Press Release

AT&T's core wireless business overshot its expectations during the third quarter of 2022, driving higher revenue and profits despite lingering worries about inflation. The company added 708,000 postpaid phone connections, a metric that investors use to measure the strength of a cellphone carrier’s main profit center. For the third consecutive quarter, the tally handily topped projections of Wall Street analysts, who had been expecting 552,300 connections in the third quarter.

The Federal Communications Commission is committing nearly $78 million in funding rounds through the Emergency Connectivity Program (ECP), which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.

The Washington State Public Works Board (PWB) is seeking public participation to help identify and prioritize issues that stakeholders believe should be addressed in the Board’s broadband funding program as a result of changes made to the program by the 2022 State Legislature. Input from two public workshops in November and a public hearing session in December will also help guide implementation.

Fixed and wireless broadband customers cited price as the number one reason they would switch service providers in a new J.D. Power study. The report analyzes consumer sentiment and operator achievement across five categories: performance and reliability, cost of service, billing and payment, communications and promotions, and customer care. Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power, said the first two categories alone account for nearly 60% of an operator’s score. "So obviously keeping the lights on is job number one. It’s got to work, it’s got to work all the time.

Applications are open for the Main Connectivity Authority's "Connect the Ready Program." The competitive grants program will allocate $70 million to public & private partners such as governmental entities, broadband utility districts, and internet service providers (ISP). This initiative will support partners’ efforts to proactively and collaboratively design, fund, and build broadband infrastructure projects in eligible areas.

Frontier is launching its first-ever social impact program, Broadband for Good. The new program will use Frontier’s fiber technology to advance digital inclusion and strengthen the communities it serves.  Frontier is Building Gigabit America, the digital infrastructure that enables high-speed, reliable connectivity.

Total worldwide telecoms revenues from mobile and fixed broadband services will grow 14% between 2022 and 2027 to reach €1.2 trillion ($1.18 trillion). However monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) combined across both mobile and fixed broadband will fall by 4.2% from €7.48 ($7.36) in 2022 to €7.16 ($7.05) in 2027. In mobile markets, it is now evident that 5G will not be sufficient to offset ARPU decline as customers are unwilling to pay more for it.

Comcast is boosting internet speeds for more than 20 million of its Xfinity broadband customers, doubling the download rate on one of its lower tier plans and increasing the speed by 33% on two others. All told, it is bumping up speeds on five service tiers across its territories. Users on Comcast’s Performance/Connect More plan (the name varies by region) will see the biggest jump, with their download rate doubling from 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps. Speeds on the base Performance Starter/Connect plan are getting a 50% increase from 50 Mbps to 75 Mbps.

Illinois Bell Telephone Company, which does business as AT&T Illinois, agreed to pay $23 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into alleged misconduct involving the company’s efforts to unlawfully influence former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan.

On the heels of Gov Gavin Newsom (D-CA)’s $6.5 billion investment to expand broadband infrastructure and enhance internet access for unserved and underserved communities, the Governor announces construction began in rural San Diego County (CA) on the first leg of the 10,000-mile broadband network aimed at bringing high-speed internet services to all Californians. Construction began October 13 on State Route 67 near Poway in San Diego County.