broadband

U.S. broadband speeds climb, but gap between fast and slow persists

17 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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Ninety percent of connections made to Akamai’s content delivery network by users in the United States were at the 4 Mbps level or better in the first quarter of this year, a five percent increase from a year ago. That indicates that consumers continue to migrate away from the lowest speed service, when they can.

Take up of faster speed levels, though, is growing relatively quickly but still represents only a fraction of the U.S. market.… More

Pai drives FCC with eyes on rear view mirror

14 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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During a rural broadband road trip through the midwestern U.S., Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai shared time with a republican senator on a Milwaukee talk radio program (h/t to Phillip Dampier at Stop the Cap for tracking the interview down and getting the word out). Although he professed an open mind regarding the repeal of common carrier rules for broadband service – it’s under consideration at the FCC, so he has to say that – he dismissed net neutrality as a "slogan".… More

Copper network killer rules could be back on the table

13 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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Yanking out copper networks and replacing them with wireless service is one of the possible outcomes of the Federal Communication Commission’s reconsideration of the wireline service regulations it adopted last year. The swap can actually be done now, but only if the replacement meets certain service and quality standards.

In California, those standards are set by the California Public Utilities Commission. If the FCC rolls back its rules, it wouldn’t necessarily change that. But it could, and the CPUC might be weighing in on the FCC’s proceeding.… More

FCC's idea of open access to broadband service might not be so open

12 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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It’s hard to tell where the Federal Communications Commission is going with a new enquiry into open (or not) access rules for broadband, television and telephone service providers in apartments, condos, commercial buildings and other multiple tenant environments. Assuming commissioners vote to begin it – a safe bet – all they’d be doing immediately is asking for comments from anyone with an opinion on the subject. It’s not being done out of idle curiosity, though.… More

Broadband bills among the dead in the California legislature

11 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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The road kill this year in the California legislature includes several broadband and telecommunications-related bills that either missed a deadline for approval by either the full assembly or senate, or died a quiet in a committee. Those include…

Senate bill 566 by senator Mike McGuire (D – Healdsburg) would have required companies that provide telephone service – VoIP and cable companies included – to notify the state office of emergency services when rural connections go down and provide it with a real, live human to speak with about it as repairs proceed.… More

FCC begins Act II of apartment, condo broadband access drama

8 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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The rules that govern how video, voice and Internet services are delivered to people who live in what the Federal Communications Commission calls multiple tenant environments (MTEs) are complicated. It’s a universe that includes apartments and condominiums (multiple dwelling units/MDUs), and commercial real estate, such as shopping malls or office buildings. Later this month, the FCC will consider, and likely approve, the start of a broad enquiry that could result in an update and overhaul of those regulations.… More

PG&E adopts a dark fiber and wholesale telecoms services business model

6 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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The low ball fiber business plan that PG&E submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission drew criticism from several organisations that probably didn’t fully understand it – publicly traded companies usually downplay the profit potential of new ventures, to avoid hyping stocks and running afoul of federal securities laws. In its application for certification as a telecommunications company, PG&E estimated that it "will have approximately 1-5 customers after one year and will have more than 5 customers by the fifth year after commencing provision of the services".… More

California assembly votes to throw broadband speeds into reverse

5 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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The California assembly voted to lower the state’s minimum Internet standard to 6 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds. By a vote of 67 to 5, and with eight members abstaining, assembly bill 1665 was approved and sent onto the senate last week. It only needed 54 yes votes to pass. All five noes and eight abstentions came from republicans, but a dozen others joined with democrats to vote in favor.

AB 1665 reinstates a tax on phone bills that’ll pay for adding $330 million to the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF), the state’s primary broadband infrastructure subsidy program.… More

Cities need to get out in front of self driving cars, League of Cities says

3 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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Broadband availability and self-driving cars are thoroughly linked issues for local governments, according to a white paper on autonomous vehicle policy published by the National League of Cities. Sitting back and letting telecoms providers – wired or wireless – take the lead is a bad idea. Instead, the League argues, local governments should use what policy and political tools are available and jump in with both feet…

Cities should be aware that their wireless broadband needs will grow exponentially in the future, and should plan with the understanding that their infrastructure will need to be constantly updated.

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PG&E will slow walk its own fiber builds, just like everyone else's

1 June 2017 by Steve Blum
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It’s not going to speed up the process for reviewing requests to attach fiber optic cable to its utility poles, but PG&E won’t give its own, in-house telecoms unit any short cuts either. That’s the top line from PG&E’s reply to objections filed against its request for formal certification by the California Public Utilities Commission as a telecoms company. Several companies and organisations that are, at once, potential competitors, customers and suppliers to a PG&E-operated fiber optic venture (that’s the interconnected nature of the telecoms business) asked the CPUC to delve deeply into the way utility pole attachments are managed.… More