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FTTH project pitched for CASF subsidy in south Santa Clara County

28 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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When you travel south of the Silicon Valley, Internet access begins to degrade. The southern stretch of Santa Clara County – the Coyote Valley – relies on a uneven mix of service from Verizon (soon to be Frontier), AT&T and Charter Communications, plus a handful of independents. LCB Communications and co-owned South Valley Internet, a wireless ISP and DSL reseller in the area, want to get into the fiber to the home business, and is asking the California Public Utilities Commission for a $2.8 million subsidy from the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF).… More

Blocking improvement hurts the environment too

27 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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I don’t know if anyone has ever specifically asked, but if I had to bet I’d guess that most Californians would rate traffic congestion as a bigger problem than Internet speeds. Occasionally waiting a few seconds while Netflix buffers is annoying. Spending an hour in traffic just to travel a handful of miles is soul destroying. It’s no coincidence that three Silicon Valley companies – Google, Apple and Tesla – are at the forefront of self-driving car development.… More

CPUC okays sale of Suddenlink to Altice

18 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Not a big footprint in California.

UPDATE: the day after the CPUC approved the deal, the FCC did likewise, adding a condition requiring Altice to guarantee law enforcement and spy agency access to its network.

Altice has permission to take over control of Suddenlink’s cable systems in California. Without discussion, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the transaction at its meeting on Thursday. According to the decision…

The proposed acquisition occurs entirely at the parent ownership level and the Applicants indicate that the transaction will be “seamless and transparent to consumers in terms of current services, rates, terms and conditions.”17

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Salinas pursues fast broadband to build ag tech corridor


Click for the full picture.

With big and small agricultural companies expanding in downtown Salinas and the southeast area of the city earmarked as an Ag Tech Corridor, the need for better broadband infrastructure is becoming critical. Yesterday, the Salinas City Council voted to ask for proposals from potential private sector partners who are interested in using city assets to build out high capacity networks.

Tellus Venture Associates recently completed a study for the City of Salinas that evaluated existing infrastructure and examined options for improving it.… More

New California mobile broadband metrics closer to reality

15 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Then and now. Half the time, mobile broadband in Alameda and Contra Costa counties is pretty good. But all the time? Not so much.

Mobile broadband service in California is reasonably good overall. In some places, it’s excellent. In others, non-existent. And there’s a lot of gradations in-between. But you wouldn’t know that by relying on the marketing claims made by the four big mobile carriers, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. According to them, they deliver super service everywhere, except where it’s super duper.… More

Frontier's purchase of Verizon is a step in a competitive direction, says California attorney general

14 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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The decision to allow Frontier Communications to buy Verizon’s wireline systems in California was based partly on an opinion by the California attorney general’s office. The California Public Utilities Commission, which had the final say, asked the AG whether or not the purchase would be anti-competitive. On the contrary, came the reply, it should result in more competition…

We find that this acquisition has the potential to increase competition among competitive local exchange carriers. If indeed Verizon California has allowed its copper infrastructure to fall into disrepair, Frontier is likely to improve and maintain Verizon California’’s copper networks in a manner that may not have occurred absent the transaction.

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Santa Cruz fiber love becomes serious city business

10 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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It’s a love fest, several Santa Cruz city council members declared on Wednesday afternoon, as they unanimously approved 1. moving ahead with negotiating a fiber to the home partnership with Cruzio, a local independent Internet service provider, and 2. pursue lease revenue bonds to pay the lions share of the tab. That city-financed portion – Layer 1 in Internet lingo – could go as high as $50 million. The core network – the fiber in the ground – is pegged at about $35 million.… More

Google talks fiber for LA, but so far no unicorn

9 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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More possibles in California, but so far no glass.

Los Angeles is now on Google’s list of “potential fiber cities”. LA, along with Chicago, are still a long way from officially joining the club, though. All Google will really say about the prospects of building in either city is…

As we kick off our usual checklist process, we’ll work closely with city leaders to collect detailed information about each metro area. From Venice Beach to Wrigley Field, we’ll study the different factors that would affect construction—like city infrastructure and topography—and use that information to help us prepare to build a local fiber network.

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Federal broadband development policy moves ahead in congress

7 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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Easier access on the horizon.

The U.S. house of representative’s communications and technology subcommittee approved a package of broadband development measures on Wednesday, aimed at making it easier to use federal property to build infrastructure and publish more information about existing facilities. The bill includes dig once language developed by Silicon Valley congresswoman Anna Eshoo. As currently drafted, the bill would establish…

  • An inventory of federal broadband assets, and any broadband asset information voluntarily provided by state or local governments.
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Next steps to watch in Frontier's takeover of Verizon systems

6 December 2015 by Steve Blum
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It’ll all turn blue shortly. Click for the full-sized version.

It’ll be three or four months before Verizon formally hands Frontier Communications the keys to its wireline telephone systems in California (and Florida and Texas). On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved both the sale and a long list of conditions the two companies have to meet. That was the last significant regulatory hurdle for the deal. Texas said yes, Florida doesn’t review such things and the federal government also gave its blessing.… More