Fierce

Frontier Communications said it expects its cost per passing to fall in the $1,000 to $1,100 range in 2023.

Microsoft will expand its Airband Initiative partnerships with service providers across Latin America and Africa to provide high-speed internet access for nearly 40 million people. The Airband Initiative, launched in 2017, initially focused on tapping into unused broadcast frequencies between TV channels (or TV white spaces) to help deliver enhanced connectivity coverage and advance digital equity in the U.S.

Patrick Redmond, Nebraska’s interim broadband director, described his workspace as “an office of one.” Given the Nebraska Broadband Office was just created in January 2023, he said “there’s a big learning curve” in tackling the broadband landscape. One order of business is to get the state’s broadband maps up and running. Redmond said Nebraska has been working with a vendor since February 2023 to develop a map prototype.

Is the Lifeline program effective? Should E-Rate be expanded to cover school-related connectivity outside of campuses? Would it make sense to fold the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) into the Universal Service Fund (USF)? These were some of the questions asked and answered at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the state of universal service. Sen John Thune (R-SD) claimed the Lifeline program is “riddled with waste, fraud and abuse” and chided the Federal Communications Commission for failing to evaluate whether the program is functioning as intended.

Like most states, Ohio has its own approach to bolstering broadband accessibility. One area where Ohio is seeing progress, Lt. Governor Jon Husted (R-OH) said, is in enhancing its broadband workforce. Lt. Gov Husted, who also leads Ohio’s Office of Workforce Transformation, explained Ohio State University (OSU) has developed a curriculum for 5G and high-speed internet expansion, which can be used by other colleges and universities as well as the private sector.

WIA Connect(X) show panelists were asked if there is a magic number that developers should target for the cost per home passed with fiber. Beth Hoffman, managing director with Berkshire Partners, said that a lot of it depends on the density of the market. The cost per home passed in a dense city like San Francisco (CA) could be as low as $700.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently released a report that shows Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is working. However, CBRS opponents, led by CTIA, insist that CBRS remains an unproven experiment in spectrum sharing, with constraints like low power levels that make it impossible to provide broad coverage.