Comcast, Charter dominate US; telcos “abandoned rural America,” report says

ronjor · May 7, 2019

Charter squeezes more money out of Internet users with new cancellation policy

Jon Brodkin - 5/7/2019
Charter is making it more expensive to cancel its Spectrum Internet service, as it will begin charging customers for the full month after they cancel instead of providing a prorated final bill.
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ronjor · May 14, 2019

AT&T promised 7,000 new jobs to get tax break—it cut 23,000 jobs instead

Jon Brodkin - 5/14/2019
AT&T has cut more than 23,000 jobs since receiving a big tax cut at the end of 2017, despite lobbying heavily for the tax cut by claiming that it would create thousands of jobs.
AT&T in November 2017 pushed for the corporate tax cut by promising to invest an additional $1 billion in 2018, with CEO Randall Stephenson saying that "every billion dollars AT&T invests is 7,000 hard-hat jobs. These are not entry-level jobs. These are 7,000 jobs of people putting fiber in ground, hard-hat jobs that make $70,000 to $80,000 per year."
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ronjor · May 14, 2019

Washington will create a statewide broadband office to expand internet access

by Monica Nickelsburg on May 14, 2019
Washington will soon have a dedicated broadband office tasked with expanding internet access to underserved parts of the state. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill that creates the broadband office into law this week.
The office will manage the state’s broadband budget and work to bring in federal funds. The new law also creates a competitive grant and loan program to fund projects that expand broadband to communities that don’t currently have reliable internet.
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ronjor · May 16, 2019

Arkansas plans to deploy broadband statewide by 2022

Written by Ryan Johnston May 16, 2019
The state’s 79-page plan dictates the creation of a state broadband office that, among other things, will see broadband deployed to every community with a population greater than 500 within the next three years. The goal, Hutchinson said, is to expand the reach of high-speed internet beyond schools and into communities. All public K-12 schools, charter schools and education service cooperatives in Arkansas were supplied with high-speed broadband in July 2017 through one of Hutchinson’s initiatives.
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ronjor · May 23, 2019

Comcast does so much lobbying that it says disclosing it all is too hard

Jon Brodkin - 5/23/2019
Shareholders say Comcast should stop being secretive about lobbying activity.
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guest · May 27, 2019

Trump's ban on Chinese telecom giant Huawei could cut off rural Americans' cell service
May 27, 2019
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...telecom-giant-huawei-could-cut-rural-n1010311

But rural cell service providers across the U.S. are almost entirely dependent on the company, Huawei, which produces inexpensive wireless communications equipment.
It is a prospect that could leave vast swaths of rural America with no cell service.

In response, a bipartisan group of senators proposed legislation that would create a pool of $700 million to help local carriers replace their technology.

"We estimated that we needed $800 million to $1 billion for our carriers, but that only covers about a dozen companies," Carrie Bennet, general counsel for the Rural Wireless Association, told NBC News.
"These rural areas are going to not get served, and it puzzles me why these senators, many of whom are from states that are almost entirely rural, don't see the problem here."
High price of rural wireless
The Huawei ban will force many wireless providers to turn to expensive European technology, as there are few American alternatives.
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ronjor · May 29, 2019

FCC’s broadband deployment report called ‘fundamentally at odds with reality’

Devin Coldewey @techcrunch 29 May 2019
The FCC has officially issued this year’s Broadband Deployment Report, summarizing the extent to which the agency and industry have closed the digital divide in this country. But not everyone agrees with it: “The rosy picture the report paints about the status of broadband deployment is fundamentally at odds with reality,” said Geoffrey Starks in a lengthy dissenting statement.
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ronjor · Jun 6, 2019

ronjor said: ↑

Washington state has a $171M bill for Comcast as major consumer protection trial concludes
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Comcast fined $9.1M for consumer protection violations in high-profile Washington state case
by James Thorne on June 6, 2019

A judge ordered Comcast Corp. to pay $9.1 million in penalties for violating Washington state’s Consumer Protection Act — a fraction of the amount that the Washington State Attorney General had previously sought in the civil case.
At a hearing Thursday afternoon in downtown Seattle, King County Superior Court Judge Timothy Bradshaw ruled that Comcast signed customers up for a monthly maintenance plan without their consent and misrepresented the monthly cost associated with it, practices that affected nearly 50,000 customers. The company was fined $6,014,700 for the consent issue and $3,078,900 for the recurring charges claim, based on a per-violation charge of $25 and $15, respectively.
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ronjor · Jun 10, 2019

FCC Authorizes $166.8 Million to Expand Rural Broadband in 22 States

June 10, 2019
Another Round of Funding Starts This Month for Broadband Buildout in Rural Communities in 22 States
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ronjor · Jun 17, 2019

AT&T cuts another 1,800 jobs as it finishes fiber-Internet buildout

Jon Brodkin - Jun 17, 2019 8:44 pm UTC
AT&T in November 2017 pushed for a corporate tax cut by promising to invest an additional $1 billion in 2018, with CEO Randall Stephenson saying that "every billion dollars AT&T invests is 7,000 hard-hat jobs. These are not entry-level jobs. These are 7,000 jobs of people putting fiber in ground, hard-hat jobs that make $70,000 to $80,000 per year."
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guest · Jun 24, 2019

ronjor said: ↑

Vermont legislators approve broadband expansion bill
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Vermont takes rural broadband into its own hands under new law
June 24, 2019
https://statescoop.com/vermont-homegrown-broadband-providers/

Vermont will fund homegrown internet service providers under a broadband expansion bill Gov. Phil Scott signed into law last week. The move makes Vermont the latest in a series of states that, underwhelmed by the federal government’s solutions to provide internet access, have taken matters into their own hands.

“We have been waiting for the private sector to serve us, and it hasn’t come,” Clay Purvis, the director for telecommunications at the Vermont Department of Public Service, told StateScoop.
The new law establishes a broadband innovation grant program to kickstart and fund local providers, inspired by the success of ECFiber, an ISP that serves east-central Vermont.

“What we’ve been hearing from many communities is that they see this as a connection to the outside world. They see it as an economic and a public health lifeline,” he said.
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ronjor · Jul 4, 2019

Nexstar stations blacked out on AT&T DirecTV and U-verse amid contract dispute

Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY Published 1:52 p.m. ET July 4, 2019 | Updated 2:16 p.m. ET July 4, 2019
Some DirecTV and AT&T U-verse subscribers woke up Thursday to find they lost access to Nexstar stations.
More than 120 stations in 97 markets across the nation, which include ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC affiliate stations, went dark at 11:59 p.m. local time July 3 after Nexstar and AT&T were unable to reach an agreement, both sides said in competing statements that each blame the other for the blackout.
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guest · Jul 12, 2019

Charter gets final approval to stay in NY despite breaking merger promise
Charter gets extra year to meet Time Warner Cable merger requirement
July 12, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...o-stay-in-ny-despite-breaking-merger-promise/

"Under the terms of the agreement, Charter will expand its network to provide high-speed broadband service to 145,000 residences and businesses entirely in Upstate New York and will pay an additional $12 million to expand broadband service to additional premises," yesterday's PSC announcement said.
$12 million will fund new broadband
The final number of new broadband locations will be more than 145,000 because of the newly required $12 million payment.

Half of the $12 million "will be paid into an escrow fund for [broadband-expansion] work that will be completed by Charter at the State's direction," the PSC said. The other $6 million will pay for broadband-deployment projects in a competitive bidding process. This money could end up going back to Charter or to its competitors, or a combination of both.
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ronjor · Jul 16, 2019

FCC gives ISPs another $563 million to build rural-broadband networks

Jon Brodkin - 7/16/2019
Tens of millions of Americans still don't have broadband Internet.
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ronjor · Jul 25, 2019

AT&T loses nearly 1 million TV customers after raising DirecTV prices

Jon Brodkin - 7/25/2019
Price increases helped drive 946,000 customers away from AT&T.
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ronjor · Aug 1, 2019

FCC finally orders ISPs to say exactly where they offer broadband

Jon Brodkin - 8/1/2019
ISPs will have to submit geospatial maps of broadband service areas.
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guest · Aug 3, 2019

Educators like the FCC's new rural broadband fund proposal
August 2, 2019
https://edscoop.com/educators-fcc-rural-digital-opportunity-fund/

Education leaders are applauding the Federal Communications Commission for on Thursday proposing a new fund that will continue efforts to bring modern broadband service to rural communities. But they also expressed concerns over a separate proposal to limit funding for several other broadband initiatives.

“We think this particular proposal is good,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking.
By ensuring rural areas have access to broadband services, students in those communities are expected to be able to connect with educational resources at home.
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ronjor · Aug 6, 2019

Comcast’s $10 internet plan opens up to all low-income and disabled Americans

Devin Coldewey@techcrunch 07 Aug 2019
Low-income families face the same issues the luckier among us do when it comes to getting broadband: few options and fewer still that are affordable. Comcast, though simultaneously the source of many of these issues, has a good program for anyone facing financial hardship, and several new groups now qualify for $10 connectivity.
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ronjor · Aug 9, 2019

Verizon demands $880 from rural library for just 0.44GB of roaming data

Jon Brodkin - 8/9/2019
Loaned-out mobile hotspot inadvertently used data during car trip to Canada.
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guest · Aug 10, 2019

Indiana Governor Announces Funding For Rural Broadband Expansion
August 9, 2019
https://www.eaglecountryonline.com/...ounces-funding-for-rural-broadband-expansion/

More than $22 million has been awarded for broadband internet expansion in rural parts of Indiana.
Governor Eric Holcomb announced the funding Thursday as part of his Next Level Broadband program. The money will provide broadband infrastructure for 4,800 homes and businesses in 12 counties, but none in our listening area.

“Access to broadband brings countless opportunities and that’s why I’m excited to see these key infrastructure projects positively impact economic development, health, agriculture and quality of life.”
The applicants receiving the funds will provide internet service with speeds of up to one gigabyte download and upload. Those telecommunications providers and utility cooperatives are also contributing $14 million in matching funds.
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guest · Aug 12, 2019

FCC approves another $137 million to expand rural broadband access
It'll bring high-speed internet to 36,579 homes and businesses over the next decade
August 13, 2019
https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/12/fcc-rural-broadband-funding/

The Federal Communications Commission has approved another $121 million in funding to bring broadband access to rural homes and businesses. It's the fourth round of support following last year's Connect America Fund Phase II reverse auction.

Funding applications the FCC approved in this round includes $4.1 million to provide gigabit connectivity to 849 homes and businesses on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, and $32.3 million to supply gigabit service to 7,015 homes and businesses in rural Pennsylvania. Other states in which projects have received support include Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
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guest · Aug 13, 2019

'Wi-Fi 'antenna' provides options for rural areas
August 13, 2019
https://techxplore.com/news/2019-08-wi-fi-antenna-options-rural-areas.html

Ah, the joys of living out in the country: the quiet, the space and the peacefulness. Then there's the internet connection, which can go from bad to worse quickly in many rural areas.
Purdue University researchers soon may have an answer to help create better options for rural Wi-Fi—and the same technology may help airports and the rural transmission of critical data for utilities and other service providers.

The current solution for long-range Wi-Fi transmission is to use high-powered transmitters with antennas mounted at high elevations. Mott said these solutions are expensive and prohibitive for many applications associated with antenna height restrictions, such as aviation applications.
Mott and his team developed a bihelical receiving antenna that efficiently recaptures a portion of signal energy lost due to multipath interference to achieve a more powerful received signal.

Through an innovative design and the use of directional antennas, this technology is an antenna system that can transmit and receive data over long ranges at low elevations
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guest · Aug 14, 2019

Pete Buttigieg echoes Warren with $80B rural broadband plan
August 13, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/13/pete-buttigieg-echoes-warren-with-80b-rural-broadband-plan/

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has unveiled his plan to address the broadband gap in this country: an $80 billion “Internet for All” initiative and set of related reforms. It echoes Senator Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) announcement last week, which is, generally speaking, a good thing.

Buttigieg’s main promise is to “expand access to all currently unserved and underserved communities,” including a “public option” where private companies have failed to provide coverage.

“To ensure greater opportunity for all, we must make a massive investment in Internet access” summarizes the Buttigieg plan pretty well. You can read the full plan here or below.
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guest · Aug 22, 2019

FCC approves $4.9B in funding for rural broadband improvements
August 22, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/22/fcc-approves-4-9b-in-funding-for-rural-broadband-improvements/

The FCC has just approved nearly five billion dollars in subsidies for rural broadband operators to be paid out over the next ten years. Recipients of this windfall will have to “maintain, improve, and expand” their broadband infrastructure, especially in underserved areas.

Carriers in 39 states, American Samoa, and many tribal lands will receive varying amounts of funding depending on the number of people they serve, the cost of providing that service, and so on. Naturally states with more people in rural areas receive more cash — you can see how your state made out in the chart below.
To be clear, this isn’t some spontaneous cash drop by the FCC; it has to decide how to distribute the funds it receives from fees and such, and one of the major efforts underway these days is improving rural broadband.
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guest · Aug 22, 2019

The FCC has no idea how many people don’t have broadband access
The FCC likely counts millions of unserved homes as having broadband
August 23, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...a-how-many-people-dont-have-broadband-access/

A new broadband mapping system is starting to show just how inaccurate the Federal Communications Commission's connectivity data is.

In Missouri and Virginia, up to 38% of rural homes and businesses that the FCC counts as having broadband access actually do not, the new research found. That's more than 445,000 unconnected homes and businesses that the FCC would call "served" with its current system.
Given that the new research covered just two states with a combined population of 14.6 million (or 4.5% of the 327.2 million people nationwide), it's likely that millions of homes nationwide have been wrongly counted as served by broadband.
Why the FCC’s current data is wrong
The key problem with today's maps is that the FCC's Form 477 data-collection program that requires ISPs to report census-block coverage lets an ISP count an entire census block as served even if it can serve just one home in the block.
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Comcast, Charter dominate US; telcos “abandoned rural America,” report says

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