American and Nextlink Put 1,000 Towers to Use for Rural Broadband

 American Tower and ISP Nextlink Internet signed a new, long-term agreement to help bring enhanced connectivity to users in rural America. Under this new agreement, Nextlink Internet plans to co-locate on over 1,000 American Tower sites to facilitate rapid deployment of fixed broadband service to residents and small businesses across 11 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, and Wisconsin.

Nextlink Internet is a Connect America Fund II (CAFII) recipient and a recent provisional winner in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program. The firm is rapidly expanding its current service footprint across six states – Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. The company is also working to bring high-speed broadband to underserved areas of 11 additional states. It will immediately begin using American Tower’s extensive network of rural communications sites to enhance this initiative and roll out service at a faster pace. Continue Reading

Telecom Unites to Press White House, Congress on Workforce Development

 UPDATE Ten groups representing the telecommunications industry Wednesday banded together to urge President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to support broadband-related job skills development as part of any infrastructure bill.   

The associations include the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), INCOMPAS, NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, Power & Communication Contractors Association (PCCA), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), USTelecom – The Broadband Association, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) and the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA)

Biden and top congressional Democrats are preparing to secure a big increase in federal broadband spending this year, Inside Towers reported. They want to obtain billions of dollars in new government aid to improve internet access and affordability — and help people stay online during the pandemic. Continue Reading

CenturyLink and Frontier Fail to Meet Buildout Deadlines

 UPDATE When CenturyLink and Frontier accepted federal Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II funding for rural broadband deployment, they also agreed to construction deadlines. As Channel Partners reports, both organizations have now informed the FCC they’ve failed to meet the deadlines.

When CAF funds were made available in 2015, CenturyLink received $506 million of the $9 billion total. Frontier received $283 million. CenturyLink was charged with providing service to 1.2 million homes and businesses across 33 states. Frontier agreed to deploy service to nearly 660,000 (later expanded to 774,000) homes and businesses in 29 states. The goal for the carriers was 80 percent completion by 2019, and 100 percent by 2020. Continue Reading

Rosenworcel Begins Making New Appointments

 Monday, Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appointed P. Michele Ellison as Acting General Counsel and Joel Taubenblatt as Acting Chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
 
“Michele and Joel bring the perfect mix of experience and expertise to their new roles,” said Rosenworcel. “They both have a deep understanding of communications law and policy and a keen sense of initiative that will be invaluable as the agency takes on its work in the days ahead.”  

Tom Johnson is stepping down as General Counsel and has agreed to continue to work in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Don Stockdale, currently chief of the bureau, will transition to the Office of Economics and Analytics. “Tom and Don are terrific public servants who have made real contributions to the work of the FCC,” said Rosenworcel. “I am grateful for their work on behalf of the American people.” Continue Reading

Internet Regulation Urgent as COVID Spotlights Digital Divide

 The Biden administration’s agenda, already focused on COVID, will face immediate pressure to address a related tech issue: access to home broadband, according to The Washington Post.

The country is in the midst of another pandemic surge and schools and offices are closing their doors again. COVID is highlighting a persistent digital divide, in which Americans without a strong and affordable internet connection are increasingly boxed out of work and education opportunities.  

New President Joe Biden promised during his candidacy he would prioritize expanding internet access as he made fixing the nation’s infrastructure a central tenet of his campaign message. His “Build Back Better” plan calls for the creation of “universal broadband" for every American. That could set the stage for Democrats to make good on a long-standing push to expand federal funding for internet access, noted the Post. Continue Reading

FCC Warns Personal and Ham Radios Prohibited in Use of Criminal Acts

 Ahead of the inauguration, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau warned licensees and operators in the Personal Radio Services as well as licensees in the Amateur Radio Service that the agency prohibits the use of these radios to commit or facilitate criminal acts. The General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) uses channels around 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The most common use of GMRS channels is for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, mobile radios and repeater systems.
 
The bureau said in an advisory it’s become aware of discussions on social media platforms suggesting that certain radio services regulated by the Commission may be an alternative to social media platforms for extremist groups to communicate and coordinate future activities. The bureau recognizes these services can be used for a range of permitted purposes, including speech that is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Continue Reading

Clock Stage of C-Band Auction Ends With Over $80B in Bids

 The clock stage of the C-band auction closed after 97 rounds Friday. The total gross bids nearly reached $81 billion. According to the agency, the exact dollar figure was $80,916,832,754.

Fifty-seven qualified bidders in Auction 107 were vying for 5,684 new flexible-use overlay licenses based on Partial Economic Areas in the C-band. BitPath analyst COO Sasha Javid said in a LinkedIn post the nationwide average price per MHz-POP across all categories in this auction was $0.942. This is roughly 4.3 times the $0.217 price per MHz-POP that spectrum sold for in the recent CBRS auction, he noted.

Bidders included AT&T, Cox, T-Mobile, Verizon and UScellular. Bidders that won big “besides Verizon” won’t be known until after the assignment phase, according to Javid. Continue Reading

T-Mobile to Expand and Advance 5G Network

 On Tuesday, T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) announced five-year, multi-billion-dollar agreements with both Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to continue advancing and expanding its 5G network. Part of the network investment following last year’s merger with Sprint, T-Mobile says these deals enable the telecom to add more 5G coverage, capacity, speed and advanced technical capabilities across all of its spectrum bands.

“T-Mobile already has the largest 5G network in the country,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile President of Technology. “These agreements with our longstanding 5G partners Nokia and Ericsson will help us take our 5G leadership even further, delivering ever-better experiences for our customers for years to come.” Continue Reading

NATE Asks CDC for Vaccination Priority Status for Tower Techs

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association is asking the federal government to give telecom industry technicians priority status in the COVID-19 vaccination hierarchy the CDC has recommended. States are now tasked with vaccine distribution.  

NATE Wednesday sent letters to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Governors Association. NATE says the letters make it clear the association is not, in any way, advocating that communications infrastructure technicians should be given consideration before healthcare personnel or vulnerable populations, such as those in long-term care facilities. 

Given the designation provided by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that those engaged in communications infrastructure operations, maintenance and restoration are essential workers, NATE believes the industry’s essential service workforce should be elevated and included in the Phase 1b status along with other specifically identified frontline and high-priority service sectors.

Pai: Leaving FCC in a Better Place

 FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says he’s leaving the agency better than it was four years ago. In recent speeches and interviews, he’s called leading the Commission “the greatest honor of my professional life.”

Pai recently told The Freestate Foundation, a think tank, that since he began as a Commissioner in 2012, “I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could and would do if I had the chance to help make the FCC more effective.”   

In terms of process reform, Pai’s proud of bringing more transparency and accountability to decision makers. For decades, prior to the Commission’s monthly meeting, his predecessors would circulate their proposals or orders to the other Commissioners’ offices—only. The public only saw the text after the final vote. Continue Reading

Warner Urges Carriers, Tech Cos. to Preserve U.S. Capitol Attack Evidence

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), former telecommunications entrepreneur and incoming Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Monday urged mobile carriers AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon and technology companies Apple, Facebook, Gab, Google, Parler, Signal, Telegram, and Twitter to immediately preserve content and associated meta-data connected to Wednesday’s attack on the United States Capitol.

In all eleven letters to the companies’ CEOs, Warner emphasized how the rioters took the time to document the event “later posting them to their social media accounts or sharing them via text or mobile messaging platforms to celebrate their disdain for our democratic process.” Specifically, Warner asked the carriers to preserve "Short Message Service [SMS] communications and Multimedia Message communications created by or sent to subscribers during the period beginning at 12:01 a.m. January 3, 2021, through 12:01 a.m. January 7, 2021." 

"The U.S. Capitol is now a crime scene," wrote Warner in his letters. Continue Reading

Democratic Senators Ready to Chair Key Telecom Committees

 Legislators in Washington, D.C. have begun processing a shift in the balance of power as Democrats prepare to take unified control of Congress. Key Democrats who are Minority Leaders on their respective committees now are preparing to take the gavels on the groups overseeing tech and telecom issues, especially 5G. They are:

• Maria Cantwell (WA), Senate Energy & Commerce: The Washington state lawmaker will have the power to lead negotiations on data privacy legislation, pushing for priorities like giving consumers a right to sue tech companies, according to Politico. She will also be crucial for any Senate overhaul of Section 230 tech liability protections.
  
  Concerning telecom specifically, she has criticized some FCC decisions on spectrum, challenging efforts by both Republican and Democratic Commissioners to favor commercial wireless priorities over military and transportation needs. She can also shape efforts to expand broadband and foster local and diverse media. Continue Reading

Planning Board Rebukes Federal Court Ruling Over Tower Project

 UPDATE The Rockland (ME) Planning Board refuses to approve a 120-foot tower proposed by Bay Communications III LLC, despite the City Council and city’s attorney claiming approval must be granted following a federal court settlement last November. The Free Press reported that the lawsuit occurred after The Planning Board rejected Bay Communications’ application in February 2020. The tower aims to close a “significant gap in wireless coverage” along the Route 1 corridor in Rockland based on a radio frequency propagation study. 

According to Planning Board Chairman Erik Laustsen, who has served for 33 years, the Board was never part of the settlement talks but has been directed to sign the agreement. He said he does not understand why the City Council did not bring board members into the fold on terms of the settlement since the Planning Board was listed as a defendant in the lawsuit. Continue Reading

How Should FCC Distribute Emergency Broadband Money?

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief The FCC seeks guidance on how to disperse more than $3 billion Congress approved to subsidize internet service for low-income households. The money was part of the latest stimulus package. Participating companies in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program will be reimbursed for providing discounted broadband service and connected devices to eligible households during the pandemic. 

To join the program, a provider must opt-in, and either be designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier or be approved by the FCC. Providers will give eligible households a monthly discount off the standard rate for internet service and associated equipment, up to $50 per month. On tribal lands, the monthly discount may be up to $75 per month. Continue Reading

AT&T Recovers From Nashville Blast

 UPDATE A Christmas day explosion at AT&T regional headquarters in Nashville, TN left behind damage and disrupted service, but fortunately no fatalities. As Data Center Frontier reports, AT&T is getting back on its feet, setting up temporary COLT facilities to help get the community, and itself, reconnected.

“In the hours that followed the explosion, our local service remained intact through temporary battery power,” said Jeff McElfresh, CEO of AT&T Communications. “Unfortunately, a combination of the explosion and resulting water and fire damage took out a number of backup power generators intended to provide power to the batteries. That led to service disruptions across parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama.” Continue Reading