broadband

Broadband service gets permanent state, local tax exemption

14 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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It’s blurry when you bundle, though.

A permanent ban on state and local taxes on Internet access was approved by the U.S. congress on Thursday, and sent on to the president, who said he will sign it. It’s a permanent extension of an existing law that says that states and local governments may not impose “taxes on Internet access” or “multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce”. The measure – which was tacked onto the end of an international trade bill – also phases out an exception for seven states that taxed Internet access before congress enacted the original ban.… More

Big incumbents turn up giga-game heat

11 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Comcast and AT&T see high speed broadband opportunity in many of the same places. The two companies will go head to head with gigabit offerings (or at least giga-somethings) in five markets, according to a story by Sean Buckley in FierceTelecom…

Comcast has made its intent clear: it’s finally going to bring its DOCSIS 3.1-based gigabit broadband services to five cities this year, a move that directly challenges AT&T and Verizon and their FTTH buildout and pricing strategies.

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Cable lobby keeps shovelling false figures at California broadband policymakers

9 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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I participated on a broadband funding panel, organised by the California Broadband Council at its meeting last week. Other panelists included telephone and cable industry representatives and a wireless Internet service provider. Much of the discussion was about the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) – the state’s primary broadband infrastructure subsidy program – and how it interacts with other sources of funding, public and private.

The cable industry’s principal lobbyist in Sacramento, Carolyn McIntyre, tried to paint a false picture of how CASF has impacted broadband service and usage in California, claiming that only 4,000 new customers have signed up for service as a result of subsidised projects.… More

Big buck proposal for California broadband aims for wide appeal

4 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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More money to build broadband infrastructure in California is back on the table, along with even more money for other broadband-related initiatives. Assembly bill 1758 was introduced at the state capitol by assemblyman Mark Stone (D – Santa Cruz) this week. It’s a new and improved and greatly enlarged version of last year’s effort to put more money in the California Advanced Services Fund, and raise the minimum broadband standards it supports.

AB 1758 would more than double the size of the fund, raising it from its current maximum of $315 million to an eventual $665 million.… More

Mobile broadband can't take the place of wireline, FCC says

2 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Probably not doing his homework.

Mobile broadband service is not a substitute for in-home wireline service. That’s the headline conclusion from the Federal Communications Commission’s 2016 Broadband Progress Report. The report, approved on a semi-bipartisan 4 to 1 vote last week (republican Michael O’Rielly dissented), draws a hard distinction between wireline and mobile, in terms of speed, cost and functionality…

Consumers have advanced telecommunications capability only to the extent that they have access to both fixed and mobile broadband service.

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Charter and Comcast could control 70% of U.S. broadband market

31 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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More consolidation.

Ars Technica has crunched the numbers, and reached the conclusion that if Charter Communications is allowed to buy cable systems owned by Time Warner and Bright House, it will end up with monopoly control of 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up broadband service for about a quarter of U.S. households, and that when combined with Comcast’s footprint, service to the majority of homes will be controlled by one of two companies…

Charter said in November that it would serve 23 percent of the nation’s 25Mbps-and-up broadband subscribers if it can buy TWC and BHN.

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Two small – for now – broadband bills advance in Sacramento

30 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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One side makes you bigger, one side makes you small…

A move to force Caltrans to play nice with broadband companies – at least, a little nice in little while – and some minor tinkering with the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) infrastructure subsidy program are moving forward in Sacramento.

The state assembly unanimously passed AB 1549, authored by Healdsburg assemblyman Jim Wood. As currently written, it would require Caltrans to make information available about conduit it installs in its own projects.… More

FCC drawing clearer distinction between fixed and mobile broadband

28 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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Tarzan say wireline good mobile solution.

“Immediate action” on advanced broadband deployment is apparently on the table at today’s Federal Communication Commission meeting. That’s the gist of a fact sheet released by chairman Tom Wheeler ahead of a vote on the commission’s 2016 broadband progress report.

The fact sheet lays out the problem – “approximately 34 million Americans still lack access to fixed broadband at the FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps for downloads, 3 Mbps for uploads” – but doesn’t offer any concrete actions or policy changes for fixing it.… More

Salinas targets Ag Tech Corridor, downtown with broadband RFP


Click for the RFP.

The City of Salinas has officially released a request for proposal, looking for telecommunications companies that are interested in using its municipal conduit system and other local assets to build out a high speed broadband system in key commercial and industrial areas…

The City of Salinas owns a total of 16,000 feet of telecommunications conduit that is available for use (see above referenced study) by respondents. Approximately 5,400 feet is in the core downtown business district, 1,600 feet in or near the planned Agricultural Technology Corridor and another 9,000 feet in an unincorporated area southwest of the city.

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DISH hops in late to California's Charter party

21 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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DISH, the only independent direct broadcast satellite company in the U.S., has been trying to scuttle Charter Communications’ purchase of Time Warner’s and Bright House’s cable systems. Up until today, it’s focused its efforts on the Federal Communications Commission’s review of the deal. Now, though, in kind of a daddy’s not sure, go ask mommy move, it’s asking the California Public Utilities Commission for permission to get into the proceeding here.

In its filing, DISH says it fears Charter will use its control of the high speed broadband market to kill off competition…

This transaction would permit and motivate the combined company (“New Charter”) to hurt or destroy online video rivals, including the Sling TV over-the- top video service [owned by DISH], through its control over the broadband pipe…

This transaction will create a duopoly in the market for high-speed broadband service (defined as 25 Mbps and above), as it will result in two broadband providers – New Charter and Comcast – controlling about 90 percent of the nation’s high-speed broadband homes between them.

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