Light Reading
Charter can keep downstream speed claim, ad watchdog rules
Charter Communications came out on top in the latest advertising claim challenge lodged by AT&T. In its response to a challenge plaint from AT&T, the National Advertising Division (NAD) announced that Charter substantiated its "most consistent download speeds" claim for its Spectrum-branded broadband service. AT&T used an expedited challenge process, dubbed Fast-Track SWIFT, to bring this "single-issue" ad case to the NAD.
NTIA Promises More BEAD Guidance
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is still working to provide additional guidance on the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is expected to kick off in earnest when the NTIA issues funding allocations for each state and territory on June 30. Among the unresolved questions include what flexibility there will be around the "Buy America" requirement on the BEAD program, which the NTIA recently recommitted to after President Joe Biden raised the topic in his State of the Union speech. Other remaining concerns amongst service provide
Fixing ACP's funding gap 'biggest issue' on 2023 horizon, says ACA Connects CEO Spellmeyer
The math suggests that Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding will be depleted sometime in early 2024. That means the clock is ticking for the US government to move the needle in the coming months. "I think the biggest issue for the second half of this year is how that gets resolved," said Grant Spellmeyer, CEO of ACA Connects. He said the clock is running out when governors will be lavishing more attention on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. But few have their eye on the ball. "The silence [about the ACP funding issue] has been notable," he said.
Comcast ad campaign takes aim at T-Mobile fixed wireless access
Comcast recently launched a TV ad and erected a dedicated website that takes aim at the capabilities and features of T-Mobile's 5G-powered home broadband service, charging that they come up short when compared to what's delivered via Comcast's wired broadband services. In what's expected to be the first in a series of ads either targeting T-Mobile's service or perhaps the broader fixed wireless access (FWA) sector, Comcast's tongue-in-cheek "Vampires" ad features a family of four in a therapist's office lamenting the performance of T-Mobile's offering.
Airlines start asking for permanent changes to C-band 5G
The airline industry has begun petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to make permanent changes to the operation of some 5G networks around airports. At the heart of the issue are 5G transmissions near airports in the C-band spectrum.
Louisiana rejects Sparklight protest of Conexon's broadband grant
Louisiana officials have rejected a protest from Cable One's Sparklight which aimed to stop the state from awarding a $4 million grant to Conexon to build fiber broadband to 851 locations in East Carroll Parish (LA). Conexon was one of several service providers to receive broadband infrastructure grants through Louisiana's Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities (GUMBO) program as part of a $130 million funding round.
Rural ISPs struggling to meet FCC mapping deadline
Small broadband providers in the rural US are scrambling to meet a September 1 deadline to submit coverage data to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or risk being locked out of the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program (BEAD). FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel opened the agency's broadband data collection portal on June 30. The data requested will inform the first draft of a new federal broadband coverage map, which states will then have the opportunity to challenge with their own data.
New York is leveraging state-owned fiber for first 'ConnectAll' build
Rural residents in upstate New York will soon benefit from a municipal open access fiber network, courtesy of the state's new $1 billion ConnectAll grant program and many years of advanced planning by local county officials. Back in May 2022, New York Gov Kathy Hochul (D-NY)'s office announced a $10 million pilot project as the first to be funded through ConnectAll. The initial pilot would target fiber builds in the village of Sherburne in Chenango County, the town of Nichols in Tioga County, the town of Diana in Lewis County and the town of Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County (NY).
Mergers and acquisitions strike fixed wireless landscape amid advances by Verizon and T-Mobile
Verizon and T-Mobile have been headlining the fixed wireless access (FWA) market in the US, signing up hundreds of thousands of new customers to their respective offerings in recent months. But all that action by the market's heavyweights has been obscuring a significant amount of upheaval among some of the sector's smaller FWA providers. For example, Cincinnati Bell (now doing business as altafiber) recently acquired Agile Network Builders, a fixed wireless network operator that was a subsidiary of American Tower.