in partnership with the Haywood Electric Membership Corp. The project is expected to take two years from the start date, which has not yet been established.