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Muni broadband debate heats up in Tennessee, because it can

8 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Something you don’t see in Washington.

All or nothing federal policies are great when you’re getting it all, but when the political winds shift and you end up with nothing, it’s not so wonderful. That’s why I think the Federal Communications Commission’s preemption of state restrictions on municipal broadband is a bad idea: its current more is better policy will only last as long as three commissioners agree with it, but its authority to regulate muni broadband will live forever.… More

Mobile carriers get fixed terms for utility pole access in California

7 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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Lower obstacles for higher poles.

Mobile broadband carriers – i.e. licensed cellular telephone companies – now have the same access to utility poles in California as wireline telephone and cable companies. That’s the result of a unanimous California Public Utilities Commission decision that modified the rules for attaching wireless broadband equipment, including ancillary gear such as power cabinets and back up batteries, to poles…

With one exception, the amended ROW Rules provide CMRS carriers with the same access to utility infrastructure as CLECs and CATV corporations.

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FCC wants cable companies to open up networks to competitive set top boxes

6 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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And to more obligatory cat photos.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the broadband policy world, and I’m still getting caught up on all the developments. The California Public Utilities Commission voted to give mobile carriers the same kind of access to utility poles that wireline telcos and cable companies have – more on that tomorrow – and the Federal Communications Commission prepared to scale the walled gardens of set top boxes.

You need a set top box to get television service from a cable, telephone or satellite company.… More

LA legislator wants to scrap the CPUC and start over again

5 February 2016 by Steve Blum
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When you’re in the broadband business, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the bulk of the work done by state utility regulators, particularly the California Public Utilities Commission, has nothing to do with telecommunications. And from the most basic, life and death perspective, broadband is nowhere near the top of the priority list.

That privileged position belongs to the natural gas industry, because a mistake can literally destroy a town, due to an explosion, as in San Bruno, or due to a major leak, such as the ongoing one in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles County.… More

Charter and Comcast could control 70% of U.S. broadband market

31 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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More consolidation.

Ars Technica has crunched the numbers, and reached the conclusion that if Charter Communications is allowed to buy cable systems owned by Time Warner and Bright House, it will end up with monopoly control of 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up broadband service for about a quarter of U.S. households, and that when combined with Comcast’s footprint, service to the majority of homes will be controlled by one of two companies…

Charter said in November that it would serve 23 percent of the nation’s 25Mbps-and-up broadband subscribers if it can buy TWC and BHN.

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Two small – for now – broadband bills advance in Sacramento

30 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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One side makes you bigger, one side makes you small…

A move to force Caltrans to play nice with broadband companies – at least, a little nice in little while – and some minor tinkering with the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) infrastructure subsidy program are moving forward in Sacramento.

The state assembly unanimously passed AB 1549, authored by Healdsburg assemblyman Jim Wood. As currently written, it would require Caltrans to make information available about conduit it installs in its own projects.… More

FCC drawing clearer distinction between fixed and mobile broadband

28 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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Tarzan say wireline good mobile solution.

“Immediate action” on advanced broadband deployment is apparently on the table at today’s Federal Communication Commission meeting. That’s the gist of a fact sheet released by chairman Tom Wheeler ahead of a vote on the commission’s 2016 broadband progress report.

The fact sheet lays out the problem – “approximately 34 million Americans still lack access to fixed broadband at the FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps for downloads, 3 Mbps for uploads” – but doesn’t offer any concrete actions or policy changes for fixing it.… More

Sprint says let a thousand poles bloom

26 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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Smaller cells on poles in public right of ways and microwave backhaul are Sprint’s formula for future success, according to media reports (h/t to Omar Masry with the City and County of San Francisco for the pointer).

It’s all about operating costs. Right now, Sprint is paying for capacity on Crown Castle and American Tower-owned, full size macro cell sites. Instead, rumor has it, Sprint will opt for a multitude of cheaper small cells stuck on top of steel and/or wooden poles, planted along public roads and such, and leased from Mobilitie, a Newport Beach-based company.… More

Hyperloop development heads for the Nevada desert

23 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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Elon Musk is serious about adding yet another crazy techno-biz idea to his collection, which already includes no way that can work ventures like PayPal, Tesla Motors and SpaceX. Originally pitched as a way to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles, his Hyperloop transportation system will get its first test run in the desert north of Las Vegas.

That’s where Hyperloop Technologies is building a test track and technology proving ground for the system, which basically involves shooting a capsule through a long, airless tube at 700 miles per hour.… More

DISH hops in late to California's Charter party

21 January 2016 by Steve Blum
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DISH, the only independent direct broadcast satellite company in the U.S., has been trying to scuttle Charter Communications’ purchase of Time Warner’s and Bright House’s cable systems. Up until today, it’s focused its efforts on the Federal Communications Commission’s review of the deal. Now, though, in kind of a daddy’s not sure, go ask mommy move, it’s asking the California Public Utilities Commission for permission to get into the proceeding here.

In its filing, DISH says it fears Charter will use its control of the high speed broadband market to kill off competition…

This transaction would permit and motivate the combined company (“New Charter”) to hurt or destroy online video rivals, including the Sling TV over-the- top video service [owned by DISH], through its control over the broadband pipe…

This transaction will create a duopoly in the market for high-speed broadband service (defined as 25 Mbps and above), as it will result in two broadband providers – New Charter and Comcast – controlling about 90 percent of the nation’s high-speed broadband homes between them.

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