Reporting

When Aaron Wheeler, Washington state broadband office director joined the office, he inherited a process and plans put in place by retiring broadband director Mark Vasconi, and he’s not about to slow the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) process down. While some states are more deliberate and trying to slow down the process of Volume 2 approval to delay the 365-day “shot clock” kicking in, Wheeler explain

Minnesota eliminated two laws that made it harder for cities and towns to build their own broadband networks. The state-imposed restrictions were repealed in an omnibus commerce policy bill signed on May 21 by Gov Tim Walz (D-MN). Minnesota was previously one of about 20 states that imposed significant restrictions on municipal broadband.

Judging by the online comments, T-Mobile’s price increase didn’t go over well. That’s putting it mildly—and it’s also no surprise. People generally don’t like to be told their monthly bills are increasing. But in T-Mobile’s case, customers are seething because T-Mobile is raising prices on plans that were offered with “guarantees” they wouldn’t go up, such as T-Mobile One plans. A T-Mobile spokesperson said customers who have Price Lock are still covered under that guarantee.

There are several reasons why a telephone company with legacy copper cables might want to extract those cables. First, copper is valuable. It’s currently priced at an all-time high of more than $5 per pound. And who doesn’t love found money? Secondly, some carriers, such as AT&T, are trying to convert large swathes of their copper plant to fiber.

United Communications snagged a cool $7.98 million through Tennessee's Middle Mile Buildout program. The local provider will use that money to lay down 267 miles of fiber to rural communities across 10 counties.

Some fixed wireless providers are deploying fiber broadband in some areas, as illustrated by Rise Broadband. The company has made fiber broadband available to 60,000 residences and businesses in south Texas and 5,000 in Illinois. Rise Broadband said that its fiber Internet services are available to 25 communities in Texas.

Town by town, Vermont is getting connected thanks to communication union districts (CUDs) rolling out fiber cable. The Vermont Community Broadband Board says the work of the CUDs is moving the needle, with the vast majority of Vermonters getting access to fiber connection, something they say is a change from a year-and-a-half ago. Davis Brakeley calls his experience of trying to surf the web just over a year ago “the dark ages.” Brakeley is on the board of trustees of the Shard Villa Residential Care Home in Salisbury.

As May nears its final days, so does the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP, which entered a partial payment period at the start of the month, will officially end on May 31, unless Congress decides to save it. While there are myriad efforts underway to compromise on a path forward, saving the program is still seen as unlikely.

The outlook for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) remains terminal, with none of the multiple late-hour efforts in Congress intended to replenish funding for the depleted program appearing close to achieving that goal. The cancellation of the ACP, which comes at a time when the US broadband industry is already bleeding customers, with Comcast Cable president and CEO Dave Watson telling investors to expect increased customer attrition in the second and third quarters. On a consumer level, the ACP’s sunset could leave more than 23 million U.S.

Broadband infrastructure may be the latest public utility connecting homes and businesses, but it’s also foundational to the emergence of “smart roads” and autonomous vehicles (AVs). Much of the discussion around broadband expansion has been focused, appropriately, on connecting large swaths of the nation with no Internet or less-than-stellar infrastructure.