Two telco organizations filed a joint petition with the FCC yesterday asking the commission to temporarily reverse a previous decision that requires rural local exchange carriers (RLECs) to make contributions into the Universal Service Fund (USF) based on broadband as well as voice revenues. The...Learn More

Some states, including Colorado, are not relying solely on federal programs to help bring broadband to unserved rural areas. Telecompetitor recently interviewed Tony Neal-Graves, associate director of the Colorado Broadband Office, about Colorado broadband policy and about the $2.1 million in grant funding that will...Learn More

T-Mobile’s business selling service to low-income users whose costs are paid, at least in part, through the Universal Service Fund (USF) Lifeline program is “non-sustainable,” said Braxton Carter, T-Mobile chief financial officer today.  T-Mobile Lifeline customers represent 4.4 million of the carrier’s 73 million subscribers...Learn More

A filing made last week urges changes to the FCC rural healthcare-broadband programs, arguing that the Universal Service Fund (USF) rural healthcare, telecom and e-rate schools and libraries programs would be more effective if they did not operate as isolated silos. The filing came from...Learn More

Approximately 140K+ rural homes in across four states in the south have improved broadband access, due in part to Frontier CAF investments, the company reported yesterday. Impacted states include West Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee. With 134K homes, West Virginia saw the bulk...Learn More

As expected, the FCC today took steps toward broadband reclassification as a Title I information service, rather than a Title II telecommunications service – a move that would represent a return to the regulatory approach used prior to 2015 and that could also be a...Learn More

AT&T fixed wireless services for rural markets launched in Georgia, the company announced today. The 10 Mbps fixed wireless service will serve 400K locations by the end of the year, and 1.1 million locations across 17 additional states by 2020. The fixed wireless service will...Learn More

Just a few months after having its credentials for participation in the FCC’s low-income Lifeline program revoked, FreedomPop has found a new Lifeline-related revenue stream: The company is licensing a database system originally developed for its own use to service providers approved to offer Lifeline...Learn More

The FCC today opted not to regulate pricing for most business data services and began a process aimed at making it easier for service providers to retire copper networks. The moves on business data services pricing and copper retirement came during the commission’s monthly meeting....Learn More

Americans are sharply divided when it comes to whether or not federal laws should permit local governments to build, own and operate public broadband networks or subsidize home broadband network access for low-income residents, according to a broadband attitudes survey from the Pew Research Center....Learn More

Support for broadband infrastructure legislation seems to be growing, as evidenced by a new report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF). The report, titled “A Policymaker’s Guide to Rural Broadband Infrastructure,” aims to educate legislators about the state of broadband deployment and policy...Learn More

Frontier Communications is enhancing broadband service to 25,000 locations in Texas – 5,500 courtesy of funding provided by the FCC’s Connect America Fund (CAF) and another 20,000 as part of the carrier’s Texas broadband network upgrade and expansion plan. Frontier began receiving around $16 million...Learn More