telecompetitor

Comcast said it would comply with recommendations from BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) about its business Internet service ads. The challenge, brought by AT&T, related to the claim that “Comcast Business Internet has speeds up to 12x faster than Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.” The claim was made on television and radio ads, and in direct mail. NAD made two recommendations.

When it comes to connectivity, Connecticut (pun intended) is in the enviable situation of having 99 percent of its locations already powered by broadband. But statewide usage statistics—from the American Community Survey and providers’ adoption data—showed that only about 87 percent of its locations actually subscribe to internet.

Charter Communications, SpaceX’s Starlink, and Verizon announced how they are providing free internet and wireless phone communications—and financial and other resources—to residents in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. Charter announced that last week it had opened close to 90,000 Spectrum out-of-home Wi-Fi access points in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and bordering areas.

The best approach to the future of W-Fi is better use of existing spectrum, not adding more unlicensed spectrum, according to Richard Bennett, a network engineer who contributed to the original Wi-Fi specification, 802.11n, and ultra-wideband standards. Bennett’s study, “Lessons from the History of Wi-Fi,” found that larger channels offer only “incremental improvements only at very close range”. Newer versions of Wi-Fi using existing unlicensed spectrum near the router are capable of avoiding bottlenecks in the home.

Heartland Forward is launching an initiative to expand telehealth access in Arkansas and Oklahoma by teaching librarians how to prepare community members for a telehealth visit.

The Adaptive Network Planner—announced by Federated Wireless—aims to help fixed wireless access (FWA) and private networks efficiently and effectively leverage Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects. Federated Wireless says that the CBRS is better suited for BEAD deployments than 5 GHz, 6 GHz or satellite approaches. However, its use requires advanced dynamic planning and related capabilities.

In a nation where some states didn’t have broadband offices until a year or so ago, North Carolina and the state’s director of broadband infrastructure, Angela “Angie” Bailey, are relative broadband veterans. The state has been involved in broadband for 20 years and Bailey has been the broadband director since 2021—a heritage that should benefit the state as the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program unfolds. Beginning in 2018, North Carolina allocated $15 million per year for broadband, Bailey explained.