Linda Hardesty

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from broadband network operators to operate, manage, market, maintain and extend the current approximately 1,100 mile MassBroadband 123 Network. The MassTech Network is a state-owned, open-access, carrier-grade, middle-mile telecommunications network that became operational in early 2014. The network consists of 952 miles of constructed fiber, 192 miles of leased fiber, and strand counts on the backbone that vary between 72 and 288 strands.

The private investment company WCO Spectrum has been a thorn in the side of T-Mobile for the past year or more. WCO has been reaching out to educational institutions that own 2.5 GHz licenses and who lease that spectrum to T-Mobile. The investment firm has been offering to purchase those licenses, while T-Mobile has fought these transactions tooth and nail. WCO Managing Partner Carl Katerndahl said WCO has been involved in 13 transactions, but T-Mobile used its right-of-first-refusal to buy the spectrum in 10 of the deals.

On February 23, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a Notice of Inquiry related to digital redlining and how to prevent it in the future. Digital redlining is a practice in which some service providers have historically avoided providing broadband connections to certain areas, resulting in digital discrimination of some races and economic classes. Many large wireline providers have already filed comments with the FCC, including Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies.

Telecommunications companies have surprisingly strong opinions about pole attachments. Several groups filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission advocating for a more streamlined process related to pole attachments. But AT&T and Verizon, to the contrary, filed comments indicating they don’t want any changes. The FCC is interested in clarifying the process and costs for those seeking to attach telecommunications equipment to utility poles. It issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) in March and has since been seeking stakeholder comments.

All the buzz at the 2022 Fiber Connect conference is due to the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which has allocated $45 billion for broadband deployments. And the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently unveiled the rules that will apply to the funding, expressing a preference for fiber broadband. Members of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and the fiber community in general are living in high-times.

MoffetNathanson's Craig Moffet asked Charter CEO Tom Rutledge if cable operators will inevitably have to spend big bucks on fiber deployments to stay competitive in the broadband business. Rutledge said, “We have a lot of fiber in our network, and it’s really a question of where do you end the fiber, and what technology do you use to maximize the connectivity with the end device?” He noted that even a fiber feed directly to a house doesn’t deliver fiber to a device. What delivers connectivity to a device is actually Wi-Fi in most cases.

It’s long been a saying in telecommunications that “all wireless networks end in a wire.” But Charter CEO Tom Rutledge recently emphasized that point. Both Charter and Comcast have been making good headway with their mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) businesses, seeing substantial subscribers adds in recent quarters. And the CEOs of both companies have consistently said that they see their MVNO businesses as a way to offer more choice for their broadband customers. But perhaps their mindset is starting to evolve a bit, where they’re seeing real profit possibilities in wireless.

AST SpaceMobile has been granted an experimental license from the Federal Communications Commission to conduct US-based testing of its BlueWalker 3 satellite. The company launched its first satellite in March 2019, and it plans to launch its second satellite, BlueWalker 3, summer 2022. AST Space Mobile, based in Midland (TX), plans to build the first space-based cellular broadband network designed to be accessible directly by standard mobile phones.

The biggest story in tech this week is without a doubt Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion and to take the company private. And while that deal doesn’t touch directly on wireless or wired telecom networks, there are some connections related to the Federal Communications Commission, spectrum and telecom policy. First, no one is suggesting that the deal won’t happen. New Street Research policy analyst Blair Levin said there aren’t any big antitrust issues. It would be different if a social media competitor, such as Meta, were trying to buy Twitter.

T-Mobile leases much of its 2.5 GHz spectrum from educational institutions around the country. And the carrier has made great efforts to keep the terms of these Educational Broadband Service (EBS) leases private. For instance, it is engaged in a dispute with Christian College of Georgia and demands that the college not reveal the terms of its lease.