Study from ACA Connects argues that the case for new regulations has 'vanished' amid 'robust' broadband growth and competition.

Federal, state and local offices are hiring for a range of positions to manage billions of dollars in broadband grants.

Consumer demand, operator technology upgrades, marketing and high levels of investment are all contributing to 1-Gig growth globally, says analyst firm Omdia.

Broadband rules also drew criticism from the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) which called NTIA's fiber focus 'contrary to Congress' tech-neutral design' of the infrastructure law.

A new study counts over 100 broadband programs administered by 15 agencies and calls the federal approach to closing the digital divide 'fragmented and overlapping.'

While we're covering the Big 5G event, here's a look back at a few broadband industry highlights from the last 12 months.

But consumer advocacy group Free Press argues that some of the broadband providers on that list are the same ones 'sabotaging President Biden's FCC.'

Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.

One Country Project, led by former Senator Heidi Heitkamp - a Democrat - is launching a campaign claiming that Sohn 'is the wrong choice for the FCC and rural America.'

Senators requested updates on the FCC's efforts to default ineligible bids, how they're collaborating on broadband funding across agencies and how rejected funds will be redistributed.

Utopia Fiber's partnership with California's Golden State Connect Authority comes following the state's passage of a $6 billion broadband bill with $3.25 billion for an open access, middle mile fiber network.

The FCC Chairwoman also confirmed the Commission would start a challenge process following the map release to give localities, tribes, carriers and consumers the opportunity to tell the agency what it got wrong.

The budget proposal also includes $25 million for rural co-ops to refinance Rural Utilities Services loan debt and upgrade their networks.

Yellowstone Fiber has started laying conduit to install underground fiber to connect Gallatin County and the city of Bozeman, Montana. The open access network is a partnership with Utah's Utopia Fiber.

Rhode Island lawmakers called a multi-million-dollar Cox investment 'an effort to catch up on years of neglect' and renewed their push for a dedicated advisory council to plan out the state's broadband future.

A new policy brief shows fixed broadband prices rose to 3.5% of gross national income (GNI) per capita in 2021, up from 2.9% in 2020. Mobile broadband prices increased to 2% of GNI in 2021, up from 1.9% in 2020.

With the public comment period on the FCC's broadband nutrition label rules wrapped up, here are some takeaways from the industry's input on how they may be written.

The playbook offers states a guide to navigating broadband funding opportunities in the Biden administration's infrastructure bill - and stresses the need to spend funds on future-proof technology.

Elon Musk confirmed deployment of SpaceX's Starlink satellite Internet service in Ukraine this weekend - but security experts warn the uplink transmissions may increase the risk of airstrikes.

The FCC has signed up roughly 1 million households since the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) launched in January. That's in addition to the 9 million households enrolled in the program's predecessor, the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) which ended on December 31, 2021.

In a letter to investors, CEO Carl Russo warned that supply chain constraints in 2022 will 'challenge our ability to grow as fast as we have the past two years.'

The FCC said the new rules are in response to ISPs engaging in 'a pattern of new practices that inhibit competition' in apartment buildings and other multi-tenant environments.

Cedar Hills and Santa Clara are the latest cities in Utah to join Utopia's municipal open access fiber network, despite pushback from incumbents.

Led by China, analysts expect global gigabit subscriptions to reach 50 million in 2022, up from 24 million at the end of 2020.

The analyst firm points to trends it says will be 'at the heart of regulatory activity' next year, including spectrum licensing, the digital divide and - yes - 6G.

Industry groups and policy advocates alike are sharpening their arguments for which technologies should be involved in closing the US digital divide.

This week: Gary Bolton, president of the Fiber Broadband Association, returns to the podcast to discuss how the fiber industry's advocacy efforts are changing as the US implements its $65 billion broadband bill. We also discuss FBA's forthcoming fiber optic technician training program.

Rosenworcel's official designation as chair (a position she's held in an acting capacity) makes her the first woman to helm the federal agency.

With few legislative days left on the calendar, the US Senate Commerce Committee held a confirmation hearing on Wednesday for President Biden's nominees for NTIA head, Alan Davidson, and FCC Commissioner, Gigi Sohn.

A new industry report from Accenture, commissioned by CTIA, the wireless industry association, makes the case for serving the rural US with fixed wireless, noting that with billions available for broadband, it's 'key to acknowledge that 5G FWA is a future-proof technology.'

Performance data from Comlinkdata/Tutela indicate that T-Mobile Home Broadband and Starlink are as good as VDSL, stomp on DSL, but generally fall short of terrestrial HFC and fiber services.

In the FCC's largest round of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) yet, which saw electric cooperatives as the walkaway winners, over $435 million was designated for Conexon Connect, a fiber ISP providing service through local co-ops.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a White House press briefing that closing the digital divide will be a 'massive undertaking' and shared details on oversight plans and requirements for state funding.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act contains the federal government's largest investment in broadband, as well as key provisions around affordability and digital equity.

Frontier tacked on a record 185,000 new fiber locations and 29,000 fiber subs in Q3. Frontier shares rose despite a revenue miss, making it clear that investors are applying more weight to the pace of Frontier's FTTP buildout.

Adtran reported a GAAP net loss of $10.4 million for Q3 2021, owing largely to supply chain issues. But CEO Tom Stanton tried to project a sunny outlook for 2022 while also admitting it's the company's biggest problem.

If confirmed, Biden's pick for FCC Commissioner, Gigi Sohn will bring a strong voice for open, affordable Internet and public networks, just as the administration prepares for the largest federal broadband investment in history.

Following much public hand-wringing over the fate of the FCC, President Biden nominated Jessica Rosenworcel and Gigi Sohn as commissioners, with Rosenworcel designated as Chair. Biden also nominated Alan Davidson for Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the NTIA.

Speaking to shareholders, Calix CEO Carl Russo was optimistic about the company's ongoing success with small ISPs. But he notes Calix is experiencing the 'direct effects' of low global vaccination rates.

This week: Ryan Meche, director of LUS Fiber, a municipal fiber provider in Lafayette, Louisiana, on why the city chose a municipal broadband model, how it's funded and how it works and the company's plans for a potential NTIA grant.

San Antonio is the latest Google Fiber market to get access to a relatively new service tier that pumps out 2Gbit/s downstream and 1Gbit/s upstream for $100 per month.

Without a permanent chair or adequate staff, and at risk of losing its Democratic majority, the FCC will fail to make meaningful progress on crucial broadband programs, a former agency official warns.

FCC has authorized another $163M for RDOF covering 42 providers, and vows that a 'clean up' of the process is moving ahead as dozens of winning bidders opt not to pursue buildouts in 5,000-plus census blocks.

This week: Evan Dixon, president of global fixed broadband at Viasat, discusses the company's role in tackling the digital divide in the US and abroad, and he pushes back on arguments from the fiber industry that satellite isn't 'future proof.'

Frontier plans to offer $1 billion in notes to help finance its ambitious fiber build just days after Ziply Fiber announced it raised $350 million in debt funding to do the same.

XGS-PON has a long upgrade path, as the platform Frontier selected from Nokia is upgradable to 25-Gig PON 'with basically an optics change,' says Frontier's Scott Mispagel.

Latest round of FCC authorizations cover winning bids from 13 companies and organizations, including BEK Communications, Cumberland Connect, Easton Utilities, Gibson Connect and Union Telephone.

A worsening climate crisis that has exacted a toll on cables, fiber lines and wireless towers is making clear how vulnerable that critical infrastructure is.

This week: Sam Sanders, CEO of Uprise Fiber, on how the company sets itself apart from traditional ISPs and seeks to build digital equity into broadband deployments.

This week: Eric Frank, CEO of LightBox, discusses the company's new nationwide Internet connectivity map which reveals that nearly one in six Americans is not connected.

OneWeb has locked in AT&T as a big-name customer as it pushes ahead with a plan provide global coverage via a constellation of hundreds of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

This week: Wanda Tankersley, COO at MTA, a telecom co-op in Alaska, talks about the state's unique middle-mile challenges, the company's AlCan ONE fiber project, and more.

The markets for material and labor should catch up to demand, particularly by the time Frontier 'reaches its peak deployment cadence' for FTTP upgrades in the 2023-2025 timeframe, analyst predicts.

This week: Jennifer Alvarez, co-founder and CEO, Aurora Insight, and David Hartshorn, CEO of Geeks Without Frontiers, on their partnership to address the lack of reliable wireless broadband in underserved parts of the US and abroad.

While Congress works on getting an infrastructure package with $65B for broadband to Biden's desk, several states are making plans for significant investments with help from existing federal funds.

But the bill, paired with RDOF and other stimulus efforts, are poised to establish a 'monumental and transformative' phase for the network tech supplier, DZS CEO Charlie Vogt says.

Cable One says the vast majority of households that participate in the EBB program use the funds for upgrades to faster tiers, and less than 10% are new to the cable op.

Orders remain solid and a wave of deployments with tier 1 operators looms on the horizon, but supply chain constraints inflicting the entire industry are putting pressure on the speed at which product can be delivered.

Median download speeds for the satellite broadband service hit 97.2 Mbit/s in the US, up from 65.7 Mbit/s in Q1 2021, putting it within shouting distance of fixed-line averages, Ookla's latest Speedtest data finds.

Recent influx of RFP activity is presently 'dominated' by 10-Gig XGS-PON and network orchestration needs, DZS president and CEO says.

Though government-backed broadband programs tend to be larger than many expect, they also 'take longer than you think,' says Carl Russo, who has just added the title of chairman.

But any attempt at a long-term benefit will face hurdles in a Congress that has already shaved $35 billion off President Biden's universal broadband proposal.

About $8,000 in RDOF funding is going to LTD Broadband to provide 1-Gig service in areas surrounding Apple's massive $5 billion headquarters. That's drawn a complaint from the Competitive Carriers Association.

ACA Connects and Cartesian connected on a multi-faceted study finding that it would cost in the range of $61 billion to $118 billion to bring 1 Gbit/s to certain locations not covered by the phase I RDOF auction.

SpaceX exec says Starlink's aviation product is in development and talks are now underway with 'several' airlines, moves that are sure to amp up competition with satellite broadband companies such as Viasat.

DOCSIS 4.0 presents a multitude of spectrum options, but operators are already gravitating towards expanding the upstream to 396MHz, which would support upstream speeds of about 3 Gbit/s, CommScope exec says.

The first of three ViaSat-3 satellites, set to provide coverage for the Americas region, has completed key integration and performance testing ahead of an expected launch in 'early' 2022.

A large chunk of Pew Research Center survey respondents who don't have home broadband aren't really that interested in getting it in the future. And 11% without home broadband 'do not need it.'

Fixed wireless provider Redzone told the FCC it would deploy 50Mbit/s services to the town of Islesboro, Maine. The only problem? The town already operates a 1Gbit/s fiber network.

Velocity, a fixed wireless provider launched by a utility co-op, built a network with stimulus money that could serve as a template for future broadband spending.

CEO Charlie Vogt identifies set of 'mega trends' poised to drive the business forward, including the shift to 5G, new and emerging broadband competition, and an acceleration of fiber upgrade cycles.

Although President Biden has hinted at a broadband future with 1Gbit/s speeds, new rules from his administration suggest speeds of 100 Mbit/s. And they acknowledge speeds of just 25 Mbit/s.

Supplier says a new, flexible distributed access architecture (DAA) product, which could play a role in future DOCSIS 4.0 networks, is ready for field deployments.

Nextlink won't build Internet connections to 265 locations in New Mexico. The company said that's just 0.1% of its RDOF coverage area, but critics are beginning to sound the alarm.

Frontier execs also set to provide more detail this week on the vision for the company as it embarks on a modernization plan centered on FTTP upgrades of its sizable copper plant.

LTD Broadband won $1.3 billion in the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction. Now, the company is working to convince regulators it will meet its buildout obligations.

New estimates indicate up to $44 billion could be spent on fiber networks in the US over the next five years. But will there be enough technicians and components for all that spending?

'We wouldn't call Frontier a diamond in the rough. Instead, it's more of a semi-precious stone in the rough,' analysts say in a report that sizes up Frontier's fiber-focused, post-bankruptcy future.

The satellite broadband service, still in beta, has seen median speeds fluctuate in recent months even as users report a rise in burst speeds, according to new Ookla Speedtest data.

Federal and provincial governments plan to spend C$826.3 million to extend broadband to nearly 150,000 unserved Quebec households by September 2022.

Upstream traffic surged 63% in 2020 during a pandemic-marked year that forced people to work and study from home and altered the period of the day that saw peak network usage.

US Ignite and the NSF announced winning projects of Project Overcome, a $2.7 million effort to accelerate broadband delivery to underserved communities using novel solutions.

Comcast plans to reach 50 million low-income households through community Wi-Fi projects, equipment donations and grants.

The FCC announced it will start collecting 'first-hand accounts on broadband availability and service quality directly from consumers.'

In wake of amplifier licensing deal with Cisco, vendor has notched deals with Midco and Portugal's NOS – two operators in pursuit of 1.2GHz network capacity upgrades.

Should the government funnel billions of dollars into wireless technologies that could be affected by vagaries like foliage? A policy debate is unfolding.