Linda Hardesty

Alan Davidson, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, talked about the agency’s plan to advance open Radio Access Networks (open RAN).

Congress is again kicking the can down the road on several issues important to the US telecommunications industry. A 4,155-page omnibus spending package bill that Congress unveiled is expected to pass in order to keep the government operating. But Congress punted on a long-term extension of the Federal Communications Commission’s auction authority, covering the shortfall for rip and replace funding, and consideration of more mid-band spectrum for wireless use. One tiny blurb of the bill was devoted to the FCC’s

A group of vendors has been working on a CBRS private wireless network for a school in an underprivileged area of Sacramento, California, for a couple of years. And as a result of their trial, the Sacramento City Council recently approved $1.4 million in funding to create a permanent private 5G network for the school and two public housing communities in the city. The vendors involved in the project include Athonet, Federated Wireless, Intel, JMA Wireless, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Megh Computing, and Future Technologies Venture.

DigitalBridge is an investment company, whose US assets include about 368,000 miles of fiber, about 250,000 macro cell sites and about 48,000 small cells. Globally, it owns nearly 450 data centers. It owns 29 companies around the world with a total of about 29,000 employees. CEO Marc Ganzi recently commented on the telecommunications labor shortage. “Our biggest problem, I can't get people back to work,” Ganzi said. “I can't get people to micro-trench ditches. I can't get people to climb poles. I can't get people to build cell towers fast enough. We have a massive labor shortage issue.

The satellite companies Eutelsat and OneWeb are pushing the benefits of a proposed merger whereby the shareholders of each company would hold 50% of the Eutelsat shares. They say that combined they could focus on the broadband satellite connectivity market by offering the first global combined geostationary orbit (GEO) and low-earth orbit (LEO) infrastructure. If the merger between OneWeb and Eutelsat is allowed, the companies say they will begin working together on the design of OneWeb’s Gen 2 LEO constellation. Eutelsat and OneWeb say they have a clear roadmap for the integration of their

A new report entitled “U.S. Cable: What is Embedded in Valuations?” is optimistic about cable’s broadband prospects. Analysts at MoffettNathanson say they believe the market is undervaluing cable’s growth prospects. Moffett's analysis shows a big part of the stock drop can be traced to the current cost of capital, which is something that can change in the future and doesn’t go to the underlying prospects for cable’s broadband business.

Verizon’s Chief Operating Officer for the Consumer Group Krista Bourne confirmed that the carrier is trialing a new “concierge” service that will cost customers $30 or $35 to receive assistance when setting up their new phones or other devices. Verizon customers have different levels of comfort with setting up their devices. Some are happy to do everything themselves, others need a minimal amount of assistance, and still others require a lot of help.

NTT is building a private wireless network for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada. The new 5G network will be the most extensive private wireless network in the US. The City of Las Vegas intends for the network to serve as an open platform available to local businesses, government, and educational institutions. Shahid Ahmed, Group EVP of New Ventures and Innovation at NTT, said the network is currently in the testing stages and will be launched “in the next few weeks.” He specified that it’s not a direct-to-consumer service.

Omnispace, based in Tysons, Virginia, wants to be the first company to deliver a global 5G non-terrestrial network with connectivity directly to mobile devices from its low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The company believes the future of communications is hybrid — where satellites extend and augment terrestrial mobile networks.

The Federal Communications Commission will soon issue a report to Congress on the options for the troubled Universal Service Fund (USF). When it issued a Notice of Inquiry in December 2021, the FCC asked for input because the cost to consumers who support the USF has been increasing.