Linda Hardesty

It looks like Elon Musk’s Starlink service is going to get a big boost from the U.S. government. States will be able to award more Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds to satellite-internet providers like Starlink, as well as to more fixed wireless access (FWA) providers, rather than mainly to companies that lay fiber-optic cables. Personally, I think it will be a shame to squander this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach as many homes as possible with fiber via the $42.5 billion in BEAD funds.

The broadband construction firm Trueline Infrastructure Solutions was supposed to bring competition to the market, but instead the company has gone out of business. Trueline sent an email to its approximately 300 employees, terminating their employment immediately. The email said, “As many of you are aware, Trueline has been facing unprecedented changes in the market, compounded by increasing competitive pressures.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is recommending that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration make public all past waivers issued regarding the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

As Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick will have powers over many commerce-related areas, and he may play a role in the big issue of tariffs. But of most interest to the broadband community, he would be the boss of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The Senate Commerce Committee held Lutnick’s confirmation hearing on January 29, where Senators were able to question the nominee. Some Senators—from both parties—expressed concerns about any dramatic changes to BEAD.

Utopia Fiber has been building open access fiber networks before hardly anyone in the U.S. knew what that was. Now, open access is gaining prominence, thanks to big players like AT&T getting in on the action. But Roger Timmerman, executive director and CEO of Utopia Fiber, said he doesn’t consider AT&T’s Gigapower joint venture with BlackRock to be a true open access network—at least not yet. Timmerman argued that in his opinion AT&T isn’t really doing open access because it’s the only tenant on the Gigapower network.

Technical debt is akin to a very messy house—perhaps even a hoarder’s house—where someone other than the hoarder needs to take charge and clean things up.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Federal Communication Commission’s attempt to reinstate net neutrality. The decision puts perhaps the final nail in the coffin for open internet regulation.

The U.S. fiber industry set another record in 2024, marketing fiber to 10.3 million new homes, up from 9.1 million new homes marketed to in 2023, according to data compiled by Michael Render, CEO and principal analyst at RVA LLC. The 10.3 million new homes marketed (as well as the 9.1 million homes from last year) also includes 2nd passings to some homes. In 2024, 8.4 million homes were passed and marketed with fiber for the first time. Fiber broadband is now marketed to 76.5 million U.S.

Nearly 30 state broadband officers attended the recent Fierce Network Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, D.C., where they outlined some of their top concerns related to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Some of their top issues include when they will disburse funds for broadband projects, who will bid for BEAD monies, what types of technologies they’ll use to deliver broadband to unserved locations and how they’ll set the high-cost thresholds in their states. State broadband officers also talked about the cost and availability of middle-mile networks.

Windstream Wholesale is building a fiber spur to one of Hurricane Electric’s data centers in the San Francisco Bay area, a primary location in Hurricane Electric’s global service provider and co-location network. In terms of the general landscape for long-haul fiber, John Nishimoto, senior VP of Product and Marketing said there’s good demand for both lit fiber and dark fiber. Windstream is definitely seeing demand for lit fiber, such as the deal with Hurricane Electric, he said.