Telecommunication

Comcast has touted all the network upgrades it is doing as it pushes toward DOCSIS 4.0, but it appears to be planning one more key move: rolling out new Wi-Fi routers that can handle the speeds it’s aiming to deliver. Comcast Cable CEO David Watson said the company views Wi-Fi as a key element of its broadband package.

Overseas telecom providers, increasingly frustrated with American tech firms whose apps are gobbling up bandwidth, are pushing them to pay more for it. Any effort to reslice the "cost of internet bandwidth" pie could shake up the entire industry, make new winners and losers, and put new pressure on US tech giants.

While six large internet service providers (ISPs) dominate the United States fixed broadband market, Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence reveals smaller providers are sometimes the fastest ISPs in a given state in the Midwest, South and West. This analysis examines US states in which smaller ISPs were the fastest fixed broadband providers during Q3 2021. Major findings include:

The Senate voted 68-31 to confirm Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, the first woman to hold that title, to another five-year term, narrowly avoiding a Republican majority at the agency once her current term was set to expire at the end of 2021. Rosenworcel will be tasked with expanding broadband connectivity, supporting 5G implementation and bringing back net neutrality rules.

The supply chain is a top concern for nearly every industry and has significantly impacted service provider fiber buildout. New funding and training programs offer hope that supply chain and labor issues won’t stall fiber rollouts forever. Vendors can alleviate the backlog by providing parts or supplies that can scale (up or down) rather than satisfy a small or niche application. This will help consolidate inventory and materials, reducing time to market and leading to fewer supply failure points.

Real estate is complicated. Broadband is complicated. Together, they’re very complicated. The Federal Communications Commission recently launched a new proceeding to refresh the record on broadband competition and access in the multifamily and commercial real estate sectors. It sought similar information in 2017 and 2019.

Telephone companies (telcos) may still be trailing cable operators in the broadband race, but their continuous fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) builds could help narrow the subscriber divide. As more customers want higher speeds, this group is moving to deploy fiber to the home (FTTH) across select markets as their traditional DSL and POTS voice base dwindles. This is being driven on two sides: Tier-1 telcos and Tier-2 telcos. The big three--AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen—are Tier-1 telcos that are all seeing growth in fiber-based broadband.

Vice President Kamala Harris talked up the broadband benefits of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure package, which included $65 billion for broadband buildouts and adoption. Harris was tapped by President Biden early on to be his point person on the goal of universal internet access.

As states start to allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enacted in March 2021, many policymakers are using some of the new resources to fund broadband expansion, by increasing funding for existing programs or establishing new ones. The relief package, which Congress passed to help Americans struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, includes two programs administered by the U.S.

The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into expanding broadband internet access, namely through the $65 billion included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. But it’s at the state level where the financial rubber meets the fiber-optic road. History suggests some states are ahead of the game while others will have to play catch-up.