Julia King

Colorado secured a whopping $826 million in funding from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which according to state lawmakers will help connect over 99% of Coloradan homes by the start of 2027. The collaboration of federal agencies, namely the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission, along with Colorado’s local stakeholders, served as a model for “how work gets done,” said Brandy Reitter, the Executive Director of the Colorado broadband office. As of now there are around 190,000 Colorado ho

Broadband experts are condemning an amendment to Ohio’s latest budget bill that restricts fixed wireless access (FWA) grants with claims that it could curb the state’s efforts to bridge the digital divide. Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) signed the bill without vetoing the amendment which means FWA grants from the state will now only be considered in “extremely high-cost” areas of Ohio. Mike Wendy of the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association (WISPA) said Ohio State Senator Rob McColley (R-OH) proposed the amendment to the budget bill, “ostensibly grounded in his belief that only fiber

Now that Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program allocations have been announced, each state has 180 days to submit initial proposals describing how they plan to run their grant programs. Initial proposals can be submitted beginning July 1, 2023. Once the National Telecommunications and Information Administration approves a state’s initial proposal, that state will be able to request access to 20% of its BEAD allotment. But as states pull together plans for the NTIA, there is still apprehension surrounding the extensive broadband buildouts needed across the country.

The Federal Communications Commission is once more facing pressure to go back on its decision allowing Ligado to deploy a 5G network using L-Band spectrum in the US, after rival satellite company Iridium filed a complaint in June 2023.

In a surprising move AT&T has mandated that 60,000 managers return to work in person to one of nine of the company’s offices, despite many employees living far away from any of those locations. While the company said restructuring will help cost savings and “increase collaboration,” it has ignited outrage among employees who see it as a disguised staff reduction effort. AT&T CEO John Stankey estimated that around 15% (9,000) of the affected managers will have to choose between relocating or leaving the company.

Windstream will walk away from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy for good following a decision from the Federal Communications Commission to waive a rule that prohibits US telecommunications carriers from having more than 25% ownership by foreign companies. The FCC waiver is the final stamp of approval for Windstream’s plan of reorganization, for which the Bankruptcy Court gave the go-ahead in June 2020.

As an aging workforce and a lack of interest among young people threaten to derail nationwide broadband buildout plans, the industry’s stakeholders must come together to tackle what has become a massive fiber workforce shortage, said Deborah Kish, VP of workforce development at the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA). The Government Accountability Office estimated that around 34,000 workers might be needed in 2023 to support the government’s broadband expansion programs, depending on unpredictable project timelines. And the workforce sh

The most rural parts of Mississippi are home to expansive agricultural lands with low residential density and until recent years, little incentive for broadband providers to build broadband infrastructure. Homes in the Mississippi Delta—the state’s most untenanted area—have typically used satellite service to make do, according to Sally Doty, a former state senator who was appointed as Director of the new Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) office in 2022. As the federal government’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding nears deployment, the BEAM of

Viasat will likely be able to move forward with its acquisition of Inmarsat after the Federal Communications Commission signed off on the deal. The transaction was first agreed upon by California-based Viasat and London-based Inmarsat more than 18 months ago, but has been deferred by review processes in both the U.S. and U.K.

The federal government has been trumpeting its efforts to expand access to high-speed internet service for underserved areas across the US, namely through $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding. But in BEAD’s shadow stands another obstacle to closing the digital divide: a massive shortage of fiber technicians. Flume Internet CEO Prashanth Vijay put a salient reason for that shortage simply enough. “There's just not much enthusiasm to go and like… dig a trench,” he told Fierce Telecom.