Telecommunication

Telephone companies (telcos) may still be trailing cable operators in the broadband race, but their continuous fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) builds could help narrow the subscriber divide. As more customers want higher speeds, this group is moving to deploy fiber to the home (FTTH) across select markets as their traditional DSL and POTS voice base dwindles. This is being driven on two sides: Tier-1 telcos and Tier-2 telcos. The big three--AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen—are Tier-1 telcos that are all seeing growth in fiber-based broadband.

Vice President Kamala Harris talked up the broadband benefits of the recently passed bipartisan infrastructure package, which included $65 billion for broadband buildouts and adoption. Harris was tapped by President Biden early on to be his point person on the goal of universal internet access.

As states start to allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enacted in March 2021, many policymakers are using some of the new resources to fund broadband expansion, by increasing funding for existing programs or establishing new ones. The relief package, which Congress passed to help Americans struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic, includes two programs administered by the U.S.

The federal government is pouring billions of dollars into expanding broadband internet access, namely through the $65 billion included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. But it’s at the state level where the financial rubber meets the fiber-optic road. History suggests some states are ahead of the game while others will have to play catch-up.

Corning isn’t specifying how long its lead times are for its fiber products, but Mike Bell, senior vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Communications, stated, “Our normal lead time, what we would prefer our lead time to be, is a month. It’s much longer than that right now.” Bell said, “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and I’ve never seen demand on the scale we’re seeing now.

Nik Coates, the town administrator for Bristol (NH), is working on a project that would bring New Hampshire closer to the goal of universal coverage. Coates is also part of the Grafton County Broadband Committee, which applied for $26.2 million in federal funds that would go toward building out broadband in that county. But the grant process – through the National Transportation Infrastructure Agency – is facing a challenge from incumbent providers who say they are already providing service in the region.

Republican senators are alleging that the Twitter histories of Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] and Federal Trade Commission nominee Alvaro Bedoya, which include jabs at Fox News and

Braintree Electric Light Department (BELD) — a nonprofit, publicly owned power utility and broadband internet provider — announced it has sold its internet business to Comcast. The sales price was not disclosed. BELD said the deal will have no impact on its electric division. BELD’s approximately 2,500 internet and phone customers will have their service transferred to Comcast, beginning this year. Comcast has already been an incumbent provider in Braintree (MA) for 18 years. Comcast also announced it was buying Russell Municipal Cable TV in Springfield (MA).

Gov JB Pritzker (D-IL) and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Office of Broadband announced the Accelerate Illinois Broadband Infrastructure Planning Program. The program – a collaborative effort by the Illinois Office of Broadband, Illinois-based Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and University of Illinois Extension – will help local governments throughout Illinois receive expert support as they prepare to leverage new dollars that will be made available by the state as well as through the historic passage of the federal infrastructure program.

Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Joe Biden's pick to fill the vacant seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, will pave the way for the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections if confirmed by the US Senate.