Broadband Roundup
Twitter Reportedly Considering Musk Offer, Verizon on 5G Transition, FTC Investigating Broadcom
Twitter’s board is reportedly re-considering Musk’s $43 billion cash offer.

April 25, 2022 – In the latest twist to Elon Musk’s attempt to purchase Twitter, the social media company is reportedly ready to accept Musk’s original offer of $43 billion despite its board’s initial rejection of the deal, the New York Times reported Monday.
As part of the deal, the Tesla and SpaceX head would pay $54.20 per share, the report said. Premarket trading saw Twitter’s stock price rise 5 percent on Monday to $51.50.
Though no deal has been publicly reached, this only represents the latest chapter in Musk’s attempts to acquire the company.
Musk has long maintained that the site does not adhere to the free speech principals that it ought to, and in early April, became the single largest shareholder of the company, purchasing 9.2 percent of its stock in an apparent effort to influence its content moderation policies.
Following his purchase, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal offered Musk a seat on Twitter’s board, an offer that Musk accepted before quickly reversing his decision. The offer was conditional and would have disallowed Musk from purchasing the company. Musk’s reversal raised suspicions that he was considering purchasing Twitter, which were confirmed less than a week later, when Musk made his offer of $43 billion in cash.
Verizon’s Q1 report touted speedy transition from 4G to 5G
During its first quarter earnings call on Friday, Verizon leadership stated that the company’s transition from 4G to 5G has undergone a smoother process than the previous transition from 3G to 4G.
“5G adoption is already much faster than what we saw when we changed from 3G to 4G,” Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg said during the call. “A year after 4G launched, less than 10 percent of the users had a compatible device. A year after the launch of 5G dynamic spectrum sharing, about 24 percent of our customers were on 5G devices.”
Vestberg added that he expected that 40 percent of the company’s wireless customers will be using 5G devices by first quarter 2023, and 60 percent by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Vestberg also stated that Verizon is striving for a single, “fiberized” network for most Verizon customers. “And then at the edge of the network, we can do different solutions for different type of customer groups. This is going to pay off big time the next 5 to 10 years.”
Verizon Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis stated that fiber would also play a crucial role in improving penetration for Verizon’s wireless customers.
“The continued build-out of One Fiber and our investment to support growth of traffic on our 4G LTE network while expanding the reach and capacity of our 5G Ultra-Wideband network greatly extends our opportunity to effectively compete in all of our businesses.”
FTC reportedly investigation Broadcom, again
The Register reported Monday that chipset manufacturer Broadcom is in the sites of antitrust regulators once more.
Broadcom, which the Federal Trade Commission has referred to as a monopolist in the past, is being investigated by the agency for anticompetitive practices associated with customer exclusivity agreements used by the company.
In October of 2019, the EU accused Broadcom of anticompetitive practices and issued an interim order to suspend exclusivity agreements for deals relating to TV set-top boxes and internet modems.
Broadcom technology hardware can be found in the devices of some of the largest companies in the world, including Apple, Cisco, Comcast, IBM and Verizon.
Broadband Roundup
AT&T and DISH Agreement, FCC Adds More States in Robocall Fight, $50M from Emergency Connectivity Fund
Dish said its customers will now have access to AT&T’s gigabit fiber services.

May 19, 2022 – On Wednesday, AT&T and Dish Network announced an internet distribution agreement in which Dish customers will have access to AT&T internet services, including its gigabit fiber services.
“Adding AT&T Internet to our robust lineup of TV and home integration services enhances our ability to provide better overall service, technology and value to our customers,” Amir Ahmed, executive vice president of DISH TV, said in a press release.
“At AT&T, we’re constantly thinking of ways we can better serve and provide for our customers. Through this new arrangement with DISH, we’re able to do just that by seamlessly offering our super-fast broadband services to more customers across the nation,” said Jenifer Robertson, executive vice president and general manager of mass markets at AT&T Communications.
“This is another step towards our goal of becoming the best broadband provider in America,” said Robertson.
FCC adds more state partners to tackle illegal robocalls
The Federal Communications Commission announced Thursday new partnerships with nine additional state attorneys general to combat illegal robocalls.
The agency said Iowa, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina have all signed on to help with robocall investigations.
That raises the number of states that have signed a memoranda of understanding with the FCC to 36, after the agency last month signed on a handful more states for the initiative. The agency has already credited at least one state with helping it nail one suspected robocall violator.
As part of the agreement, the parties will “share evidence, coordinate investigations, pool enforcement resources, and work together to combat illegal robocall campaigns and protect American consumers from scams,” according to the FCC.
“We are better positioned to help protect consumers from scammers than ever before,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Together we are stronger. Together we will continue our work to protect American consumers.”
The FCC already has robocall investigation agreements with Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
FCC commits additional $50 million from Emergency Connectivity Fund
The FCC announced on Wednesday that it has approved an additional $50 million from the Emergency Connectivity Fund program that is intended to help students with virtual learning.
The FCC said this funding will go to help 46 schools, seven libraries and two consortia across the country for students in American Samoa, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The FCC estimates that, so far, nearly $4.9 billion has been committed to connect over 12.6 million students across the country.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel added in a press release that “this program is providing funding for nearly 11 million connected devices and 5 million broadband connections throughout the country and moving us closer toward closing the Homework Gap.
“With help from the Emergency Connectivity Fund, millions of students across the country now have online tools to support their education,” added Rosenworcel.
Broadband Roundup
FCC June Meeting, Ookla Speeds at Airports, FCC Cautioned About Overstepping on Digital Discrimination
The FCC laid out its agenda for the June open meeting.

May 18, 2022 – In a press release Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced the agenda for its June 2022 open meeting.
The FCC will explore ideas for wireless innovation at sea following increasing demand for spectrum to support offshore operations. The FCC will consider offshore spectrum policies to ensure efficient use of scarce spectrum resources.
In 2018, the FCC launched an inquiry to explain why some wireless 911 calls were misrouted to the wrong call center. The past four years showed a decrease in the frequency of this error but not its elimination. The FCC will seek comment on improvements that would reduce misrouted 911 calls and improve emergency response time.
During the June open meeting, the FCC will also consider preserving established local radio programming on FM6 radio service, if they meet certain conditions.
Ookla speedtest shows divide on speeds for Wi-Fi at airports
Analytics company Ooka analyzed airport Wi-Fi speeds at some of the busiest airports in the world and found that all surveyed airports met the recommended speed for streaming on mobile, but found a large divide between them.
The four fastest free airport Wi-Fis were all located in the United States: San Francisco International, Seattle-Tacoma International, Dallas/Fort Worth International, and Chicago O’Hare International. Following that came Dubai International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and Los Angeles International.
According to Speedtest Intelligence data, there is a wide gap between median speeds of the first 8 airports and the other airports on the list with the fasted being 176.25 Mbps. Airport lounges were found to have faster Wi-Fi on average than the airport itself.
Ookla, a sponsor of Broadband Breakfast, used its Speedtest Intelligence, which provides global insights into fixed broadband and mobile performance data using billions of consumer-initiated tests.
Tech lobbyists says FCC must not overstep authority to prevent digital discrimination
Tech lobbyist TechFreedom filed comments on Monday claiming that the Federal Communication Commission is overstepping its authority to regulate digital discrimination, following the FCC’s inquiry on how to prevent such a practice.
“If Congress had wanted the FCC to implement a new civil right law for broadband, it would have legislated a clear prohibition on discrimination – the essential element in all civil rights laws,” TechFreedom President Berin Szóka said in a release. “Instead, Congress wrote a law entirely about ‘facilitation.’”
The FCC’s inquiry follows an order under the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act to make rules to “facilitate” equal access to broadband and “prevent digital discrimination.”
“It is simply not plausible that Congress could have intended to change how broadband deployment is regulated in an obscure amendment tacked onto a spending bill on the Senate floor with no discussion or legislative history,” Szóka argued.
He concluded that there are other routes the FCC can take to prevent digital discrimination and facilitate equal access. Szóka called on the commission to “focus on directing funding towards remedying unequal access to broadband and preventing potential digital discrimination- not only under the infrastructure act but also the FCC’s various other broadband programs.”
Broadband Roundup
Judge Opinion on Crypto Transfer, Internet Society Joins Partner2Connect, Cable One Invests $950 Million for 10G
The opinion stated that the Department of Justice can prosecute someone who sent millions in crypto to a sanctioned state.

May 17, 2022 – A federal judge has released an opinion stating that an American citizen who transferred millions in cryptocurrency to a country blacklisted by the U.S. can be prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
“The Department of Justice can and will criminally prosecute individuals and entities for failure to comply with the [Office of Foreign Assets Control] regulations, including as to virtual currency,” Federal Judge Zia Faruqui said.
The American citizen allegedly sent more than $10 million in bitcoin to a country blacklisted by the U.S. government. It was not reported which, but some of these sanctioned countries include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Russia.
The judge debunked two crypto myths present in the case: “Issue one: virtual currency is untraceable? WRONG… Issue two: sanctions do not apply to virtual currency? WRONG.”
Internet Society joins Partner2Connect coalition to expand internet access
The non-profit Internet Society announced Tuesday it has partnered with the Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, an alliance led by the International Telecommunications Union that aims to increase connectivity and digital transformation in underserved communities around the world.
“In joining the coalition, the Internet Society is making pledges to support 100 complementary solutions to connect the unconnected, and to train 10,000 people to build and maintain Internet infrastructure, all by 2025,” according to a press release.
“We thank the Internet Society for its contributions to the Partner2Connect Coalition,” Doreen Bogdan-Martin, director of the ITU telecommunication development bureau, said in the release.
“We need more creative connectivity solutions if we are going to connect the unconnected, and the Internet Society’s proven success in growing user communities and skills training makes it a great partner in advancing the Coalition’s goals and empowering communities around the world,” Bogdan-Martin added.
Cable One invests $950 million in network for future 10G
Cable One, a broadband communications provider, said Tuesday it has invested more than $950 million over the past three years to support future connections of 10 Gigabits per second and to extend broadband to underserved areas.
“We are implementing the upgrades needed to our networks in order to deliver multi-Gig symmetrical speeds to our residential customers over the next few years,” Cable One president and CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. “Our investment strategy ensures our customers have access to a state-of-the-art network designed to handle future technological advances and reflects our deep commitment to addressing digital equity across our footprint.”
Cable One is made up of brands including Sparklight, Fidelity, Hargray, and ValueNet that provide service to more than 1.1 million residential and business customers in 24 states, the release said.
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