Broadband Communities

Real estate is complicated. Broadband is complicated. Together, they’re very complicated. The Federal Communications Commission recently launched a new proceeding to refresh the record on broadband competition and access in the multifamily and commercial real estate sectors. It sought similar information in 2017 and 2019.

Telephone companies (telcos) may still be trailing cable operators in the broadband race, but their continuous fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) builds could help narrow the subscriber divide. As more customers want higher speeds, this group is moving to deploy fiber to the home (FTTH) across select markets as their traditional DSL and POTS voice base dwindles. This is being driven on two sides: Tier-1 telcos and Tier-2 telcos. The big three--AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen—are Tier-1 telcos that are all seeing growth in fiber-based broadband.

In a franchise model, regional service providers purchase brand rights from more prominent providers. A local carrier, for instance, could become a franchise site for, say, Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, or strong regional operators – even operators from other states. MDU networks and regional partnerships of all kinds could sell national branded broadband. Consumers and all parties gain significant financial advantages, but there are financial pitfalls and regulatory issues. But benefits often outweigh everything else. New federal grant money could accelerate the process.

In community broadband, libraries are considered “anchor institutions.” Like anchor tenants in a mall, libraries and other institutions, such as schools, hospitals and assisted living facilities, all contribute to the financial stability of broadband networks. Libraries drive large numbers of people onto networks. Now they can drive thousands to telehealth through those networks. Libraries are realizing that they can be in the vanguard of transforming health care delivery in urban and rural areas.

Just as nations were beginning to invest significant capital in broadband infrastructure developments, COVID-19 crippled the Caribbean. The pandemic highlighted the need for critical infrastructure and connectivity around the globe, but especially for island nations. The effort to provide adequate broadband gained some traction in 2021 as some Caribbean nations restarted economic development plans that include telecommunications infrastructure rollouts from years before 2020. In these plans, fixed broadband leads growth, mostly supported by the expansion of fiber optic networks.

The race to close the digital divide requires lots of workers to get the job done sooner rather than later. Many positions in fiber network construction require a particular skill set for workers to be job-ready and minimize mistakes. The skills are specific and often learned through some form of on-the-job training, of which there are currently a few.