telecompetitor

There is an official Google wireless Internet service provider today, thanks to the closing of the Webpass acquisition by Google. Webpass has ‘tens of thousands’ of wireless customers, primarily business, in five markets across the US. They use a point-to-point wireless technology, offering access of up to a gigabit in speed. They currently have 800 buildings on-net.

For now, Webpass will continue to operate as usual, as a Google Fiber subsidiary company. Over time, Google Fiber intends to integrate Webpass’ wireless solutions into a hybrid fiber-wireless approach for gigabit broadband delivery. “Of course, at Google Fiber we’re particularly excited about Webpass’ application of point-to-point wireless deployment methodology,” said Dennis Kish, president of Google Fiber. “As we’ve said, our strategy going forward will be a hybrid approach with wireless playing an integral part.”

Broadband carriers spend a lot of effort emphasizing broadband speed tiers with their marketing efforts. There is a never ending speed race, with carriers trying to outdo each other with their broadband speed tiers. Is there a better approach? One that focuses on experience versus speed and bills subscribers based on usage, not speed? This was an interesting approach discussed on the Usage Based Billing Strategy panel at NTCA’s Fall Conference.

Instead of emphasizing speed, why not emphasize a better broadband experience that delivers all the applications customers want, and base their monthly billing on their amount of broadband usage. It’s a bit of a paradigm shift that’s broader than just about shifting to a usage based billing strategy. Most current usage based billing programs still emphasize and lead with speed when marketing the service. Metered broadband or usage caps are an afterthought, oftentimes based on the speed tier selected. In this new approach, the thought is, don’t lead with speed at all. In fact, maybe offer all customers the most speed you can offer, without even emphasizing it.

Three US and one Australian city joined the US Ignite Smart Gigabit Communities Program, the federal public-private non-profit partnership announced Sept 26. Adelaide, Australia became Smart Gigabit Communities’ first international partner, joining Albuquerque (NM), Salisbury (NC), and Washington (DC). An initial set of 15 US communities joined in the launch of the Smart Gigabit Communities initiative in June with the goal of creating a network that encompasses gigabit networks and smart city technology. Each Smart Gigabit Community will develop two advanced technology solutions that include gigabit network or gigabit public services applications. Those will be shared with other participants.

The US ranked thirteenth in a new study of residential broadband costs by country.

The study was conducted by Internet and telecommunications market research specialist Point Topic. Researchers analyzed more than 5,000 fixed broadband tariff rate schedules spanning more than 300 operators in 94 countries. Using purchasing power parity (PPP) to adjust broadband subscription prices for differences in benchmark living costs across countries, Point Topic analyzed broadband prices and speeds for entry level, median and average price schedules for Internet services as of 2Q 2016. The U.S ranked 10th in entry-level, 41st in median and 44th in average broadband tariff rank.

News of five new municipal gigabit networks is a reminder that the recent municipal appeals court decision will have little or no impact in some states or for certain municipal network operators.

A recent decision by the Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals was bad news in states that had passed legislation limiting publicly-owned municipal broadband networks because it upheld the states’ authority to make such laws. Some pundits worried that the court ruling may slow down municipal broadband investment and launches, but specifics vary by state.

Five new municipal gigabit networks are now underway or operational in Colorado, Iowa, and Tennessee, according to an announcement from Calix, whose equipment will be used in all of the deployments:

1. A Rio Blanco County (CO) fiber network will use an open access model with multiple retail service providers. More rural areas will get service via a wireless solution.
2. Independence Light and Power, Telecommunications in Independence (IA) is upgrading an existing HFC network, which in addition to supporting voice, video and data services will also support managed Wi-Fi.
3. A Bellevue (IA) deployment will support high-speed broadband and video services.
4. In Osage (IA) Osage Municipal Utilities is replacing an HFC network with GPON to support high-speed broadband and voice.
5. Columbia Power and Water Systems in Columbia and Spring Hill (TN) is migrating from a DOCSIS network to a fiber network that will support triple-play services.

The appeals court decision likely upheld a Tennessee law saying municipal power companies could not expand beyond the territory they serve for power – something power company EPB wanted to do outside Chattanooga. But Columbia Power and Water Systems apparently is building in its municipal service footprint or may have been grandfathered in because of its legacy DOCSIS network.

T-Mobile Binge On mobile streaming service is proving to be very popular with early-adopter smartphone users. Effectively all (99%) who opted in to Strategy Analytics’ AppOptix USA market research platform said they were satisfied with the quality of videos delivered.

With Binge On, T-Mobile is aiming to find a market ¨sweet spot¨ that balances mobile device users’ ever growing demand for mobile data and budget consciousness. That’s something just about every company involved in the market space would like to achieve. Mobile video market revenues will rise to $25 billion by 2021, Strategy Analytics forecast in market research released in July. Advertising revenues will account for 2/3 of the total, according to the market research provider. Binge On users agree to limits on mobile video streaming quality in return for unmetered access.

The impact of the impending Federal Communications Commission business data services (BDS) decision could be critical for rural wireless carriers, argued Raul Katz, president of telecommunication policy consulting firm Telecom Advisory Services, LLC, at a Washington DC event. The BDS decision will impact carriers’ ability to provide sufficient network capacity and to deploy next-generation 5G wireless services, said Katz, who based his remarks on a Telecom Advisory Services study on the impact of rural wireless carrier backhaul costs on network investment.

The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to impose price controls on BDS providers in areas that the commission previously deemed to be competitive, but which BDS purchasers say are not competitive. BDS purchasers include business and government users of data services, including schools and libraries, as well as carriers and others. The FCC business data services decision could call for decreasing BDS pricing in markets where costs have increased since the markets were deregulated. Backhaul costs will become even more critical for 5G, which will use high-frequency spectrum that can support higher bandwidth but less range in comparison with today’s technology. In surveying rural wireless carriers for the Telecom Advisory Services study, Katz noted that “every carrier said 5G is nowhere near our short-term or long-term plans because backhaul is so expensive."

Urban areas with high densities of young, heavy network users continue to pose challenges for wireless services providers, according to the second semi-annual installment of the JD Power 2016 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study. Released Aug 25, the results indicate wireless carriers need to continue investing in urban infrastructure as the use of 4G LTE smartphones grows and customers expect faster network speed. JD Power’s semi-annual studies assess wireless network quality performance along 10 problem areas, including dropped calls, unconnected calls, audio issues, and failed/late voicemails.

Results are measured in problems per 100 (PP100) connections with higher scores translating into higher quality, fewer problems and better performance. Urban residents experience the greatest number of network problems overall, according to JD Power’s study – 15 PP100 as compared to 12 PP100 on average for rural residents and 10 PP100 for those living in suburban areas. That extends across all 10 wireless network problem criteria.

Forty-two mayors and city leaders have sent letters of support to Chattanooga (TN) Mayor Andy Berke and Wilson (NC) Mayor Bruce Rose, who are advocating to overturn an anti-municipal broadband decision made by the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision put a halt to an Federal Communications Commission ruling that would have preempted recently enacted legislation in NC and Tennessee that prohibits municipalities from creating publicly owned and operated broadband networks.

The mayors are members of the Next Century Cities association of public and private sector organizations, whose primary aims include providing affordable broadband access in cities and towns throughout the US. “As mayors and municipal leaders, we know that there is no single best solution for supporting connectivity in our communities,” they state in the letter. “While our paths vary, we are united by our commitment to competition and the right of self-determination for all our communities, free from interference."

An Federal Communications Commission order denies petitions from three entities that were provisionally awarded funding in the FCC Rural Broadband Experiment program because the awardees were unable to obtain satisfactory letters of credit — a decision that does not bode well for other provisional awardees that have experienced difficulties obtaining letters of credit meeting the FCC’s strict requirements. T

he Rural Broadband Experiments program had a one-time budget of $100 million to cover some of the costs of bringing broadband to rural areas where broadband is not available today or is available only at low speeds. The program was crafted to gain information to help the FCC establish rules for the Connect America Fund reverse auction, which will award a considerably larger amount of funding to help cover the cost of bringing broadband to more unserved areas.