DISH Asks CAPUC to Re-Open Investigation on T-Mobile-Sprint Merger

 UPDATE DISH Network hasn’t given up on trying to get regulators to intervene and make T-Mobile keep its CDMA network operating longer. Inside Towers reported DISH already went to the FCC about the issue.

Now, DISH is asking the California Public Utilities Commission (CAPUC) to get involved. DISH maintains that T-Mobile has gone back on its pledge to federal and state regulators to operate its CDMA network for three years after acquiring Sprint.  

In its petition to California regulators, obtained by Axios, DISH wrote: "T-Mobile’s January 1, 2022 date is inconsistent with prior statements the company made to the Commission – in sworn testimony and written briefs – that the network will be operational for at least three years to facilitate a seamless transition for customers utilizing the legacy Sprint CDMA network." Continue Reading

Over 100,000 911 Calls Misrouted in D.C. Last Year, Investigation Shows

 Designed in the landline era, the 911 emergency response system quickly identifies the source of a call and sends help. With an increasing number of callers relying on cell phones, the 911 network is struggling to pinpoint the origin of the call and dispatch appropriate help. An investigation by WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. reports, by their very nature, mobile calls are more difficult to handle and can result in lost response time when a location is misidentified and calls are transferred.
 
Outdated technology can identify the nearest cell tower to a caller, but does not necessarily contact the right 911 jurisdiction. In an area like Washington, D.C. where multiple jurisdictions and states converge, a significant number of emergency calls require at least one transfer to summon the correct response unit. When questioned by WRC-TV, 911 hubs in the D.C. metro area said that approximately 100,000 calls per year that routed through their five centers had to be transferred to other jurisdictions. Continue Reading

Frontier Names New Board and Projected Emergence From Bankruptcy

 Frontier Communications Corporation (OTC: FTRCQ) Friday provided an update on its projected emergence from bankruptcy in addition to announcing a new board of directors. The company said it has received all necessary regulatory approvals and now expects to emerge from Chapter 11 on April 30, 2021.

“Frontier is ready to set a new course as a revitalized public company. Through the restructuring process, the company has stabilized its business and recapitalized its balance sheet, while making significant progress on the early stages of implementing our initial fiber expansion plan,” said John Stratton, incoming Executive Chairman of the Board. “Frontier’s success with the Fiber-to-the-Home pilot program, which upgraded more than 60,000 locations from copper to fiber optic service in 2020, is just one example of the important work already underway. Frontier’s future is bright. I’m eager to work closely with our new Board, our CEO Nick Jeffery, and the rest of the leadership team to build the new Frontier.” Continue Reading

FCC Calls 800 MHz Reband a Success, Votes to End Proceeding

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief FCC Commissioners and other agency officials patted themselves on the back yesterday as the Commissioners voted to formally wrap-up its 800 MHz rebanding effort. The program, begun in 2004, enabled public safety, critical infrastructure, and other licensees to operate without the interference that previously plagued first responder communications in these frequencies.

The agency said commercial cell networks operated by Sprint and other providers caused harmful interference to public safety radio systems and other licensees in the band. To reduce the interference, the Commission re-packed the 800 MHz band. The FCC moved Sprint’s system to the upper range of frequencies and public safety licensees to the lower end of the band. Continue Reading

DISH and Amazon Form Strategic 5G Collaboration

 Yesterday, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com, Inc. company, announced that DISH Network Corporation selected it as the preferred cloud provider and will construct its 5G network leveraging AWS. The move is part of a strategic collaboration agreement under which both companies will work to transform how organizations and customers, including AWS and Amazon, order and consume 5G services or create their own private 5G networks.

According to Jonathan Chaplin at New Street Research, DISH has been active in securing partners for their network build over the past year, but had yet to sign a commercial partner. “Amazon represents the first commercial partner for DISH,” Chaplin said, “which will undoubtedly help them scale up usage across their network as they market new products and services to consumers and enterprises.”
 
DISH claims it’s deploying the first standalone, cloud-based 5G Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) in the United States, beginning with Las Vegas later this year. The company said it plans on connecting all of its hardware and network management resources through Amazon’s cloud to enable secure, rapid scaling and innovation as well as on-demand responsiveness to customers’ wireless needs. As DISH deploys its network, the company is partnering exclusively with vendors offering cloud-native technology, bringing them together on AWS to provide DISH customers greater flexibility and control of their 5G-enabled solutions. Continue Reading

Biden Broadband Infrastructure Plan Ignites Lobby Jockeying

 President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan is sparking a broadband lobbying fight, reports Politico, with multiple internet providers claiming Democrats are miscalculating and abandoning rural America and threatening to hurt the companies' bottom lines.

The White House has said it wants to “future proof” the proposed $100 billion in subsidies to connect the country with fast broadband internet. Many take that phrase to mean laying traditional fiber-optic cable.

That’s an unsettling prospect to providers specializing in alternative ways to get online, like using wireless spectrum and 5G, cable TV lines and satellite-delivered internet. That includes companies ranging from Comcast to AT&T to billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Continue Reading

Gov. Vetoes Broadband Bill, Citing the Terms Were “Too Costly for Slow Service”

 According to a 2018 study, Michigan state found that 368,000 rural residents lacked broadband access and faced higher costs for service, reported The Iosco County News-Herald. However, last Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed House Bill 4210, which would have given telecoms tax breaks to provide access to rural, underserved areas. 

If passed, the bill would have allowed companies to exempt personal property taxes (by an unknown amount) on eligible broadband equipment if they received funding from certain government agencies. The News-Herald reported that the bill proposed cost coverage via the School Aid Fund, a taxpayer-backed initiative. Continue Reading

Canadian Telecom Regulator Clamps Down on Big Three Carriers

 Last Thursday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued new rules to decrease wireless costs, accelerate competition, and provide more affordable options for residents. The telecommunications regulator is focusing on the country’s three dominant carriers — Rogers Communications, Inc., BCE Inc., and Telus Corp. — to resell access to their networks. Bloomberg reported the move would allow smaller players like Quebecor Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. to compete on wireless plans. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has also been putting direct pressure on wireless providers, according to Bloomberg. It’s targeting a 25 percent reduction in the cost of services by 2022, and using the threat of further regulation to move the needle. Continue Reading

Tech Trade Group Emphasizes Digital Infrastructure Investments

 The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) is urging policymakers to embrace what members call a “holistic” approach to digital infrastructure investments that President Biden wants Congress to take up as part of his American Jobs Plan. 

The package includes $200 billion for next-gen wireless as well as the broadband buildout help Biden envisions. ITI members include Corning, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Samsung, SoftBank Group and Verizon Media. The group is weighing in as lawmakers will begin refining Biden’s proposal. Continue Reading

AT&T’s Sketchy History With Connect America Fund Under Scrutiny in Florida

 AT&T is working overtime in Florida to expand rural broadband, reported The Capitolist. As lawmakers finalize the state’s Broadband Opportunity Program, which will award millions of dollars in grants to broadband providers, critics question AT&T’s motives when it comes to the current broadband infrastructure push. Recently, AT&T had been reprimanded by administrators in Mississippi for their underperformance in building out broadband in their state.

The Capitolist reported that seven lobbying firms representing AT&T appeared before lawmakers recently, aiming to influence rules and regulations, including the wording of HB 753 that will establish a regulatory structure for the grant money. Florida’s share of federal grant money available in 2021 is $121 million. 

Grant money is contingent on providers meeting certain criteria and delivering connectivity, which has put AT&T under a microscope. Inside Towers reported last October that Mississippi’s Public Service Commission filed a complaint with the FCC, alleging AT&T took over $283 million from the federal Connect America Fund II but failed to deploy the required broadband service in the state. Continue Reading

Verizon Speeds 5G Deployment With Crown and SBA Deal

 Having recently nabbed C-band spectrum at an FCC auction, Verizon announced yesterday they are teaming up with Crown Castle and SBA Communications to speed up deployment of its 5G Ultra Wideband and fixed wireless broadband. Verizon said the partnership would prepare for the launch of its next-generation network, using space on existing towers for C-band equipment. 
 
“The addition of C-band spectrum to our already robust spectrum portfolio means we will be able to provide the differentiated service of 5G Ultra Wideband mobility service to an additional 250 million customers and, for the first time, 50 million additional customers will have a choice in their internet provider as we bring 5G Home to more places,” said Verizon SVP Engineering Heidi Hemmer. “These new agreements with our tower companies allow us to work very efficiently to pre-position all needed equipment on existing towers on our best-in-class network.” Continue Reading

More Tribal 2.5 GHz Applications Pass Initial Review

 The FCC okayed more applications for 2.5 GHz spectrum from tribal entities. Fifty additional applications have passed initial review by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.

To-date, 216 licenses have been granted to enable tribes to access the mid-band spectrum. The bureau continues to review more applications.

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called the action significant progress. Such momentum, “will do more than provide a spectrum license,” she said. “It will provide tribes with the ability to offer their communities something that is long overdue—full access to the opportunities of the digital age.”

Successful tribal applicants could receive licenses for exclusive use of up to 117.5 megahertz of 2.5 GHz spectrum. These licenses could support broadband and other advanced wireless services, including 5G, that can help address connectivity needs in tribal communities, according to the bureau. 

The agency puts the applications that have been found to be acceptable for filing out for public comment. The Public Notice does not mean these applications have met all requirements, nor does it mean that any waiver requested as part of an application will be granted, the FCC said.

15 Senators Urge White House to Fund Secure 5G Networks

 Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-VA) led a bipartisan group of Senators in urging President Joe Biden with a 5G security recommendation: The administration should include at least $3 billion to help fund the development of software-based alternatives to the 5G hardware sold by China’s Huawei and ZTE.

Specifically, lawmakers urged Biden to request at least $1.5 billion each for two funds established by Congress to encourage the adoption of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) equipment. They say Open RAN technology would allow additional vendors to enter the 5G market and compete with manufacturers like Huawei, which is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government. Continue Reading

Shentel to Lay Off 30 Percent of Workforce Pending Sale to T-Mobile

 Shenandoah Telecommunications (NASDAQ: SHEN) announced yesterday that it is implementing a workforce reduction in anticipation of the pending sale of its wireless assets and certain liabilities to T-Mobile US. The organizational restructuring plan is expected to impact approximately 340 employees, or 30 percent, of the company’s workforce, across its six-state Mid-Atlantic service area.  

Approximately 90 percent of the reductions are employees who support wireless operations and who will not automatically transfer to T-Mobile as part of the transaction.  Most of the employees impacted by the workforce reduction will exit the telecom provider in 2021, following the sale. Continue Reading

DISH Seeks FCC Help as T-Mobile Shutdown of Sprint Network Looms

 DISH Network tells the FCC that T-Mobile is acting like an “entrenched incumbent” carrier as it celebrates the one-year acquisition of Sprint. DISH is pleading with the Commission not to allow T-Mobile to shut down Sprint’s CDMA network prematurely.

T-Mobile recently announced it plans to turn off the Sprint CDMA network on January 1, 2022. DISH says that’s “significantly sooner” than the three-year migration timeline it previously announced and such a move would strand “millions” of Boost subscribers.

As part of the terms it agreed to for regulatory passage of the Sprint transaction, T-Mobile agreed to help set up DISH as a fourth national wireless carrier. Selling the prepaid Boost business to Dish was one step in that plan, reports The Verge. Continue Reading