BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: A great summary of what to take away from the Trump administration's blocking of Broadcom's acquisition attempt for Qualcomm, an action that appears to be have been taken quite precipitously. According to The New York Times' story on the subject, "A presidential action against foreign investment in an American company is rare and… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2018 - Local government officials seeking to offer a corrective tonic on broadband deployment to the Federal Communications Commission may consider applying for the expanded Intergovernmental Advisory Committee. Nominations for the more-than-10-year-old group are due on Monday, March 12, at 6 p.m. ET, according to a public notice published by the FCC… Keep Reading
Rural broadband has never been a more pressing priority for our nation, and now is the time to join the conversation. The Rural Telecommunications Congress (RTC) has an exciting program at the Broadband Communities Summit this year from May 1-3 in Austin, Texas. When you register for the summit using the RTC discount code of RTC350, you… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Joan Engebretson unpacks the reality and the hype of Trump’s rural broadband announcement. She also shows how Trump carefully avoided reference to broadband funding. Trump rural broadband initiatives include two executive orders aimed at eliminating regulatory deployment barriers. But if you were hoping to hear something about funding or addressing the USF… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: A great little piece from the Inverse lays out how the "Chatham House" rules may protect Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai from being quoted for what he says at Verizon Communications, his former employer, nine days before net neutrality rules are set to be axed. (UPDATE 12/6: It turns out that Pai… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Once again, the folks at the Institute for Local Self Reliance have produced another standout report on how to get better broadband to those parts of American that are not served by the major incumbents. This report focuses on the role that cooperatives are playing, and can continue to play, in making… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Is everyone having enough fun on this issue of network neutrality/open internet/"search neutrality"/Twitter-fenestration? It's been a wacky week, and the craziness is likely to accelerate over the next two weeks. Here, CNET's Marguerite Reardon covers Pai's Tuesday speech at the R Street Institute in Washington. FCC chairman calls Twitter the real threat… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: In a significant new development, the Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration outlines a process for how states will be able to receive funding to build their own public safety wireless networks that are separate and apart from FirstNet. The far, approximately 35 of the 50 states have opted-in to FirstNet. Colorado and… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Here, Microsoft is taking the initiative to address the communications failures and other challenges in Puerto Rico. Microsoft is aiming to use its particular variant of TV "white spaces" to allow greater communication capabilities during a time of widespread power outages. Using TV White Space technology in Puerto Rico and the US… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Major news from the United Kingdom with the deal announced between Vodafone and CityFibre. This deal shows how the rest of the world is adapting to the model that the United States has not yet, but eventually will: Separation of infrastructure from services. Vodafone throws down gauntlet to BT with new fibre… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The power of municipal broadband isn't going away. While competition benefits everyone, it's undeniable that as the custodians of their rights of way, local government will play a role in the telecommunications infrastructure developments of the future. Charter gets competition in Lexington, Kentucky, as angry city enlists Indiana’s MetroNet to build FTTH… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: New developments on the preemption front. From an administration that speaks about federalism and devolution of power, we have potentially new centralizing mandates emerging from the Federal Communications Commission. Sneak peek at FCC’s pending preemption of local wireless reviews? | From Steve Blum's Tellus Venture Associates The Federal Communications Commission might have… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The long-awaited day has arrived for the "official" launch of the open-access fiber-optic network in Ammon, Idaho. This city of about 14,000 people has been making waves for some time with its unique approach to (a) providing advanced open-access technology and (b) enabling a financing model that leverages an opt-in Local Improvement… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing a creative response to repair the damage done by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico by tapping into the Universal Service Fund for necessary infrastructure repairs. A decision on the matter is planned for the agency's October 24 meeting, but could happen sooner. FCC proposes… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Here's my piece in the Deseret News, responding to information about the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency that simply isn't correct. I discuss why cities need to open up their thinking about using fiber as a utility, and why cities are going to be in the game for a long time yet to come.… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Major new expansion by wholesale infrastructure provider CityFibre in U.K., giving more credence to the "open access" model that is beginning to be deployed globally. Under such a model, one entity owns the fiber infrastructure, with another selling retail internet access services to customers. Frequently, there is yet another entity that provider… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: This new 60-page report by the National Regulatory Research Institute (and which was founded by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners), delves into the important state role in broadband deployment. It discusses the role of State Broadband Initiatives, including broadband mapping efforts, and discusses in greater detail the projects in California,… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 14, 2017 - Ending months of speculation, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, back to her previous role as a Federal Communications Commissioner. The announcement came in a pre-midnight email from the White House. Attempts to get Rosenworcel's re-nominated at the end of the last Congress faltered in… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: In a conference call with reporters, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said that governors and mayors are scheduled meet at the White House with President Donald Trump for a session focused on efficiently using tax dollars for infrastructure projects.|| Trump to Push for U.S. Infrastructure Overhaul of Roads, Bridges, Air Traffic,… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: While there are a lot of uncertainties about timing - and how it meshes with tax legislation - the White House is pressing forward with its "vision" for infrastructure, which is primarily one of melding public and private forces to rebuild physical backbone of America. This is not all bad, as public-private partnerships… Keep Reading
DALLAS, May 5, 2017 - Open access networks are becoming more real for gigabit connectivity in the United States, according to panelists attending the Broadband Communities Summit here this week. The conference was notable in having numerous, positive discussions of the "three-tiered" model: One entity owns the fiber infrastructure, a second entity operates the gigabit… Keep Reading
DALLAS, May 1, 2017 - One of the biggest puzzles in broadband today is a financial conundrum: Our nation needs next-generation networks everywhere, but advanced internet capacity is spotty at best. One solution to the problem of financing universal broadband networks -- on display in Ammon, Idaho -- will be presented at the Rural Telecommunications… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 25, 2017 - What kind of workplaces and economic environment are rural areas likely to experience in the future? At the Rural Telecommunications Congress program here at the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit next week, two of the sessions on Wednesday, May 3, will feature address that question. First, we'll hear a "case study"… Keep Reading
RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, April 19, 2017 - At 7,200 square miles, this Southern California county is nearly the size of New Jersey. On April 3, the county put out a "Request for Participants" in an effort to jump-start a $2 billion to $4 billion initiative building a gigabit fiber network. The project is dubbed RIVCOConnect, and represents… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 18, 2017 - Over the past ten years, broadband mapping has gone through many changes. In the beginning, the Federal Communications Commission collected data about high-speed internet access, but didn't release any local or granular data collected through its semi-annual forms. Through the efforts of organizations like BroadbandCensus.com (the predecessor to BroadbandBreakfast.com), a… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 18, 2017 - The Universal Service Administrative Corporation may not grab broadband headlines, but the once-obscure federal agency is central to helping rural America and other stakeholders get Broadband Broadband, Better Lives. USAC's programs, plus its "new look," will be the subject of the lead panel at the Rural Telecommunications Congress happening here… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 6, 2017 - The Rural Telecommunications Congress program at the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit here on May 1-4, 2017, will feature panelists on the Universal Service Administrative Corporation's role in bringing broadband to underserved and unserved communities, the role of broadband mapping in today's telecommunications ecosystem, a case study of bringing broadband to… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 6, 2017 – The House of Representatives on Monday approved by voice vote the Email Privacy Act, H.R. 387, designed to protect Americans’ privacy and public safety in the digital age. Below is a statement from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, applauding passage of the bill. I've written about previous version of this legislation… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 31, 2017 - Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Tuesday announced the formation of a new federal advisory committee that would seek to accelerate deployment of high-speed broadband nationwide, and to close the digital divide, by providing a model approach to deployment for municipalities. “Access to broadband is increasingly critical for all… Keep Reading
KEYSTONE, Colorado, June 6, 2016 - Three Washington wireless policy experts - Stephen Coran of Lerman Senter, Jonathan Adelstein of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, and Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation's Open Technology Institute - addressed current issues discussed at Mountain Connect here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63MVQZoMAzc Keep Reading
KEYSTONE, Colorado, June 6, 2016 - Here at Mountain Connect, I caught up with Bruce Patterson, the chief technologist in Ammon, Idaho (a suburb of Idaho Falls), where he discussed the innovative open access network that is common online in this city of 13,000. He and Jeff Christensen, President of Entry Point Networks, spoke about… Keep Reading
KEYSTONE, Colorado, June 6, 2016 - My interview with Lori Sherwood, following her panel discussion on "Financing Options for Municipal Networks" at the Mountain Connect conference here. Panelist during her discussion were Jason Gredell of J.P. Morgan Chase, Brian Garcia of Aegis Capital and Kevin Padrick of Symmetrical Networks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdHHh7B01lM Keep Reading
KEYSTONE, Colorado, June 6, 2016 - Continuing my live interviews at Mountain Connect, I interview Kelleigh Cole of the Utah Broadband Project. Kelleigh holds the position in Illinois similar to the role I had as Executive Director of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois from 2010-2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuS6OhFyJ7U Keep Reading
KEYSTONE, Colorado, June 6, 2016 - Here at the Mountain Connect conference at the heart of the Rockies, I caught up with Paul Recanzone and Alex Telthorst of Colorado Fiber Community. They addressed the benefits of shared infrastructure for rural broadband communities. Keep Reading
MOUNTAIN VIEW, November 24, 2015 - Community broadband institutions are a key building block to accelerate deployment of high-capacity internet service, said speakers and panelists at the inaugural Anchornets conference here last week.
Such community institutions also play a vital role in facilitating public-private partnerships that aid such deployment, they said at a conference hosted by the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition at the Museum of Computer History here in the heart of Silicon Valley on Monday, November 16.
Among the high-profile leaders who emphasized the important role of schools and libraries in promoting high-speed internet service were former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Sunne McPeak, CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund, and Evan Marwell, founder of EducationSuperhighway, a non-profit designed to promote greater internet connectivity in schools.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - Local broadband institutions seeking to leverage high-speed connectivity for the benefit of their broader communities will benefit from attending the inaugural AnchorNETS conference here on November 16 and 17.
Sponsored by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, the AnchorNETS conference is being hosted in conjunction with the federal government's BroadbandUSA initiative on Tuesday, November 17. The AnchorNETS event will be keynoted by former Gov. Pat Quinn, the Illinois Democrat responsible for completion of a nearly $100 million, four-year project to install 1,000 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure throughout Illinois. “Governor Quinn's role in bringing together state, federal and local resources, from private and public sectors, in the pursuit of improved digital literacy and internet connectivity to Illinois anchor institutions is a model for all public officials," said John Windhausen, executive director of SHLB Coalition.
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WASHINGTON, October 19, 2015 - The Federal Communications Commission on Friday announced that it had launched an investigation into the broadband pricing plans of local exchange carriers AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier and Verizon Communications for so-called "special access services" of business data.
A coalition of competitive carriers and non-profit organizations dubbed Competify has been urging the inquiry, and praised Friday's order by the agency's Wireline Communications Bureau.
"The incumbents use inherently anticompetitive lock-up plans – which only an entity with immense market power could impose – to charge businesses and anchor institutions excessive access rates that harm competition, restrain the deployment of competitive facilities, and impede the transition to next-generation services," according to a statement released by the group.
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SALT LAKE CITY, October 19, 2015 - Utah has been leading the nation in many areas of broadband internet access and its proliferation, according to a report released on Wednesday by the non-profit Utah Foundation.
"Utah’s history of investing early and its collaboration among many public and private entities has helped develop an infrastructure that can support the local business climate, including Utah’s expanding tech sector which is heavily reliant on high-capacity networks," reads the report, by Shawn Teigen, Christopher Collard and Robert Jordan of the foundation.
"It is likely that future internet applications will require exceedingly high-speed internet, far beyond that which is available today. Preparing the infrastructure now may be prudent," write the authors.
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LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon, October 14, 2015 - This suburb of Portland, a potential candidate for Google Fiber's Gigabit-speed internet service, has said it isn't willing to wait around for the search engine giant.
At a city council meeting here on Tuesday night, elected officials in this city of 37,000 listened, questioned and debated between two proposed public-private partnerships that would result in the construction of Gigabit-speed fiber-optic infrastructure.
Instead of sitting and waiting for Google, the city council members appeared inclined to move forward on a public-private project with city involvement.
"There was a great buzz and excitement when Google announced" the possibility that it would come to Portland, said Councilmember Jon Gustafson during the session -- but the city hasn't wasn't seen any action since that time.
Last year, Google announced possible expansion to Portland and five suburbs, including Lake Oswego. The company has made commitment, however.
"Google is still at the vapor stage," added Chip Larouche, chief technology officer for the city. Speaking at the Tuesday meeting, he said that Google is "talking about how 'we might make you a promise.'"
Instead, City Manager Scott Lazenby said that in June Lake Oswego put out a Request for Proposals to build their own Gigabit Network. The city received two responses from private companies, and one from the City's own Public Works Department.
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NEW YORK, October 13, 2015 - The battle between Verizon Communications and the Communications Workers of America escalated on Tuesday, as the union announced a new television advertisement slamming the broadband provider for failing to build-out its high-speed fiber-optic internet service here.
The advertisements come just ahead of a New York City Council hearing on Wednesday that will include the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, customers that say they have been unable to get FiOS, and from Verizon officials.
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