Dark fiber will disappear if CenturyLink buys Level 3

2 April 2017 by Steve Blum
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CenturyLink’s proposed acquisition of Level 3 continues to rumble through the review process at the Federal Communications Commission. Very little organised opposition has surfaced. Some market-based opposition has come from Incompas, a lobbying group that represents competitive carriers and similar network and system operators. They’re challenging the merger because, among things, it would roll the major independent fiber company in the U.S. – Level 3 – into an incumbent telco – CenturyLink – with a traditional monopoly mindset…

As it stands, the applicants have not provided evidence—or even a statement—of an intent to build vigorously outside CenturyLink’s [incumbent local exchange carrier] region.

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Verizon fires up mid-tier IoT network

1 April 2017 by Steve Blum
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Making good on a promise, Verizon says it is rolling out wireless Internet of things (IoT) service nationally. During the CTIA show in Las Vegas last year, a Verizon representative said that the LTE M1 standard would be deployed throughout its U.S. network by April. Verizon beat that deadline by a day, saying in a press release that as of yesterday, it was launching…

The first nationwide commercial 4G LTE Category M1 (or Cat M1) network, which spans 2.4 million square miles.

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At least some broadband policy can cross party lines in congress

31 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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There are aspects of broadband policy that are getting bipartisan support in the U.S. congress. Not anything to do with privacy rules or network neutrality or common carrier status for broadband, of course. But there are common views regarding some of the nitty gritty details of broadband infrastructure deployment.

A house of representatives sub-committee that deals with communications and technology issues looked kindly on two draft bills, both of which are largely revivals of proposals that didn’t make it out of congress last year.… More

FCC concedes broadband lifeline decisions to state regulators

30 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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Let the professionals do it.

Companies that want to offer subsidised broadband service to low income households will have to seek approval from state regulators, and not the Federal Communications Commission. That will be the result of a decision made public yesterday by FCC chair Ajit Pai. In effect, he’s conceding an appeals court challenge to the broadband lifeline program approved by the FCC in 2016 and, instead, will have the current commission – a very different beast from a year ago – rework it.… More

Your ISP now owns your information.

29 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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Congress opened your kimono.

Privacy rules for Internet service providers are heading straight from limbo into oblivion. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that put strict limits on what ISPs can do with the data that customers transmit on their networks, significantly stricter than the restrictions on what most online businesses can do with consumer data.

Earlier this month, a much different FCC voted to put those rules on hold. Now, the U.S.… More

Net neutrality is carefully tailored, FCC jurisdiction paramount says Charter

28 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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Master of disguise.

Proving the adage that it’s an ill wind that blows no good, Charter Communications is taking shelter behind the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to regulate broadband as a common carrier service. In a request submitted to a federal court in New York (h/t to the Hollywood Reporter), Charter argued that the New York attorney general shouldn’t be allowed to sue it in state court over consumer fraud allegations, because the FCC has preempted such matters when it issued its network neutrality order in 2015.… More

Californian broadband subsidies create rural competition, of a sort

27 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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The Digital 299 middle mile fiber project approved by the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday is a big step toward levelling the competitive playing field for broadband in the Klamath Mountains. It’s a rugged and sparsely populated region, with very little wireline or mobile broadband access, and fixed wireless service that seems to rely on expansive coverage claims backed up by lawyerly disclaimers rather than recognised and verifiable technical standards.

That’s why the region qualified for a $47 million broadband infrastructure grant from the California Advanced Services Fund.… More

More low income homes are smartphone-only as homework gap grows

26 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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Barely more than half of U.S. households with incomes less than $30,000 a year have bona fide broadband service, and disproportionately rely exclusively on smart phones for Internet access. A report published by the Pew Research Center shows a growing gap between the quality and quantity of broadband access they have to rely on, and that enjoyed by higher income households, those with $100,000 or more in annual earnings. This disparity impacts their ability to find jobs and get an education…

In 2016, one-fifth of adults living in households earning less than $30,000 a year were “smartphone-only” internet users – meaning they owned a smartphone but did not have broadband internet at home.

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Wikileaks' CIA dump plugs massive Cisco security hole

25 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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If you look into the core of the Internet or just in a typical corporate or institutional data center, you’ll see rack after rack loaded with switches, routers and other gear made by Cisco. A vulnerability in even one of their products can leave a lot of networks and data open to attack. So you might come to the conclusion that spotting that kind of flaw and fixing it as quickly as possible is matter of national security.… More

Middle mile fiber link to California's north coast gets $47 million

24 March 2017 by Steve Blum
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The Digital 299 middle mile fiber project will receive a $47 million subsidy from the California Advanced Services Fund. The line begins in Shasta County, just south of Redding where it will connect to long haul fiber on the I-5 corridor, and runs along State Route 299 through Trinity County, ending on the coast in Humboldt County at Eureka, with laterals to a potential submarine cable landing site on Arcata Bay and Humboldt State’s marine lab in Trinidad.… More