Claude Aiken Joins Nextlink, Latest Emergency Connectivity Funding, Netflix Stock Plunges
Aiken was previously the president and CEO of the Wireless Internet Service Provers Association.
Benjamin Kahn
WASHINGTON, April 20, 2022 – Nextlink Internet announced that former Wireless Internet Service Provers Association President and CEO Claude Aiken will be the service provider’s chief strategy officer and chief legal officer of the company.
Aiken served as president and CEO with WISPA since March of 2018, and announced in February that he would be stepping down effective this month. Previously, Aiken had served as an attorney and advisor for the Federal Communications Commission for nearly ten years.
“We are excited to welcome Claude and strengthen the Nextlink leadership team with a nationally recognized leader in the connectivity space,” Nextlink Founder and CEO Bill Baker said in a statement.
“I look forward to working closely with Bill and the entire team to promote strategic investments and strong policies that close the digital divide for communities around the country,” Aiken said.
Nextlink primarily serves rural Americans across Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas.
FCC announces latest funding round from Emergency Connectivity Fund
The Federal Communications Commission has announced it will commit $37 million as part of its 13th wave from the Emergency Connectivity Fund program that will to close the “homework gap.”
This most recent round of funding will go to support 170 schools, 30 libraries, and four additional facilities in Alaska, Indiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
“Reliable and affordable access to broadband is a must for everyone, and especially for our students,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “I’m proud of the work we are doing to close the Homework Gap and pleased that we can offer this support for the next school year.”
The funding in question can be used in almost any way to facilitate off-campus learning – whether that is securing devices that can access the internet for students, improving connectivity infrastructure, or otherwise facilitating a student’s ability to do homework and communicate with their instructors.
An additional application for funding window will open on April 28 and will run through May 13.
Netflix subscribers fall in wake price increases and rumors of password sharing crackdown
Netflix experienced unprecedented growth during the pandemic, and while that momentum slowed in 2020, the company reported it had lost subscribers for the first time in 10 years during its first quarter call on Tuesday.
According to the streaming service, it lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022.
On Wednesday morning, Netflix’s shares cratered, trading 37 percent lower than the start of the previous day.
Some speculate one reason for the decline may be the continued price increases. Even Netflix’s basic subscription, which had held its price since 2019, increased alongside the standard and premium subscriptions in 2022. Others point to Netflix’s announcement that it would begin cracking down on password sharing; Netflix has previously stated that as many as 100 million households share passwords.
