Julia King

The Federal Communications Commission released the funding structure for its Enhanced Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) program. With the new offer, existing A-CAM program carriers and carriers that are still receiving legacy support will be funded for the deployment of voice and broadband-capable networks in their operating regions. NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association's Executive Vice President, Mike Romano, said that as a result of the FCC’s new offers, NTCA members have more options to deliver on a mission of universal connectivity. Meanwhile, NCTA – The Internet & Televis

In comments filed with the Senate Working Group on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF), many organizations underscored the issue of redundant government expenditure in their submissions, with a notable focus on whether the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) should be integrated into the USF framework. The USF includes four programs targeting different vulnerable portions of the broadband market: the Connect America Fund, Lifeline, Schools and Libraries (E-Rate) and Rural Health Care.

An unsurprising theme at Fiber Connect 2023 was executives from the fiber industry dragging its cable counterpart. For example, AT&T Fiber’s EVP Chris Sambar said, “don’t ask cable about symmetrical speeds, they don’t even know what that means.”  Derek Kelly, Lumos’ VP of market development, went as far as to say that “fiber is always the answer,” and suggested cable alternatives will not stand the test of time. But with all this talk about fiber versus cable, is the rivalry being overplayed?

In 2023, American employers were anticipated to need an additional 500,000 positions across all construction industries on top of normal hiring levels.

Low take rates have broadband experts talking about how to pique subscriber interest in the high-speed internet capabilities now available across the US. Matt Collins, chief commercial officer at Calix, said that building higher speed tiers as many providers have been doing “is an incredible capex investment strategy," and "something we all have to do.” Although, in spite of providers racing against each other to provide the highest speed tiers on the market, he noted “subscribers don't understand

Experts at Fiber Connect convened to address the need for new approaches to fiber deployments in challenging environments.

As states prepare to roll out Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funding they will have to ensure that providers and local stakeholders are educated on the process of being approved to build with that money. Notably, the program’s letter of credit requirement will still be a must-have for those who want to work through BEAD, despite some pushback on that rule.

SiFi Networks will go live with the first neighborhood in its Placentia FiberCity Project where homes and businesses will gain access to the company’s all-fiber open access network. The project, which will cost around $35 million, is privately funded by SiFi Networks and will eventually provide access to some 20,000 locations in Placentia, California.

Officials from New Mexico and Minnesota are the latest to declare that federal and state funds currently available to them will not be enough to bring broadband to the underserved and unserved in their states. Bree Maki, the executive director of Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development, said the state’s Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) allotment of about $651.8 million is “very close to” what her office expected. “However, we have statutory goals that are different when we talk about what unserved is,” said Maki.

As state leaders forge proposals for Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, local stakeholders are imploring them not to forget about the role of community anchor institutions (CAI). CAIs are rooted entities such as hospitals, schools, universities, and government agencies that drive economic growth and social welfare in their communities. “If you're building out to those unserved homes, and there are anchor institutions, you might as well connect the anchors while you're there,” said John Windhausen, founder and executive director of the