telecompetitor

Broadband fixed wireless economics are considerably better than those for fiber-to-the-home, said Claude Aiken, president and CEO of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) in written testimony presented to the House  Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Aiken urged subcommittee members to support spectrum policy favorable to WISPs. He argued that by spurring investment in broadband fixed wireless, a WISP-friendly spectrum policy could help minimize the need for government subsidies to support broadband buildout.

The cost to deploy fiber to unserved US rural areas is about $61 billion, said Jim Stegeman, president of CostQuest Associates, an economic consultancy that specializes in telecommunication. CostQuest created the cost model used to determine broadband deployment costs for the Connect America Fund (CAF) subsidy program. The $61 billion estimated cost to deploy fiber to unserved U.S. rural areas is based on deploying GPON fiber-to-the-premises technology and does not include ongoing operational costs. Stegeman is the co-author, along with Steve G.

The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), the Computer & Communications Industry Association,  ITTA – The Voice of America’s Broadband Providers (ITTA), and NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) have filed joint reply comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in opposition of the Commission’s proposed rule to prohibit the use of money distributed from the Universal Service Fund (USF) to purchase or obtain equipment or services from any providers identified as posing a national security risk to communications networks or the communications supply chain.

Charter unveiled Spectrum Mobile, the cable company's mobile wireless service. The new Wi-Fi first mobile service looks to be closely following the Xfinity Mobile model, which was also expected. Spectrum Mobile offers two plans: an unlimited data option for $45/month, or a by-the-gig approach for $14 per gigabyte (GB) of data, per month. Spectrum mobile matches Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile pricing for unlimited, but does charge $2 more per gig than Xfinity’s $12 per gig model, at $14 per GB.