Steve Blum's Blog

CPUC expands broadband subsidy eligibility, toughens requirements

27 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, community networks, cpuc, municipal broadband, public policy

It got a little harder to clear the bar today.

Local governments and independent Internet service providers can apply for broadband infrastructure construction subsidies from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), under new rules approved this morning by the California Public Utilities Commission.

There are pluses and minuses in the decision. On the whole, the commission is requiring these newly eligible application to meet requirements that are very similar to those imposed on regulated telephone companies, but without granting the same operational privileges – pole attachment and interconnection rights, for example.… More

To get a gigabit from Google, cities need processing speed

26 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, ftth, google, public policy, santa cruz

Not to Google spec either.

Google has handed a fiber-ready checklist to 34 cities in 8 states, including five in California. Not just anywhere in California, but smack in the middle of Silicon Valley. You’d think that if there was any metro area in the state that would zip through Google’s homework, it would be the likes of San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara and Palo Alto.

No need to guess, though. With Google setting a deadline of 1 May 2014 for cities to provide the information and accommodations requested, we’ll soon find out if there’s any hope for the Golden State.… More

Salinas Valley towns top regional broadband priority list

25 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccbc, cpuc, public policy, regional consortia, salinas valley

Heat map of broadband desert.

The latest rev of a regional broadband priority analysis for the Central Coast Broadband Consortium shows that Salinas Valley communities would see the greatest benefit from broadband infrastructure development, and be more likely to support viable projects.

These preliminary results add weight to the argument for building a fiber optic line through these towns and connecting them to Santa Cruz.

The top three communities by county and regionally are…

Monterey County: 1.

… More

FCC-funded rural broadband experiments have to walk the legacy telephone line

24 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, community networks, cpuc, fcc, public policy, rural broadband experiment

Eligible areas in the Golden State.

With the deadline for what the FCC is calling expressions of interest in its rural broadband experiments coming up fast – a week from Friday, on 7 March 2014 – the California Public Utilities Commission has put together some helpful tools for prospective applicants.

The list includes…

A summary of the FCC Internet protocol transition experiment program, including both the rural broadband and legacy voice service experiments.
A spreadsheet showing the eligible census tracts in California served by large telephone companies – AT&T, Verizon, Frontier and, it seems, SureWest.

… More

Raise subsidy limits for social, economic impact says CPUC president

23 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, casf, ccbc, cpuc, public policy, regional consortia, sunesys

Opportunity to add value.

Limits on money from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) are not written in stone, according to CPUC president Michael Peevey. Late Friday, he proposed lifting the cap – 60% to 70%, depending on broadband availability – that commissioners previously set on CASF grants, at least for a middle mile project in the Salinas Valley proposed by Sunesys LLC, a dark fiber company.
The alternate resolution text that Peevey is asking his colleagues to approve says…

The Commission recognizes that a higher level of CASF funding may be needed for Sunesys to undertake the project.

… More

Federal judge accuses Silicon Valley of being common

22 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, fcc, netneutrality, public policy

One octopus looks pretty much like any other.

In trying to figure out what the next network neutral battle is going to look like, I read through the 81 page federal appeals court ruling that tossed out the Federal Communications Commission’s first stab at writing those rules. The majority decision reads like a prescription for what the FCC needs to do in order to impose net neutrality regulations, something chairman Tom Wheeler has taken to heart.… More

Google joins FCC chair in waving the muni broadband flag at incumbents

21 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, community networks, fcc, ftth, google, public policy

Call it motivation.

Google is stoking the fires of gigabit demand and keeping the heat on major cable and telephone companies with its announcement that it’s talking to 34 more cities about fiber-to-the-home projects. That’s completely consistent with a strategy of goading incumbents into upgrades that they’d prefer not to do. Whether it’s the also the first step in a national roll out remains to be seen.

There’s no actual promise to build, as Google makes very clear…

We hope to bring Google Fiber to every city on this list, but there are a few circumstances that might make it tough and even impossible to build our Fiber network in a city…If a city doesn’t want to proceed with us and chooses not to complete their checklist, we won’t be able to bring them Google Fiber.

… More

FCC chair's muni shout out is just a first step on a hard road

20 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, community networks, fcc, municipal broadband, public policy

Unmistakably, if not perfectly, clear.

FCC chairmanTom Wheeler stirred up a lot of excitement yesterday when he floated the idea of encouraging municipal broadband as a way of increasing telecommunications market competition…

The Commission will look for opportunities to enhance Internet access competition. One obvious candidate for close examination was raised…namely legal restrictions on the ability of cities and towns to offer broadband services to consumers in their communities.

He’s absolutely right that cities and other public agencies can create competition for incumbent telecommunications providers.… More

Cities, independent ISPs not welcome in FCC rural broadband experiment

19 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, community networks, cpuc, fcc, public policy, rural broadband experiment

FCC keeps friends close, and telephone companies closer.

Only traditional telephone companies, or companies and agencies that jump the same regulatory hurdles, can apply for grants to take part in the FCC’s upcoming rural broadband experiment program. That’s the word today from the California Public Utilities Commission.
Commissioner Catherine Sandoval led a workshop at the CPUC’s San Francisco headquarters this morning to look at how the FCC’s request for “expressions of interest” in its rural broadband program plays out in California.… More

Speeding up VDSL eases pressure for fiber

18 February 2014 by Steve Blum
broadband, ftth, geek stuff, vdsl

Building up from VDSL.

There’s an ongoing debate over whether fiber to the home technology is necessary, given recent progress in boosting speeds over copper wires. In particular, advanced DSL technologies – VDSL2 vectoring and pair bonding – has developed to the point where routine 50 Mbps service is possible for many telco-served homes, and commercially feasible speeds of 100 Mbps or better are on the horizon. I’m not counting market stunts as general examples.

Some analysts are blurring the distinction, lumping pure FTTH in with fiber to the node (FTTN) or fiber to the last amplified (FTTLA).… More