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Though the challenge process for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is intended to create more accurate broadband maps, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) warns that the opposite may happen. If, during the challenge process, a local broadband provider promises they can provide speeds and services in a particular community—but are overstating their abilities or simply making false claims—the resulting broadband coverage maps will be less accurate.

In a deal between two providers focused on multifamily broadband, Smartaira has acquired Florida-based Lux Speed Inc. Smartaira provides multi-gigabit, symmetrical service via both fiber internet and managed Wi-Fi. It markets to homeowner-association, condo-association and multi-tenant rental properties in 26 states. The company said that the acquisition is its fourth since 2021 and that it will strengthen its operations in the southeast. 

The latest broadband public-private partnership comes from Ziply, which will bring fiber broadband at speeds up to 50Gbps symmetrically to Camaro Island, Washington. The deployment will require an investment of almost half a million dollars, some of which will come from Ziply and some of which will come from Island County.

Windstream is offering free upgrades to its Kinetic fiber broadband service to 33,000 customers currently served by slower speed DSL infrastructure. The company is calling the initiative “Project Glass Echo.” Eligible DSL customers can get speeds of 300Mbps at no extra charge on their monthly bills, regardless of what speed they were previously receiving, said Ben Midanek, Windstream’s chief marketing officer for Kinetic. There are eligible customers throughout Windstream’s 18-state footprint.

Wisconsin broadband director Alyssa Kenney acknowledges that leading a state broadband office might not be for everyone. But she described the job as exactly what she is looking for because it’s “challenging, exciting and feeds my need to be constantly learning.

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association advises stakeholders to heed four recommendations regarding the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding program. NTCA’s first recommendation applies to providers that don’t plan to apply for BEAD funding, as well as those who plan to do so. Noting that most states are just beginning the BEAD challenge process, NTCA said the challenge process is critical to determining areas eligible for funding.

Two incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) in Virginia—Amelia Telephone Corporation and New Castle Telephone Company—will be the property of RiverStreet Management Services LLC under an agreement signed on May 31 with TDS Telecom, current owner of the ILECs. The deal is based on a stock purchase agreement with RiverStreet.

For years, the federal government has avoided any attempt to resolve a long-standing problem: how to sustain funding for the Universal Service program. But perhaps that could change now that the lack of funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has gained substantial mindshare with the American public. Some stakeholders believe both problems can be solved by funding the ACP through the Universal Service Fund (USF) and expanding the types of entities that are required to pay to support the program.