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Muni broadband debate heats up in Tennessee, because it can

8 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Something you don’t see in Washington.

All or nothing federal policies are great when you’re getting it all, but when the political winds shift and you end up with nothing, it’s not so wonderful. That’s why I think the Federal Communications Commission’s preemption of state restrictions on municipal broadband is a bad idea: its current more is better policy will only last as long as three commissioners agree with it, but its authority to regulate muni broadband will live forever.… More

FCC wants cable companies to open up networks to competitive set top boxes

6 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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And to more obligatory cat photos.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the broadband policy world, and I’m still getting caught up on all the developments. The California Public Utilities Commission voted to give mobile carriers the same kind of access to utility poles that wireline telcos and cable companies have – more on that tomorrow – and the Federal Communications Commission prepared to scale the walled gardens of set top boxes.

You need a set top box to get television service from a cable, telephone or satellite company.… More

Technology neutral does not mean price and service oblivious

3 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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It was either pay the rent or the Verizon bill, but at least I’m getting good reception.

The Federal Communications Commission got it right last week, and the California Public Utilities Commission got it wrong. On the one hand, the FCC formally decided that “fixed and mobile broadband services are not functional substitutes for one another“, and reaffirmed that the minimum acceptable speed for wireline service is 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up.… 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.

… 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

Power to the people and back it up too

24 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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Consumer groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its new rule that requires telephone companies to sell back up batteries to customers when an outside power source is required. Companies should give subscribers batteries, the groups say.

The core issue is whether carriers will be required to pay for backup batteries at users’ homes to make sure that phone service remains available during a power outage. Old style phone service – copper – was self powered and remained operational during power failures.… More

Telco broadband service is slow, cable is fast says FCC

4 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission issued its annual fixed broadband service measurement report just as it slid into the New Year’s holiday. I’m still slogging through the technical data, but the top line conclusions are…

  • Overall, the FCC says, residential broadband speeds and other performance metrics continue to improve.
  • Cable modem service is fast with maximum advertised speeds in the 100 megabit range, faster in real world circumstances than fiber, although only Verizon’s and Frontier’s fiber service were measured.
… More

Unlicensed spectrum needs clear rules or no rules, not guesswork in between

29 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Not just another monkey.

There are no rules against blocking someone else’s WiFi hotspot, according to the two republican members of the Federal Communications Commission. Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly posted dissents to a decision to fine M.C. Dean, a concessionaire at the Baltimore convention center, $718,000 for interfering with attendees ability to connect to their own mobile hotspots.

On the surface, it’s a Catch-22 argument: Pai and O’Rielly are saying that since people who use unlicensed spectrum – Part 15 users, in FCC jargon – have to accept any interference they receive, interfering with them isn’t really interference.… More

Big gap between FCC press releases and final enforcement

23 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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I’m coming to get ya. Honest.

The Federal Communications Commission is barking but not biting, according to federal lawmakers in both houses and on both sides of the aisle. According to a Politico article, the hefty fines that the FCC has said it’s imposing on a wide variety of transgressors haven’t been, and may never be, collected.

The problem seems to be that the FCC’s enforcement bureau issues press releases announcing big fines, without having finished its investigations or getting to the point that the money is actually collectable.… More

Anza FTTH project approved for funding by CPUC

21 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Desert communities get competing broadband subsidies from California, feds.

The Anza Electric Cooperative will get $2.7 million from the California Advanced Services Fund to build a fiber to the home system throughout its service area in western Riverside County. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the grant at its meeting on thursday. According to the resolution…

This project is economical and provides a wide benefit. The CASF per-household subsidy is $710 per household (based on 3,751 households that will have access).

… More