Telecommunication

The Alaskan service provider GCI has struck a $150 million deal with Intelsat to expand capacity for telecommunication services in rural areas. GCI has delivered geosynchronous (GEO) satellite-based connectivity for 35 years to provide data, video and voice services in the state. The new deal not only provides GCI with continued access to C-band and Ku-band capacity, which is already part of GCI's satellite service portfolio, but it also provides new access to statewide Ka-band capacity.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted an Order that incorporates changes to the FCC's rules consistent with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which appropriated $1.895 billion for the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The Order is another step in ongoing FCC action to protect the communications networks from those who would harm the United States. Key changes include:

The Federal Communications Commission is still reviewing Verizon’s proposed purchase of TracFone Wireless from América Móvil. Verizon CEO of the Consumer Group, Ronan Dunne, and TracFone CEO, Eduardo Diaz Corona, met with Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to try and convince her that the transaction is in the public interest. Their main argument is that a combined Verizon/TracFone will introduce a third facilities-based provider in the prepaid segment to compete against T-Mobile’s Metro and AT&T’s Cricket.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) released a ruling and staff report on "Equity and Transparency of Fees, Taxes and Surcharges Assessed on Customers of Telecommunications Services in California." The report found that the total number of communications subscribers in the state has increased substantially over the past decade. Yet, over the same period, the surcharges have yielded diminishing revenues.

AT&T says fiber internet is a "superior" technology that is built for today and the future because of its ability to deliver symmetrical upload and download speeds of 1Gbps and higher. AT&T also says that "there is no compelling evidence" to support the deployment of fiber across the US, and that rural people should be satisfied with non-fiber internet access that provides only 10Mbps upload speeds. The difference between those two wildly different statements was the audience.

UK operator BT teamed up with satellite company OneWeb to explore how the latter’s service could help close broadband gaps in areas beyond the reach of its mobile and fiber networks. Working together under a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies aim to determine how connectivity from OneWeb’s constellation could be used to deliver increased coverage and capacity to consumers and businesses in remote areas across the UK. In addition to using OneWeb’s technology to improve mobile service, they aim to explore other connectivity options including fixed wireless access broadband.

A bipartisan pair of Colorado lawmakers want the Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate T-Mobile's plans to shut down a network used by Dish customers. T-Mobile agreed to help Dish stand up its own 5G network as a condition of obtaining approval for the Sprint merger, but Dish argues that T-Mobile is putting its customers at risk with its shutdown plans.

During a hearing titled "Building Resilient Networks," lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband were asked to boost the reliability of the nation's broadband networks by spreading infrastructure funding among a variety of technologies such as fixed wireless and mobile broadband rather than limiting it solely to fiber. Wireless Infrastructure Association President Jonathan Adelstein testified that a singular focus on fiber broadband networks that can deliver "symmetrical" speeds of 100 megabits per second would prioritize a sometimes c

A federal appeals court ruled that Huawei can’t subsidize the sale of its 5G technology with federal funds earmarked for US broadband development because the Federal Communications Commission determined the company is a national security threat. The 5th Circuit Court agreed that the FCC was fully within its power and competence to issue the rule barring “Universal Service Fund” subsidies recipients from buying equipment or services from companies deemed national security risks.

Shrihari Pandit, CEO of fiber ISP Stealth Communications, argued the creation of an open access conduit system across the US could help spur broadband competition by lowering barriers to entry for new players. Pandit pitched the construction of a conduit highway akin to the Interstate, which would allow fiber to be more easily run between cities and towns. The CEO stressed the government should only be responsible for building the conduits and not for running fiber or other lines, leaving decisions about what technology to use up to providers.