Diana Goovaerts

First, cable and fiber companies dismissed fixed wireless access (FWA) completely. Then, they passed it off as a temporary fad. Subscribers, they said, will return to their wireline providers when wireless bandwidth inevitably runs out.

Tracking broadband funding awards as they happen. In January 2024:

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is in grave danger. According to estimates from the Federal Communications Commission, the program will run out of money in April. A wave of sudden disconnects associated with the program’s end could hit ISPs hard. But just how much exposure do they have? And do they have any plans in place to keep vulnerable customers connected? We took the subscriber question straight to the big guns and asked what plans they have for keeping subscribers connected in a post-ACP world. Here’s what they told us (and what we could dig up).

The US Broadband Summit brought together top leaders from across the country to talk about state efforts related to the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) program. Three major topics emerged from the summit — both at public sessions as well as the buzz in the hallways.

Preparation. PON. Previous experience. Persistence. These are just some of the attributes states should be looking for when choosing ISPs to carry out builds for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, said Verizon executive Kevin Smith. “The ISPs and the builders also have to have those people and those teams internally that are making sure that you’re delivering what you signed up for,” he said. “Whatever you agreed to in that bid, you need all that program management. It’s not just about hanging the fiber.

Tachus Fiber, with help from private equity partner Crosstimbers Capital Group, is set to spend $100 million to expand its footprint in the Houston (TX) metropolitan area. The company has the aim of adding 100,000 passings in southwest Houston by the end of 2025.

AT&T is no stranger to public-private partnerships, with deals in place with municipal entities in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas to name a few.

It feels like broadband funding is flying at operators from left, right and center. But how does a provider figure out which funding source is the right fit, and what do they need to know about applying for and actually spending that money? A panel comprised of experts from Nextlink, Ting Internet, Calix, Fujitsu, and COS Systems tackled the ins and outs of the funding landscape. Here are the top takeaways from the session:

Permitting has long been the bane of broadband deployments across the country, but a little-known federal council is working to change that.

Nokia is broadening its horizons with a new version of its network-in-a-box solution, adding new components into the mix and making its kit scalable to meet the needs of medium-sized operators in addition to small ones.