Fierce

Much of the hype around broadband funding is focused on the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, but money continues to flow from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). To date, the US Treasury Department has awarded nearly $5 billion from the CPF across 33 states. That amount is almost half of the Treasury Department’s $10 billion allotment for the fund. States that have received funding thus far expect to connect 1.4 million households as a result. The CPF was created in March 2021, but Treasury only began approving state funding requests June 2022.

Charter Communications has talked a lot recently about its rural expansion plans. But what it hasn’t drawn attention to is the fact that most - if not all - of its planned rural passings will be delivered with fiber. The operator originally announced its rural build plan in 2021 after the close of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction. All told, it said it was planning to spend $5 billion – including $1.2 billion in RDOF subsidy money – to reach 1 million rural locations across 24 states over the coming years.

ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeye underscored the top-of-mind issues pervading the broadband industry. Unsurprisingly, the allocation of federal funds was front and center. First, ACA wants to make sure broadband funding is going where it’s supposed to be, as Spellmeyer noted the organization is “very concerned” about overbuilding using government support. The biggest pot of broadband money comes from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

With Altice USA revamping its management with a slew of Comcast veterans, investors are wondering if the latter might be eyeing an acquisition of the former.

Dish Network says it is progressing with its Boost Infinite postpaid service but company executives stopped short of saying when it will launch commercially nationwide.

The Alaskan landscape is rife with broadband accessibility and deployment challenges, which GCI is all too familiar with.

Frontier Communications is all heads down as it works to reach its target of deploying fiber to 10 million locations by the end of 2025. That said, it’s also got an eye on the horizon beyond that goal, with executives saying that subsidy dollars or a potential joint venture (JV) could help it expand further. CEO Nick Jeffery added it would also entertain an open-access network deal to reach more locations. “In terms of open access infrastructures generally, if there is one available that we could use, yes, we’d look at it,” he said. “It can be a capital smart way of operating.