broadband

FCC chair Wheeler says common carrier regulation of broadband is on the way

7 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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“There’s a way to do Title II right that says that many parts of Title II are inappropriate and would thwart investment” said FCC chairman Tom Wheeler today at CES. “A model has been set in the wireless business that’s had billions of dollars of investment”.

“We’re going to propose rules that say no blocking, no throttling…all that list of issues. And that there is a yardstick against which behavior should be measured, and that yardstick is just and reasonable”.… More

DISH is first to complete the 4K product-content-distribution loop

6 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Any 4K you have.

Like HDTV before it, 4K ultra high definition television programming will enter the U.S. consumer mainstream via satellite. At its CES press conference yesterday, DISH Network announced that it will soon offer the 4K Joey. That’s what it calls its new set top box that streams satellite-delivered UHD channels to any 4K-capable television. Content availability, though, is less clear. According to the company…

DISH will deliver 4K content from several providers.

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Sling TV offers traditional channels via broadband for $20 a month

5 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Best of all, no cable company.
Roger Lynch, CEO Sling TV

Targeting the millennial generation, Sling TV – a sister company of DISH Network – announced it will offer a line up of 25 to 30 traditional cable channels via broadband for $20 per month, with no commitment or contract, beginning later this month.

“All you need is a credit card and a broadband connection”, said DISH CEO Joe Clayton. The channels can be streamed on pretty much any device you have: mobile phone, tablet, PC, smart TV and, crucially, streaming devices made by other online television providers like Netflix or Hulu.… More

Eastern California gets more FTTH love

2 January 2015 by Steve Blum
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Race Telecommunications is on the way to becoming the fiber king of eastern California. On New Year’s Eve, Race submitted 3 more grant applications to California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for fiber-to-the-home projects in Mono, Inyo and eastern Kern counties: Gigafy Backus, Gigafy Mono and Gigafy North 395.

Backus – actually, the Backus Road area – is south of the Mojave Air and Space Port, where Race received its first grant from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) in 2010.… More

2015 a broadband breakout year for California's central coast

Santa Cruz Tech Beat, for which I sometimes write, published its picks for top stories of 2014. It’s a good list and takes a holistic view of the local tech scene and economy. Looking ahead, I think the ground work that was done this year will drive next year’s success. So, my predictions for the top local broadband stories of 2015 are…

3 – Sunesys fiber line breaks ground
The $10.6 million grant from the California Public Utilities Commission was justified by the benefit delivered to the Salinas Valley — which is substantial, real and sufficient grounds for spending the money.… More

Pressure to spend CASF money will grow in 2015

31 December 2014 by Steve Blum
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The new round of grant and loan proposals for the California Advanced Services Fund is remarkably different from the 2013 batch. Back then, 32 proposals were dumped on the CPUC all at once, ready or not. This time around, the application window will stay open until the money is gone, which means applicants can prioritise quality over deadline driven speed. And, it is hoped, the review process won’t be as clogged or as fraught – if an application is rejected now, it can be fixed and resubmitted.… More

Hard broadband choices for new CPUC president

30 December 2014 by Steve Blum
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Utility policy and the way it’s implemented, including the possibility of a more activist form of broadband regulation, will be significantly different at the California Public Utilities Commission in 2015. The two most powerful jobs – president and executive director – will be held by new people in the coming year.

In 11 months, Michael Picker moved from a job as an energy advisor to Governor Jerry Brown to a seat on the commission to the top job as president, assuming the California senate agrees.… More

Low USDA broadband grant standards dig a deeper digital divide

29 December 2014 by Steve Blum
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Rural broadband projects have another shot at getting funding from the U.S. department of agriculture. The rural utilities service (RUS) has opened another grant application window for its Community Connect program (h/t to Tom Glegola at CPUC for the heads up).

The key eligibility parameters are…

  • The project must be in an area “where Broadband Service does not currently exist”. That’s defined as a combined – down plus up – speed of 3 Mbps. For example, if there’s service available at 1.5 Mbps up and 1.5 Mbps down, fixed or mobile, then the area isn’t eligible for a grant.
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