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Haven't seen the facts about AT&T, Time Warner merger, Trump says

19 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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Translation: never mind.

Donald Trump is backing off from his stated opposition to the AT&T – Time Warner transaction. According to the Axios blog, Trump said in an interview…

“I have been on the record in the past of saying it’s too big and we have to keep competition. So, but other than that, I haven’t, you know, I haven’t seen any of the facts, yet. I’m sure that will be presented to me and to the people within government.”

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Yuge telecoms companies expect to get yuger

19 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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Big money is leaning in the direction of a permissive, rather than populist, Trump presidency, at least when it comes to big telecoms mergers. AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson met with Trump last week. Although both AT&T and Trump’s team insist that the pending acquisition of Time Warner wasn’t discussed, Stephenson continues to project optimism that federal regulators – the justice department’s anti-trust unit and, possibly, the Federal Communications Commission – will allow it to go forward.… More

A smartphone is a poor, and the poor's, choice for broadband

16 January 2017 by Steve Blum
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If a smartphone was the killer Internet access solution that AT&T claims it is – usually when trying to divert attention from substandard or even non-existent wireline service in rural and inner city communities – then you’d expect to see something like an even spread of usage cases across demographic groups.

The Pew Foundation’s latest research shows that is clearly not the case.

Overall, 12% of U.S. adults own a smartphone, but do not otherwise use the Internet at home.… More

AT&T waves a weed whacker at FCC staff

19 December 2016 by Steve Blum
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Which side of the dirt do you want to be on?

Mommy might have said no, but daddy is going to whack your weeds. That’s the message AT&T delivered to Federal Communications Commission staff who had challenged the legality of allowing customers who buy a package of DirecTv programming to watch it without incurring data charges or burning through data caps. The practice is called zero rating and it was left in a regulatory grey area by the FCC’s 2015 decision to classify Internet access as a common carrier service.… More

AT&T in no hurry to fix problems ahead of CPUC vote on tougher outage rules

15 December 2016 by Steve Blum
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Carrier of last resort.

Later this morning, the California Public Utilities Commission, in its last regular meeting of the year, is scheduled to considered tightening the rules on what and when telephone companies have to report information about service outages. The proposed decision by commissioner Catherine Sandoval would also clamp down on the occasional practice by telephone and cable companies of attaching lines to trees in rural areas, rather than installing utility poles.

I’ve already written a couple of posts about the proposed decision, the result of an investigation into problems that rural residents have with completing calls and otherwise receiving phone service.… More

DSL service hammered in FCC report

8 December 2016 by Steve Blum
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Cable modem service is reliable and fast, and getting faster, but DSL service offered by telcos isn’t. That’s the top line conclusion of the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 annual report on fixed broadband service across the U.S…

When DSL is used to provide broadband service, the maximum advertised download speeds among the most popular service tiers has increased only slightly since 2011. In contrast, for cable services, the maximum advertised download speeds among the most popular service tiers have increased from 12-30 Mbps in March 2011 to 100-300 Mbps in September 2015.

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AT&T blows off rural Californians, because it can

21 November 2016 by Steve Blum
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Attitude is everything.

Telecoms service and infrastructure in rural California is deteriorating, according to a draft of findings and remedies resulting from a California Public Utilities Commission investigation led by commissioner Catherine Sandoval. Wireline service outages and other problems aren’t being repaired and customers are told that the fix will come from future “technological transitions” – a euphemism for we’ll get back to you after we’ve ripped out the copper and replaced it with wireless.… More

Spectrum is weak link in AT&T's copper retirement plan

15 November 2016 by Steve Blum
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Download while you can, that line of sight won’t go so far in spring.

Slowly, we’re learning more about AT&T’s plans to abandon wireline broadband service in rural areas of California, and replace it with what it calls wireless local loop. AT&T has been presenting its WLL roadshow to boards of supervisors around northern California, but the content is misleading – skipping the part about ending copper service, for example – and at times, completely false – federal Connect America Fund subsidies are not limited to wireless service, and may just as easily be spent on fiber.… More

Don't make U.S. telecoms market failure worse, says The Economist

8 November 2016 by Steve Blum
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Land of the rent-seekers and home of high prices.

AT&T should not be allowed to purchase Time Warner, according to a pointed editorial in The Economist. AT&T’s monopoly power in some market segments and its cozy duopolies in others already gives it too much control over what people in the U.S. can see, how much they have to pay and how much money gets stuffed in the pockets of politicians, says the London-based newspaper and free market advocate…

There are two reasons why trustbusters should now take a tougher line.

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California supervisors hear AT&T pitch, not told of plans to scrap copper service

31 October 2016 by Steve Blum
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AT&T’s rural California road show is continuing, as the company pitches county supervisors on the wonders of wireless service and the need for speedy approval of towers and other infrastructure, without making it clear that the plan is to use it to replace copper wire networks.

A story by Will Houston in the Eureka Times-Standard describes one such presentation to the Humboldt County board of supervisors…

AT&T is now looking to bring high-speed internet service to underserved areas in Humboldt County, which will require the company to construct new cell towers.

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