Joan Engebretson

Cable companies’ wireless offerings are a bigger threat to wireless providers than wireless providers’ broadband offerings are to cable companies, according to a new research note from industry financial analysts at SVB MoffettNathanson. It’s a contrarian view at a time when fixed wireless offerings from T-Mobile and Verizon are stealing cable broadband subscribers and the mobile market is heavily saturated. The researchers base their analysis on several key market realities. One of the most critical is that the wireless industry is roughly twice the size of the broadband industry.

States are making plans for awarding funding in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The issue is particularly complex because concerns have arisen about how soon the Federal Communication Commission's National Broadband Map will be accurate enough to be used for that purpose. BEAD Program Director Evan Feinman advised states that they could do their own challenge process for the FCC Broadband Map. One state that plans to rely, in large part, on the FCC map is Idaho. Ramón S.

Over 150 network operators applied for funding in a broadband program operated by the state of Michigan. The operators requested $1.3 billion in funding through the program, which has a budget of $231 million. Applications were due on March 15, 2023, in the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) program. The $1.3 billion in funding would have covered some of the costs of broadband deployments estimated to cost a total of $2.3 billion. The applications proposed to connect approximately 380,000 locations.

Cal.net, a service provider focused on offering fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber broadband to California’s Central Valley and rural northern California, has a new CEO and new funding.

Consolidated Communications now offers 2 Gbps symmetrical service to more than 3,000 homes and small businesses in parts of rural Maine. The deployment was funded, in part, through money awarded to the company and to the Maine Connectivity Authority. The funding came through the Broadband Infrastructure Program administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The Federal Communications Commission's update of the National Broadband Map has received considerable criticism.

Fixed wireless access (FWA) generates the least revenue of eight 5G service types studied by professional services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a 5G revenue analysis. The researchers estimate that FWA service generates just 14 cents of revenue per gigabyte (GB) based on a price of $50 a month. The service type that generates the most revenue per GB, according to the researchers, is internet of things (IoT) connectivity for low-usage plans.

In a reference to all the attention and funding that is being focused on rural broadband, NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said, “We need to be making hay while the sun is shining.” Bloomfield highlighted two new initiatives aimed at helping members make hay.

Evan Feinman, director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, said states have the opportunity to correct some of the deficiencies of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map by running their own challenge process. He noted, for example, that “communities will be able to bring forward large numbers of speed tests” – a move that could address concerns about the accuracy of the availability data that service providers are reporting.

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has $42.5 billion to invest in rural broadband. But that funding is not expected to cover the full cost of making broadband available to unserved areas. That’s where matching funds come in. Program rules call for network operators seeking BEAD funding to use other funding sources to cover at least 25% of project costs, except in the highest-cost areas. States have the option of setting the minimum even higher. Where can networks get matching funds?