Ownership

Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, faced more than three hours of criticism and ridicule from Republicans in a House hearing, as emboldened critics increasingly put pressure on the agency for its crackdown on the growing power of tech giants. During the highly partisan hearing, Republicans accused Chair Khan, who has carried out an aggressive agenda of lawsuits and investigations against tech companies, of “harassing” businesses.

Vyve Broadband, a cable and fiber provider operating in 16 states, recently unveiled plans to purchase Oklahoma-based Community Cable & Broadband (CCB)—a move Chief Operating Officer Andy Parrott called a “tuck-in acquisition.” Parrot said Oklahoma is a key market for Vyve, as it has support and infrastructure that goes throughout the state.

Choptank Electric Cooperative and its subsidiary, Choptank Fiber, finalized a deal to acquire thousands of broadband fiber customers from Bay Country Communications (BCC) over the next 10 years. The deal sets up a partnership between Choptank and BCC whereby Bay Country will continue to serve its cable customers and will construct fiber services to customers already in the construction pipeline.

Microsoft can close its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, a federal judge ruled, delivering a major setback to the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to rein in big mergers. The deal would combine Microsoft’s Xbox videogaming business with the publisher of popular franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush.

In an era of tighter antitrust scrutiny of Big Tech in the United States, in Europe and elsewhere, what questions does Meta’s effort to extend its social media reach raise about the industry’s ability to expand into new areas — even when players build new services themselves, rather than buy a smaller foe? Size matters, but it’s just one factor. Regulators will want to know how Meta is gaining market share. Data concerns loom large.  Being big doesn’t run afoul of antitrust law. “The key is network effects.”  “There’s a narrative out there that anything a tech company does is bad.”

Fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) provider GigFire has acquired Rural Comm, a service provider headquartered in Farina (IL). GigFire, which now operates in ten Midwestern states, was known as LTD Broadband until earlier in 2023.

Our local and regional governments have a responsibility to provide equitable, accessible, and affordable fast-internet service to every home and business—just like electricity, water, and waste removal. Portland (OR) has existing infrastructure that can be used to provide affordable access to fast internet for all Portlanders: a publicly owned dark fiber network used for essential city services—IRNE (Integrated Regional Network Enterprise) Net.

A Republican, a Libertarian, and a Democrat meet over a beer in the small town of Liberty, Maine. Bob Kurek, Joe Meadows, and Phil Bloomstein, each a selectman from their respective towns, may disagree on many issues, but they unanimously agree when it comes to broadband funding: Public funds should support publicly owned fiber-optic networks. Kurek, Meadows, and Bloomstein are three of Waldo Broadband Corporation’s (WBC) five volunteer directors.

Cox Communications, continuing its investment in network infrastructure providers of the last couple of years, closed its purchase of commercial fiber provider Unite Private Networks (UPN) for an undisclosed price.

Charlie Ergen is looking to merge the two halves of his telecom empire, Dish and EchoStar, a deal that would tilt Dish away from a satellite TV business in decline. Apparently, both companies have engaged advisers to sort through what a deal might look like.