Analysis

Will the Federal Communications Commission raise the definition of broadband to 100/20 Mbps? It looks like that probably doesn’t happen until Congress approves a fifth FCC commissioner. But we  need to understand that a 100/20 Mbps definition of broadband is not forward-looking and will start being obsolete and too slow from the day it is approved. We need a mechanism to change the definition of broadband annually, or at least more often than we have been doing. The market has already told the FCC that 100 Mbps is quickly becoming last year’s news.

For anyone planning on funding a broadband project with a grant, there are some important costs to consider. First, grants don’t cover all assets. Most grants cover network assets and assets needed to connect to customers, but grants typically don’t cover vehicles, computers, furniture, test equipment, and any other assets needed to launch a new internet service provider (ISP) or a new market. Grants also aren’t going to cover major software costs like upgrades to billing systems or marketing software.

In April 2021, State District Court Judge Matthew Wilson in New Mexico ordered school officials to take steps to provide the needed devices and broadband connections for students who are forced to attend school remotely. This ruling was made during the deepest part of the pandemic when most schools in New Mexico were shut down. His ruling was based upon complaints that The New Mexico Public Education Department was not complying with a court decision in the case of Yazzie/Martinez v.

The upcoming Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants bring a huge once-in-a-generation grant to states to solve the digital divide and build broadband infrastructure. The average state will get over $800 million dollars, with the exact amount per state still to be determined. It seems almost too absurd to imagine for communities with poor broadband, but there are some states that may end up not getting this funding.

In this analysis, Opensignal takes its first look at the impact of AT&T and Verizon's C-band launches on the 5G mobile experience. We analyzed the 5G speeds seen on the US carriers when connected to mid-band 5G spectrum, using T-Mobile’s 5G experience on the 2.5 GHz band for comparison because T-Mobile is using 2.5 GHz for a similar purpose to C-band.

For the last twenty years, the industry has talked about broadband in cities as a duopoly, meaning there was competition between cable and telecom companies – competition between cable modem broadband and DSL broadband. Whether coordinated by backroom deals or by listening to smart advisors, both industries have given up trying to compete on price. By the time cable modem speeds hit 30 Mbps speeds, the market competition was over, and cable clearly won the price war.

Despite the more than $1.6 trillion private internet service providers (ISPs) have invested in broadband infrastructure since 1996, the internet landscape in the US faces significant challenges. As private ISPs have struggled to tackle these challenges, two related models have emerged as creative alternatives: municipal broadband and cooperatives.

Regional utility districts formed among multiple towns or municipal entities represent one of several emerging frameworks for providing broadband service to unserved or underserved areas, particularly in more rural parts of the country. Historically, such utility districts have been formed to build out infrastructure and provide essential services.

Investor-owned utilities, typically large, publicly-traded electricity distributors, can play a critical role in bringing broadband services to rural and underserved areas by allowing providers to use their existing infrastructure to provide the middle mile network for making high-speed internet connections. Rural areas present a challenge for broadband providers: These regions tend to be more costly and less profitable to serve than densely populated urban and suburban areas. Connecting rural communities requires middle and last-mile networks.

State policymakers have increasingly sought new solutions to improve the availability of broadband, including allowing electric cooperatives to offer service, the formation of regional utility districts to provide broadband, and the use of investor-owned utilities to improve the availabili