Ars Technica

AT&T and Frontier have let their copper phone networks deteriorate through neglect since 2010, resulting in poor service quality and many lengthy outages, a report commissioned by the California state government found. Customers in low-income areas and areas without substantial competition have fared the worst, the report found. AT&T in particular was found to have neglected low-income communities and to have imposed severe price increases adding up to 152.6 percent over a decade.

Comcast is delaying a plan to enforce its 1.2TB data cap and overage fees in the Northeast US until 2022 after pressure from customers and lawmakers in multiple states. Comcast has enforced the data cap in 27 of the 39 states in which it operates since 2016, but not in the Northeast states where Comcast faces competition from Verizon's un-capped FiOS fiber-to-the-home service. In Nov 2020, Comcast announced it would bring the cap to the other 12 states and DC starting in Jan 2021.

House Republicans have unveiled their plan for "boosting" broadband connectivity and competition, and one of the key planks is prohibiting states and cities from building their own networks. Rep Billy Long (R-MO) is the lead sponsor. The bill "would promote competition by limiting government-run broadband networks throughout the country and encouraging private investment," without explaining how limiting the number of broadband networks would increase competition.

Cox's "Ultimate" Internet plan with 300Mbps download and 30Mbps upload speeds was changed to a 500Mbps download, 10Mbps upload package early in 2020. At first, Cox let customers on the 300Mbps/30Mbps version keep it, without any nudges to change their plans or upgrade their modems. But that changed with the email Cox sent to other customers recently. Cox said customers can keep their 30Mbps upload speeds if they upgrade to a newer modem.

No one would deny that Internet access has dramatically improved across much of Cuba in the last decade. But everyday Cubans without regular access to reliable Internet still struggle. The 1,095 public Wi-Fi hotspots across Cuba serve as a vital resource to connect the largest island in the Caribbean with the rest of the world. Of the various ways Cubans connect to the Internet, Wi-Fi hotspots continue to be the most popular method. It is worth noting, however, the number of Cubans who must rely on public Wi-Fi hotspots as their primary (or singular) option is dwindling.

Add the Fiber Broadband Association and NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association to the list of entities that don't think Starlink will be able to live up to its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund awards to deploy broadband in unserved rural areas across the US.