Broadband Bytes, May Issue 1
Your Source For The Latest Fiber Optic Industry News
This edition notes the nexus of politics and broadband, including Net Neutrality—will SCOTUS rule?, The Politics of ACP, NY mandates low-income $15/month internet service, Altice surrenders more RODF, Acquisition and JV news, Fact Sheet on Municipal Broadband Growth, Nokia OLT BEAD production in WI, BEAD News and Initial Proposal Progress Dashboard.
1. The FCC voted 4/25/24 to classify broadband services as a Title II telecommunications service, restoring net neutrality. A long-anticipated vote to restore net neutrality has forbidden internet service providers from blocking, throttling, or engaging in paid prioritization of lawful content. The vote reclassified broadband as a common carrier service, and subjected broadband service to regulatory oversight regarding consumer pricing. Read more.
2. But will the US Supreme Court rule otherwise? The FCC’s new net neutrality rules likely have a rendezvous with the U.S. Supreme Court. A trip to the Supreme Court would not be unprecedented, seeing as the nine Justices decided a major net neutrality-related case involving cable broadband providers in 2005. The judicial scenario suggested isn’t inevitable. Congress could pass a new law, taking the issue from the FCC, and a Republican-controlled FCC could take power and gut the net neutrality rules adopted under FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. While Rosenworcel is highly confident in the lawfulness of her Internet rulebook, her agency will face an uphill battle to win five votes on a conservative-controlled Court that favors placing new limits on the reach of administrative state actors like the FCC. Read more.
3. On the final day that full program benefits are offered under the Affordable Connectivity Program, officials in Washington rallied April 30th to emphasize the grave repercussions of the program’s imminent end. The internet subsidy program, which has been providing low or no-cost internet to 23 million American households for roughly two years now, was hailed by officials for addressing long-neglected affordability barriers that prevent some people from accessing the internet. One in six U.S. households has utilized the program since its inception.
Of these, nearly half are military families. Over half are above age 50, and four million are seniors living on a fixed income. The program has bipartisan support among voters, and urban-rural backing. However, starting May 1st enrolled households will only receive a partial credit towards their monthly internet costs through May. In a month, these families will have to notify their provider on whether they are able to afford to continue their internet subscription or are opting to face disconnection.
Altice USA, the third-largest cable ISP in the country, informed federal regulators on 4/19/24 that it intends to surrender broadband subsidy grants in three states, saying its decision would allow affected locations to become eligible for funding in other broadband support programs. Read more.
4. With ACP gone, what impact will a new NY law have on other states? New York $15 Internet Mandate Has Providers Worried. Associations representing large and small broadband providers are presenting a united front in opposition to New York’s requirement that providers offer low-income internet service for $15 a month. …they are “disappointed” by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold New York’s mandatory $15-a-month offering. The associations said the mandate is rate regulation and implied that it isn’t needed because the industry is competitive. Read more.
5. Altice USA to surrender RDOF Awards in three more states. Altice USA, the third-largest cable ISP in the country, informed federal regulators on 4/19/24 that it intends to surrender broadband subsidy grants in three states, saying its decision would allow affected locations to become eligible for funding in other broadband support programs. Altice told the FCC that it was giving up locations won in the RDOF reverse auction in 2020. The company listed 22 census block groups (CBGs) in all, including 12 in Kentucky, nine in Arkansas, and one in West Virginia. In March Altice relinquished RDOF awards in 18 CBGs in Louisiana, bringing to four the number of states in which the company has decided to give up broadband deployment subsidy projects. Read more.
6. Grain Management LLC has agreed to acquire a majority interest in 123NET, a fiber Internet, colocation, and business voice provider that serves Michigan. 123NET’s management team will remain in place and hold “a meaningful” ownership position, the companies said. Grain Management has emerged as a fiber network consolidator in recent years. Among its acquisitions: Last April the company acquired Quintillion, a provider of connectivity in the American Arctic. In May 2021, it acquired Tachus LLC, a fiber broadband provider in Texas. Read more.
According to Nokia, its OLTs and ONTs already power 70% of fiber broadband lines in North America.
7. T-Mobile, EQT unveils fiber Joint Venture, with plans to acquire Lumos. T-Mobile and investment firm EQT announce joint venture to expand the carrier’s fiber broadband footprint. As part of the deal, the companies will acquire Mid-Atlantic FTTH provider Lumos. T-Mobile will invest an initial $950M in the JV, plus another $500M sometime between 2027-28. T-Mobile and EQT’s transaction is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Once the deal closes, T-Mobile plans to invest $950 million in the JV to acquire a 50% equity stake as well as all of Lumos’ existing fiber customers. Read more.
8. As the municipal broadband movement continues to gain momentum, Community Networks created a new fact sheet to highlight the dramatic surge in the number of communities building publicly owned, locally controlled high-speed Internet infrastructure over the last three years. In January, they announced an updated tally of municipal broadband networks across the U.S., which showed that between January 2021 and January 2024 at least 47 new municipal networks had been lit up for service. Read more.
Learn more about the dramatic surge in the number of communities building publicly owned, locally controlled high-speed Internet infrastructure over the last three years in the Rising Tide of Municipal Broadband Fact Sheet.
9. And in Wisconsin news: With their first pick in the 2024 NFL draft the Green Bay Packers select Jordon Morgan, OT Arizona. Protect that young QB! As for industry-related Wisconsin news: Nokia makes its first Buy America products at a Wisconsin factory. Nokia’s new manufacturing plant in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, is now open and producing optical line terminals (OLTs) and optical network terminals (ONTs). Nokia is working with the manufacturer Sanmina to produce the products after the NTIA determined that OLTs and ONTs must be made in America to qualify for use in BEAD fiber projects. According to Nokia, its OLTs and ONTs already power 70% of fiber broadband lines in North America. Read more.
10. More States Gain Full Approval of BEAD Proposals: $2 Billion in Funding Coming Their Way. Initial Proposals, including both Volumes 1 and 2, in the BEAD program from Kansas, Nevada and West Virginia have been approved, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The three states can now request access to funding and begin implementing the program. Kansas was authorized to receive $451.7 million, while Nevada will get $416.6 million and West Virginia will get $1.2 billion.
The FCC has asked the US units of Chinese carriers, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile to discontinue offering fixed or mobile broadband internet operations in the country.
11. This dashboard allows anyone to track how BEAD Eligible Entities are progressing through the major milestones* necessary to earn NTIA approval of their Initial Proposal. FCC bars Chinese carriers from offering broadband services in US. The FCC has asked the US units of Chinese carriers, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile to discontinue offering fixed or mobile broadband internet operations in the country. The service providers would be required to stop offering services within 60 days of the order being passed on April 25, 2024. The new order will also impact Pacific Networks and its wholly-owned subsidiary, ComNet. Read more.
| Broadband Bytes is a regular feature by David Levine of UCL Swift. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, a certified BICSI RCDD, and a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions. He currently works as a Business Development Manager for UCL Swift. |
General
Broadband Bytes, May Issue 2
This edition of Broadband Bytes includes Private Equity Financing, a possible save for ACP, BEAD state plan approvals coming, Comcast Public/Private Partnerships, Tribal “enforceable commitments” impact on BEAD state maps, state legislation impact on BEAD, and the winning streaming app.1. WOW! received an unsolicited offer to be taken private by two private equity firms. The offer could foreshadow more consolidation in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cable ecosystem. The private equity companies DigitalBridge and Crestview submitted an unsolicited offer to purchase the cable company WideOpenWest (WOW!). The move is the latest by a PE firm to acquire broadband assets and could be a sign of more activity to come. The WOW! network passes nearly 2 million residential, business and wholesale consumers. It provides services in 16 markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, including the new all-fiber networks in Central Florida and Greenville County, South Carolina. Read more.2. TDS is getting $375 million in debt financing from Oaktree Capital Management to fund its fiber expansion. The fresh capital comes as TDS reached more than 100K residential broadband connections in expansion markets in Q1. The company is on track to reach 125K new fiber passings in 2024. The transaction is structured as a five-year loan, which the company can repay at any time. Read more.“If passed, the amendment would reduce ACP eligibility by income from 200% of the federal poverty line to 135%, which is the eligibility threshold for the FCC’s Lifeline program.”3. Congress tries desperate save for Affordable Connectivity Program. Senators introduced an amendment to the FAA reauthorization that would give the ACP an additional $6 billion. The FAA amendment would allocate $6 billion in funding for the ACP – somewhat less than what Congress proposed for the $7 billion ACP Extension Act–as well as make a few tweaks to the program. If passed, the amendment would reduce ACP eligibility by income from 200% of the federal poverty line to 135%, which is the eligibility threshold for the FCC’s Lifeline program. Read more.Update May 10: A last-minute effort to save the ACP has failed, along with an effort to make funding available for the Huawei “rip and replace” program, according to news reports. A proposed amendment to a bill to reauthorize the FAA included provisions that would have made funding available for the ACP and the Huawei “rip and replace” program. But as the New York Times reports, the bill has now passed the Senate without amendments. Read more. 4. More ACP impact. Legislation in Pennsylvania could create ACP-like program if passed. A proposed bill in Pennsylvania, H.B. 2195, would give eligible households a $30 monthly subsidy for internet if approved by lawmakers. The bill is listed as currently being considered by the state’s Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities committee, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s website. Read more. “For years cable operators such as Comcast, Charter and Cox have fought hard against municipal broadband projects, saying that it’s wrong for taxpayer dollars to compete against their private investments. But now, the competitive landscape is shifting.”5. Commerce Department is Aiming to Approve All BEAD Plans by Fall. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said (on 5/8/24) that she is looking to have all state plans for the $42.5-billion BEAD program approved by this fall. She also said to look for more approvals in the coming weeks. With full approvals in hand, states will have one year to field grant applications and award funds before getting final approval from the NTIA. Read more.6. Comcast partnered with a Virginia county to deploy broadband to unserved locations. The project received $3.4 million in ARPA funds. The company says it’s involved in public-private partnerships across its footprint. For years cable operators such as Comcast, Charter and Cox have fought hard against municipal broadband projects, saying that it’s wrong for taxpayer dollars to compete against their private investments. But now, the competitive landscape is shifting. There is a lot of taxpayer money available through government programs such as ARPA and most significantly through the BEAD program. Read more.7. Tribes Likely Have to Challenge RDOF And Other “Enforceable Commitments” on State BEAD Maps. (This is a rather lengthy but interesting article of enforceable commitments on tribal lands and the challenge process where programs like RDOF and BEAD intersect.) When issuing its BEAD guidance, the NTIA determined that federal and state grant funding for buildout on Tribal lands – like RDOF – that do not carry Tribal Government Resolutions of consent are not considered to be enforceable commitments.Without formal Tribal consent in the form of a legally binding agreement, which includes a Tribal Government Resolution, funding programs like RDOF should have no bearing on the BEAD eligibility of locations on Tribal lands. As long as they are not currently receiving service from a provider, these locations should remain BEAD-eligible. All of this means that BEAD offers a way around some funding barriers that would normally be in effect due to programs like RDOF, but that Tribes will have to be vigilant in checking on each state’s individual challenge process. Read more.8. Minnesota ISPs warn new legislation may stall $651M BEAD plan. Minnesota ISPs are protesting new legislation that includes labor provisions about prevailing wages and certification programs. ISPs warned that the legislation could stall broadband expansion efforts through the BEAD program. Specifically, they are calling on legislators to remove Article 10 from the larger House Labor Omnibus bill (HF 5242), which includes new labor-related rules, including prevailing wage. The conflict unfolding in Minnesota serves as an example of the significant influence states wield in shaping the broadband landscape, both at the local and federal levels. Read more.“Over eight hundred rural Americans responded to their streaming service preferences in the annual rural video study…”9. The U.S. House voted 374-36 late May 15th to reauthorize the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), aiming to modernize its functions to support the administration’s new mission to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet access to all U.S. households. This reauthorization, the first in over 30 years, came about due to the dramatic evolution of the NTIA since its last authorization in 1992. The bill passed the House under a suspension of the rules, a procedure that allows for less controversial measures to got to House floor. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, had pushed for a floor vote on Tuesday. Congress mandated NTIA to connect every American to affordable, high-speed internet under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, along with providing funding to get the job done. Read more. 10. This is from a survey of only 800 rural users, but the winner is: Over eight hundred rural Americans responded to their streaming service preferences in the annual rural video study which shows a continued fragmentation of the streaming market. Read more. Broadband Bytes is a regular feature by David Levine of UCL Swift. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, a certified BICSI RCDD,and a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions.He currently works as a Business Development Manager for UCL Swift.
Jun 20, 2024
General
Broadband Bytes, May Issue 3
This edition includes RDOF amnesty opinion, optical fiber market growth forecast, Frontier means business with fiber, BEAD status update, fiber training partnership, don’t wait for BEAD to start workforce development, fiber to the military base, cash for copper, T-Mobile plan to buy USCellular, Google Fiber spinoff coming? and E-Rate for WiFi?1. This is an opinion article on RDOF Amnesty. While we typically try to stick to industry news, this is an interesting article and adds to the debate. Read more.2. Value of optical fiber market to jump. The value of the optical fiber market is expected to jump to $11.9 billion by 2032 up from $7.4 billion in 2023, according to a report published May 16th by Allied Market Research. Read more.3. Frontier’s executive chairman isn’t too worried about FWA and fiber overbuilders. At a J.P. Morgan investor conference, Frontier Executive Chairman John Stratton reiterated the company’s year-end goal of building 1.3 million fiber passing. It’s also about “68-70%” complete on its multi-year target to reach 10 million locations with fiber. Read more.“Experts warn: Don’t wait to assemble and train your workers for BEAD.”4. NTIA forecasts a “steady drumbeat” of BEAD Volume 2 approvals each week. Evan Feinman, director for the BEAD program with NTIA, provided an update on the program at the Connect(X) conference in Atlanta. “All states have submitted their Volume 1 proposals to NTIA,” Feinman said. “We are rolling through Volume 2s, recognizing the scale of those documents. Many of these Volume 2s are 300-400 pages single-spaced…The next phase is the most critical. States will announce the eligible locations for BEAD funding and the manner in which they will accept bids.” Read more.5. Washington ISP enters a partnership to train new fiber technicians. As officials in Washington prepare to utilize more than $1.2 billion awarded to the state by the BEAD Program, one local ISP, Whidbey Telecom, is taking the initiative to make sure the state’s labor force is ready to handle the job. (Earlier this month nearly $4.5 million was allocated for Whidbey Telecom by the Washington State Public Works Board—the money will go towards constructing 44 miles of fiber to reach over 1,500 end users in the Clinton area). A new partnership forged between the ISP, the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), and the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center, a free, public school that serves high-school students from Snohomish and Island counties based in Everett, will help make the school’s planned offering of Optical Telecom Installer Certification (OpTIC Path) courses a reality. Read more. 6. Speaking of Workforce development: Experts warn: Don’t wait to assemble and train your workers for BEAD. State workforce groups typically wait until there is a job shortfall before they initiate training programs. A staffing professional for broadband construction says 25-30% of the costs for upcoming fiber deployments will be for labor. Read more.Editorial Comment: Lean on your suppliers like UCL Swift to help you prepare your workforce with products that speed and ease installations. Many suppliers like UCL Swift also provide free hands-on training for customers.7. New project to deploy fiber to military bases across U.S. Fiber provider eCommunity announced that it will deploy fiber-to-the-home to U.S. military bases across the country beginning this month. The initiative will kick off with a FTTH upgrade at Fort Eisenhower in Augusta, Georgia, marking the first significant communications infrastructure enhancement in 30 years at the base. Fort Eisenhower is the first of a national network completely dedicated to military housing, separate from civilian traffic, to improve performance for those residents and minimize security concerns. Read more.8. Telcos, do you want to turn old copper into cash? A company called Extracta Group says it has the expertise to remove copper cables from telecom networks, even those covered in lead, and obtain the best market price for the salvaged copper. There are several reasons why a telco with legacy copper cables might want to extract those cables.First, copper is valuable. It’s currently priced at an all-time high of more than $5 per pound. Secondly, some carriers, such as AT&T, are trying to convert large swathes of their copper plant to fiber. But when conduits are filled with copper, there sometimes isn’t room for fiber. And third, most everyone in the telecom world is aware of the Wall Street Journal story that broke last year, revealing that old telecom networks in the U.S. still have a lot of copper cables. And a substantial number of these cables are covered in lead sheathing, which can pose health and environmental risks. Read more.9. T-Mobile to buy most of US cellular for $4.4B T-Mobile has agreed to buy substantially all of US cellular’s wireless operations for about $4.4 billion, including its 4 million wireless customers and certain spectrum assets. US cellular is retaining about 70% of its spectrum assets and its 4,382 towers. T-Mobile will enter into a long-term lease arrangement on at least 2,100 towers. Read more.“According to Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner, Google Fiber’s move is likely a sign it’s starting the process of spinning off from Alphabet to become a standalone business.”10. Related to above: T-Mobile’s planned $4.4 billion purchase of US cellular’s wireless operations and a portion of its spectrum is expected to boost T-Mobile rural wireless coverage and TDS fiber investment. “There will be more investment in communities because of this deal,” said US cellular President and CEO Laurent Therivel. Noting that investment in rural America is costly and challenging, he said, “You need scale in order to do that. T-Mobile will be able to bring that scale in a way that UScellular could not, Therivel said.” Read more.11. Google Fiber just landed its first chief financial officer. That could be a sign of big things to come, an analyst told us. John Abbot, who was most recently CFO at AI company Dataminr, will oversee Google Fiber’s Finance, Strategy & Analytics and Accounting teams. According to Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner, Google Fiber’s move is likely a sign it’s starting the process of spinning off from Alphabet to become a standalone business. But when that might happen is anyone’s guess. “It’s hard to predict,” Entner said. “Perhaps it could happen within six months or it could take a couple of years.” He explained ever since Ruth Porat came on as Alphabet CFO, the company has been trying to curb its spending. Prior to that, Google Fiber was expanding “dramatically.” But in 2016, Google Fiber put all expansions on hold and it wasn’t until 2022 that it resumed deploying to new markets. On the expansion side, Google Fiber this month announced its service is coming to Las Vegas and it’s expanding its footprint in the Seattle metro area. Read more. 12. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency’s proposal to use E-Rate funding for WiFi hotspots is part of its responsibility to ensure universal services evolve with the changing educational and digital landscape. Last November, the FCC proposed providing eligible schools and libraries with E-Rate program funding for Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless internet access services for student, staff, or patrons off-premises. The E-Rate program was established in 1996 to provide discounted rates on telecommunications and internet services for eligible educational institutions. Rosenworcel makes a case for the FCC’s authority, saying Congress gave the agency flexibility to adapt the E-Rate program to changing educational needs. Read more. Broadband Bytes is a regular feature by David Levine of UCL Swift. David is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, a certified BICSI RCDD,and a 35-year industry veteran in fiber and copper solutions.He currently works as a Business Development Manager for UCL Swift.
Jun 20, 2024
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