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In First In-Person Event Since Pandemic, WISPA Conference Discusses Infrastructure, Mapping

WISPA holds first trade show in two years, which touched upon broadband infrastructure, mapping, spectrum and other topics.

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Broadband Breakfast photos from WISPAmerica

GRAPEVINE, Texas, April 27, 2021 – For the first time since 2019, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association held an in-person live trade show, which touched on President Joe Biden’s broadband plan, spectrum policy and mapping.

“I can’t tell you all how happy I am to see you here today,” said WISPA CEO Claude Aiken during the WISPAmerica 2021 kickoff event on Tuesday.  “It’s been a tough year, and I’m so proud and thankful to be part of an industry that has helped America stay on its feet during these incredibly trying times. It’s just great to be back!”

Aiken spoke on the benefits the broadband industry has seen recently. It’s been a great couple of years, both for legislation and regulation, he said. We’ve seen billions of dollars in federal funding and benefits in expanded spectrum and Over-the-Air Reception Device rules, he said.

He also praised the ‘use-it-or-share-it’ concept that has allowed more access to the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum band. We continue to advocate for this concept on Capitol Hill and at the Federal Communications Commission, he said.

WISPA CEO Claude Aiken, right

Aiken criticized the idea that “future proofing” networks should focus only on fiber infrastructure, referencing the Biden administration’s new $100 billion broadband proposal that hints at emphasizing fiber over other technology. Fixed wireless can also be future proof, we know we can hit gigabit speeds with wireless, he said. Fiber is very important, but we should use the right technology for the job, and just “picking one technology over another is subpar, policy-wise,” he said.

FCC’s new Broadband Data Collection

In a separate panel during Tuesday’s event US Telecom’s Lynn Follansbee and James Stegeman from CostQuest laid out the details for the FCC’s new Broadband Data Collection (formerly called the Digital Opportunity Data Collection) that will replace the current Form 477 that all providers are required to submit.

The new BDC will create a new ‘fabric’ data set that is intended to greatly enhance the FCC’s broadband mapping system. The agency considers any speed below 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload as unserved, and the Form 477 data shows where those unserved areas are.

The problem, however, is that the data only gets down to the census block level, potentially leaving millions of Americans without any service, especially in rural areas where census blocks can span dozens of miles. The BDC improves on this by using more granular data with geographic coordinates, addresses or polygon shapefiles.

The BDC also includes many updated requirements for fixed wireless providers, including greater details on tower locations, strength of signal and latency, and requiring certification by an engineer, among other stipulations. It also provides a new process available for consumers to challenge the accuracy of the broadband maps submitted by their service providers.

The change in submission rules for wireless providers raised some concerns during the WISPA panel, with one audience member complaining that the government was asking too much of small providers, especially the need for certification by an engineer, calling the new requirements “stupid” and unnecessary.

The WISPAmerica conference continues on Wednesday and Thursday.

Reporter Tim White studied communication and political science at the University of Utah, and previously worked on Capitol Hill for a member of Congress. A native of Salt Lake City, he escapes to the Pacific Northwest as often as he can. He is passionate about politics, Star Wars, and breakfast cereal.

WISP

Starry Group Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Starry said the bankruptcy will put it in a better position to continue offering service.

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Photo of Starry CEO Chet Kanojia

WASHINGTON, February 21, 2023 – Fixed wireless internet service provider Starry Group Holdings Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to a Monday filing in the bankruptcy court of Delaware.

The petition shows the company has roughly $310 million in total debt, but assets that amount to just $270 million. It also listed having between 5,000 and 10,000 lenders.

The group will now enter into a restructuring to pay back the debt.

“Over the last several months, we’ve taken steps to conserve capital and reduce costs in order to put Starry in the best position to explore various financing paths for the company,” Chet Kanojia, Starry’s CEO, said in a press release Tuesday. “Our next step in this journey is to continue to strengthen our balance sheet through a Chapter 11 restructuring process.

“With the support of our lenders, we feel confident in our ability to successfully exit this process as a stronger company, well-positioned to continue delivering an affordable, high-quality broadband experience to our customers,” Kanojia added.

“The Restructuring Support Agreement provides us with the funding needed to continue operating as normal, through this restructuring process and as we guide the company to profitability,” he continued. “We have a strong and experienced team in place and look forward to moving through this process quickly so that we can continue expanding essential broadband access and #HappyInterneting to more communities across the country.”

Last year the company said it would be defaulting on all its winning bids from $9.2 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund of the Federal Communications Commission, of which $268 million went to the fixed wireless company for connectivity in at least nine states.

Kanojia said last year that the company’s business model puts it in a position to compete against larger players.

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Wireless Internet Service Providers to Connect More Fiber Points as Bandwidth Consumption Increases

‘The only way to get that density is to get fiber out there. That allows you to get more subs with your wireless.’

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Photo of Jay Anderson, chief technology officer of FiberLight

LAS VEGAS, October 6, 2022 – By employing more fiber points, wireless internet service providers can improve network performance and innovation, industry players at the WISPAPALOOZA conference told Broadband Breakfast.

Jay Anderson, chief technology officer of FiberLight, which has built fiber networks in several states, including Texas, Florida, and Virginia, told this publication as wireless internet service providers get more subscribers online, the existing connections to the fiber backbone can get congested without more densification of fiber points.

“The only way to get that density is to get fiber out there, and that allows you to get more subs with your wireless,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he expects WISPs to adopt a “hybrid architecture” moving forward. FiberLight’s Texan WISP partners have grown “leaps and bounds,” he said. “They’re using our infrastructure…to get that capacity out there…our job is to get as much of it out there, [at as high a] bandwidth as possible,” he added.

Mike Rowell, senior vice president of operations for Hilliary Communications, related some of his own professional experience with fiber to Broadband Breakfast. Hilliary provides internet, telephone, and television service across Texas and Oklahoma.

“We can see fiber helping us out tremendously in some areas getting us to a wireless access point,” Rowell said, explaining that a single fiber deployment can replace a less-reliable, multi-device connection to a hard-to-serve area. He said this strategy enabled his company to offer higher internet speeds and reach new customers. 

Rowell has worked in telecommunications for four decades. He said he has seen once-prohibitive costs for fiber-installation machinery plummet, which makes fiber a far more viable option than it previously was.

“Fiber – from just…two years ago – was totally different than today,” he said. “You can [now] have fiber splicers that can do a really, really nice job for under $3,000.”

Rowell also emphasized the importance of foresight and innovative business planning. “We never thought we’d be selling one-gig, and here we are selling it,” he said. “It’s going to be the same thing: We don’t think we’re going to be selling 10-gig, but we’re going to.”

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Wireless Internet Service Providers Facing Challenges Meeting BEAD Program Requirements: Experts

Hurdles WISPs face include defining reliable service, regulatory burdens, and financial requirements, experts say.

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Carol Mattey, principal at Mattey Consulting LLC, via Twitter.

LAS VEGAS, October 4, 2022 – Several requirements for providers receiving funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program present significant difficulties for wireless internet service providers, said experts at the WISPAPALOOZA conference on Monday.

The BEAD program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, will allot $42.5 billion dollars to the states to promote broadband access. States will in turn issue awards from their allotted funds to “subgrantees” – such as wireless internet service providers – for broadband deployment and other projects.

“The biggest concern is the way that NTIA has defined ‘reliable broadband service’ to exclude locations that are served exclusively with unlicensed spectrum,” Stephen Coran, attorney in the broadband and communications practice group at Lerman Senter, told Broadband Breakfast Monday. “There’s nine million people who are getting broadband service that way. Many of them can’t get it any other way and the service is reliable.”

Areas covered solely by unlicensed spectrum are considered unserved by the NTIA. Carol Mattey, principal at Mattey Consulting LLC, told Broadband Breakfast Monday that although WISPs who operate such networks can apply for BEAD funding to alter their networks to meet the NTIA’s definition of “reliable broadband,” navigating BEAD’s complex regulatory framework will be difficult for many small providers.

“Most small providers don’t have the in-house staff or expertise to manage regulatory compliance,” she explained. “They’re…in the business of building networks. They don’t have people [who are] regulatory compliance experts.”

Mattey said small networks will have to adapt to overcome BEAD’s regulatory barriers. “They either have to acquire [regulatory-compliance] resources of share resources with others,” she said.

Possible financial hurdles

States or subgrantees must provide matching funds of at least 25 percent of each project’s cost. In addition, the NTIA’s notice of funding opportunity requires subgrantees to provide a letter of credit from a bank, totaling no less than 25 percent of the subgrantee’s award from the state.

Subgrantees receiving BEAD funding must also comply with Build America, Buy America provisions, which require construction material produced domestically make up at least 55 percent of total project cost – even if foreign sourcing would be cheaper. The NTIA is moving to waive some of these requirements for recipients of the NTIA’s $1-billion Middle Mile grant program.

Many subgrantees must also comply with the Davis-Bacon Act, which empowers the Department of Labor to set wage thresholds for contractors working on federally funded projects.

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