Light Reading

As we close out 2024, one question hanging over next year is what will come of federal broadband funding for high-cost and low-income programs?

The US cable industry has gone through fits and starts trying to add mobile to the service bundle over the years. But cable has finally hit the mark by focusing on bundling home broadband and mobile and creating an early form of convergence that cable's key competitors, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, are now trying to emulate with fiber network buildouts alongside a wave of fiber-focused mergers.

The fiber broadband market is likely headed for more consolidation in the coming year, according to research from consulting firm AlixPartners. In a survey conducted in August 2024, AlixPartners found there are over 400 small fiber providers that are likely to merge or be acquired by larger providers and private equity firms.

With a new Trump administration entering power in late January, the regulatory wheels are already in motion and work is underway to prepare for big changes likely to arrive in 2025. ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer generally believes that the new administration will be good for ACA Connects' membership.

AT&T's framework to retire the bulk of its copper network faces static from some groups and the state of California. But the operator's development of an alternative POTS (plain old telephone service), and an increasingly favorable regulatory environment bode well for its plan, says a top policy analyst. "Considering changing circumstances, we believe [AT&T's] copper retirement goals are realistic," New Street Research analyst Blair Levin explained in a recent research note.

According to data from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), there are now more than 400 public broadband networks in the US, serving over 700 communities. Moreover, several (but not all) communities have prevailed in recent years at changing existing state laws preventing the launch of public broadband networks, including most recently Colorado and Minnesota.

Charter Communications is "not standing still" as it explores new ways to compete with fixed wireless access (FWA), says CEO Chris Winfrey. But Charter's top executive also stressed that the cable industry still needs to do more to demonstrate how it matches up on price, reliability and performance. He said the relatively low price of FWA services is often combined with a bundle that includes a high-priced mobile service.

AT&T has been laying the groundwork for the decommissioning of its extensive copper network.