Research

The rapid expansion of Power Users (subscribers consuming 1 TB or more per month) and the ongoing surge in upstream traffic are placing significant pressure on broadband network capacity and Quality of Experience (QoE), according to the 2Q24 edition of the OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report. In the second quarter of 2024, 18.2% of all subscribers fall under the “Power User” category, including Power Users of 1 TB or more, Super Power Users of 2 TB or more, and Extreme Power Users of 5 TB or more.

In May 2023, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), the minority leader of the Senate Commerce Committee, sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an examination of how the Federal Communications Commission administers the Universal Service Fund (USF). The USF consists of money collected from telecommunications companies that is dedicated to fulfilling the goals of universal service.

Communities looking to leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for broadband or other local infrastructure need to act soon or risk losing access to a once-in-a-generation funding resource. Most ARPA recipients seem well aware of the deadline, but data suggests more than a few communities could drop the ball. The Treasury Department tracks allotted ARPA awards and projected budget plans via a massive database.

The results of a recent Technology Policy Institute study feed into the narrative that is rolled out every year by the lobbyists for the biggest internet service providers (ISPs)—that broadband prices are getting cheaper. The big ISPs mean that the price per megabit is getting cheaper—but the study says the absolute prices are getting cheaper. The easiest way to understand my objection is to consider the price of a 100 Mbps broadband product from 2013 to 2024. 

The carbon footprint of fiber broadband networks is lower than hybrid fiber coax networks on every sustainability metric, from embodied carbon to carbon in the operational phases, including customer premise equipment. The Fiber Broadband Association’s Sustainability Working Group compared the carbon footprint of fiber to the home (FTTH) networks with Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) data over cable system interface specification (DOCSIS) 4.0 networks.

Minnesota is undertaking a multibillion investment to expand reliable high-speed internet access to hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, farms, schools, and other community institutions.

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband offering touts an edge in service reliability over its cable counterparts, despite most of its customers residing in rural areas. Recon Analytics found Starlink customers experience fewer service outages than cable customers, though they still face more outages than consumers on a fiber broadband connection. Unsurprisingly, the majority of Starlink customers (85%) reside in rural areas.

This paper examines the governance models of State aid measures for broadband network deployment in European Union Member States. The research is based on 199 decision letters collected from the European Commission's competition cases database, published between 2003 and 2023. Deploying a theory-driven content analysis approach, the analysis reveals and categorises a variety of governance models.

Broadband programs included in the 2022 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could add $146 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), according to a new analysis from Keynesian Technology, which researches the impact of Keynesian economics on the technology industry.

This report offers options for advocates to make sure that incarcerated people and their families receive good quality communications whether they pay for communications or not. Recommended measures represent a holistic strategy to dismantle the barriers of silence and distance. The proposed legal frameworks and standards are designed as enforceable rights to guarantee that communication—a lifeline for those incarcerated—remains unbroken and clear.