Ken Schmidt

1 Million New Yorkers at Risk of Losing Broadband Due to ACP Defunding Almost 1 million low-income residents in New York City could lose their internet access due to the expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). This critical program provided discounts of up to $30 per month for broadband service, making it essential for many households. The lack of ACP funding impacts neighborhoods like East Harlem, the South Bronx, and Long Island City, where a significant % of residents relied on the program. Without this support, many will struggle to afford internet access, creating a digital divide that hinders education, employment opportunities, and overall well-being. https://lnkd.in/ei_i6jny What can be done? Should the city or state step in to fill the gap left by the federal government? Let's discuss this crucial issue in the comments below. #DigitalEquity #BroadbandAccess #NYC Carl Franzen Thank you for sharing.

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Mark Twain said, "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." Phil Kelley's announcement this week that after more than 27 years he will be leaving Crown Castle, a company that he joined "for the intriguing business model...." That made me reflect on the history of one then-emerging infrastructure industry and the nascence of a now-emerging industry. Before Exelon, before Quanta Services, Inc., before InfraSource, A Quanta Services Company and even before I became aware of CCI my company was invited by Dominic Villecco at V-COMM, LLC to join a team orchestrated by Anthony De Vito, CEM at PPL Corporation to rollout a network of cellular sites for market launch of a PCS D, E, F licensee in rural Pennsylvania, Conestoga Wireless now T-Mobile. Exciting stuff. Especially since we were trying something new: Installing equipment on single carrier, direct embedded wood poles in the PPL Right Of Way to accelerate the bulk of the launch build (that's distribution poles). In 2001 Conestoga sold its traditional monopole and lattice towers, along with the attachment rights to those distribution poles to Mountain Union Telecom. And five years after that, MUT sold 468 towers to CCI. So that's the Phil Kelley Crown Castle connection, but how's that history rhyme with anything? At the time I asked what kinda multiple single carrier poles would bring to the the deal. Expensive (and very, very painful) to redevelop as multi-carrier sites. I knew; by then we were doing that on PECO right of way custom built for AT&T. But on the same day as Phil's announcement posted on LinkedIn I was discussing dealflow with a key partner in the Charging Management Systems network space. We were discussing the relative value (to anyone other than the fleet owner) of dedicated fleet #evcharging infrastructure. Hmmm, I thought, this sounds vaguely familiar. https://lnkd.in/evVVu3uk

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Of course FWA is future proof. FWA is the only edge technology that passes future homes and businesses before those structures are ever built, and without additional capital investment. 🙂 A wired last-mile, on the other hand, is never future-proof, regardless of the technology. Future homes and businesses located beyond the wired-edge are (sadly) the future unserved. 🙁 If the future belongs to the connected, as the FCC Chairwoman states, then we should be building more fixed wireless now to power the homes and businesses of tomorrow. 💡 #FWA #5G #WISP #broadband #internet #futureproof #digitaldivide #unserved #unconnected #digitalequity #digitalinclusion

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Most small ISPs see Net Neutrality as a cover for the FCC wanting control of the Internet and Broadband. Nothing positive will come of this move by the FCC, especially for small ISPs, as it will simply layer on more Federal bureaucracy. In fact, it could ultimately lead to higher costs for consumers as these companies seek other means to cover yet another unfunded mandate by the FCC. https://lnkd.in/gahnanw4

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RTT continues to expand

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Preview-- We want the money back now. This is not history. We request- $1.5 billion back from Verizon for just New York to be used for fiber to the home projects paid for via these construction cross-subsidies and rate increases for 2022 and 2023. The Verizon NY 2023 financial Annual Report, published May 23, 2024 - last month, shows that $787 million dollars was charged to the Local Service expenses --for 'construction in progress' for just 2023, and an additional $168 million was used as 'working capital' There is no construction for the copper-based local service; the company stopped selling the service. And yet, this excerpt from the published (and filed with the NY PSC), Verizon 2023 financial report shows that Local Service paid 73% of the total expenses -- more than 'backhaul' and data services or FiOS video and VOIP (nonregulated) services. Every state's telecommunications public utility has a similar budget that is still being charged -- but is not being used for fiber to the home. As we document via filings by the NY AG, 75% of the utility budget was diverted to wireless -- starting around 2011.-- and that was 13 years ago, and it has never stopped. We do not want audits. We do not want investigations, all of which we asked for over the last decade. We want the 2023 and 2022 "work in progress" expenses and the 'working capital" -- to be be used immediately for fiber to the home build outs, already paid for via a continuous stream of rate increases. "Plant" is the term used for telecommunications "infrastructure" -- and there are 3 primary lines of business of which local service, the copper-based, voice, intra-state service, (which is no longer offered), is charged almost a billion dollars, in just 2023-- which are then used to calculate rate increases. $1.5 billion for 2022 and 2023 is the start of what we believe Verizon should be paying in just New York. Now examine the other 49 states accounting for "work in progress" being charged-- they are using identical manipulated accounting formulas, created with the help of the FCC. -- an upcoming story. #verizon #fiberoptic #copperwire #broadband #digitalDivide #internet #netneutrality #ACP #Digitalequity #FCC

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Since 2000, the number of fixed telephone line subscriptions has declined by 50%. As telecom technology continues to move to wireless and internet-based services, many legacy systems are left behind during annual service upgrades. Although the industry is moving away from them, it’s not uncommon to find customers who are STILL PAYING for those systems after a migration to new tech. This is just one of the errors my team often uncovers during a #telecomaudit. If your organization has followed this trend, but your bills are still rising, give me a call! S2K Consulting would be happy to review your telecom bills and see how we may reduce your organization’s monthly telecom spend. #TelecomSavings

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This blog post illustrates the importance of having a symmetrical gigabit as our national broadband definition. Thinking ahead is crucial. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gZm5mc9b

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A few thoughts from Connect (X): Powered by WIA in Atlanta. Firstly, everything here needs to be seen through the lens of the attendees and membership of the Wireless Infrastructure Association. It's primarily a community which builds, owns or uses mobile towers - or supplies products and services into that sector. The show floor has lots of companies selling enclosures, physical tower elements, software design tools and so on. In addition to towers, there are other people here selling indoor systems such as DAS and small cells - I'm moderating a panel on #neutralhost tomorrow - as well as fixed wireless and other bits of infrastructure. About 90% is cellular, I'd say. Key themes I'm seeing: - US wireless is going through a downturn, especially in capex as the initial #5G build is ramping down. That has a negative impact on the infrastructure sector which cycles with new G's, new spectrum, or densification. - "Give us more spectrum, especially midband!" is a big theme. The operators and towercos are very much on board with the CTIA claim the US has too little full-power midband exclusive licensed spectrum, compared to China in particular. - There are some *very* big questions about whether that analysis is valid, but for this audience there *is* a direct link between spectrum and tower-climbs. new equipment to install, and space to rent. So I understand the messaging, given the context, even if nobody seems to know about European midband, dynamic sharing or lower-power/local licensing models. - The spectrum session was "interesting", with speakers from NTIA, NCTA (cable industry - which uses a lot of Wi-Fi), AT&T & USCellular. - The US mobile industry wants to try to revisit the 6GHz rules, and maybe shoehorn full-power into CBRS as well. It's also interested in 3.1GHz (working around DoD) and 3.45GHz. Higher bands like 7-8GHz are of interest but further out. - By contrast, I was surprised that NCTA's Wi-Fi ambitions are not just about keeping the 6GHz band, but also parking its tanks on the IMT lawn & starting to talk about 7-8GHz as the next #WiFi horizon. That's new to me. - The other big theme here is #FWA - mostly with 5G, but also PtMP and IEEE-type radios. It's the growth area for 5G services, and also seems to be catalysing new build for the tower folk - especially compared to FTTP installs in rural areas. The timing around BEAD funding means it's now one of the big hopes for wireless infrastructure build in the near term. - Various comments about satellite, which essentially boil down to "nothing to worry about - it's mostly for deep rural, emergency backup or thin layers for direct-to-device, or competing vs cable". I'd agree - while the exact shape of NTN services is unclear, I don't think it's much of a downside for the traditional infra folk. - Lots of interest / concern around #OpenRAN and what that means for towercos, especially AT&T + Ericsson. Does it mean more sharing, less equipment at sites etc? More tomorrow....

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Another one of the hidden assets in broadband networks. This is truly transformational!

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Life at the intersection of telecoms + utilities. As CenterPoint Energy, Oncor Electric Delivery and others were struggling to restore power to 3M ratepayers after a hurricane Beryl-ed through Texas I was talking with an #electrification colleague. He was lamenting the nature of utilities, generally around #evcharging connections, planning and policies, and now service interruptions. Alas, Texas and ERCOT in the news again! This conversation felt familiar. My first work in the Lone Star State was at the invitation of Voicestream Wireless. They were launching PCS service in DFW, Austin and the Red River Valley and called in legacy contractors from around the country. We were tapped for our specialty: telecom attachments on utility transmission rights of way. Then it struck me, that was 25 years ago. So much has changed since then. Turf contracts were unheard of. Omnipoint Corporation would become T-Mobile. Hutchinson and Voicestream would be replaced by Deutsche Telekom. Mo Katibeh was still in college. The parrot would disappear. Our primary transmission counterparty TXU Energy would change, change and change again, leaving transmission assets with Sempra Oncor Electric Delivery. Focus would shift from market launches and coverage to density and bandwidth. Circuits would be replaced by packet switched networks bringing FTTx, Convergence, Consolidation, Streaming, DAS & Small Cells, #IoT, #telematics and flirtations with autonomy. Utility deregulation would evolve into #ancillaries, #DERs and #resilience. But much hasn't. The tension between emerging technology companies and regulated utilities really hasn't changed that much. The former focus on speed to market; the latter on safety & reliability. So whether its a hurricane or an ice storm, the local service companies don't want to go before the PUC and explain that a third party contributed to outages and restoration. Play it again, Sam. https://lnkd.in/eDXSD-qc

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🚨 The FCC's push to ban bulk billing in multifamily communities might be well-intentioned, but it risks widening the digital divide. Bulk billing solutions offer affordable, reliable internet to many, especially in low-income and rural areas. Removing these options could increase costs and reduce access where it's needed most. Let's keep discussing how we can advocate for policies that support broadband providers in reaching underserved communities and ensuring digital inclusion for all. #DigitalInclusion #BroadbandForAll #FCC #AffordableInternet https://lnkd.in/gKSqk3fM

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https://lnkd.in/eauDJviY After this acquisition and the possible bankruptcy of DISH, this might be the last larger telecom carrier consolidation we will see in the US. I don't see the feds allowing any additional contraction in the market. #Tmobile #USCellular T-Mobile would gain U.S. Cellular's infrastructure, potentially improving its network coverage and capacity, particularly in rural areas where U.S. Cellular has a stronger presence. This could enhance service quality for T-Mobile customers in those regions. On the negative side of the coin, the combination of T-Mobile's acquisition of U.S. Cellular and DISH Wireless's financial struggles could shift market dynamics significantly, leading to higher barriers to entry for new players and less innovation in service offerings, ultimately to the detriment of consumers.

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Interesting Statistic: The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) FBA marks the beginning of fiber construction at the year 2005 and claims that it took just 15 years for fiber to reach 50% of American homes. By comparison, it estimated 28 years for coaxial cable (starting in 1957) and 60 years for copper (starting in 1882) to reach the same level of penetration. https://lnkd.in/dk2JegaF

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Well said Mike! I attended this event and what stood out for me was the quality of content, speakers and their crisp articulation of current challenges and future expectations. My key takeaways were: 1) Spectrum scarcity, as quoted by almost all the T1 telcos (stated to be in the range of 200-500Mhz over the coming years) and the need for immediate auctions required to meet 5G capacity uptake. 2) 5G FWA as a cable-cutter, esp in rural. FWA uptake also would necessitate spectrum requirements. I expect this to be a major use case for 5G. 3) Cautious roll out of O-RAN where initial deployments are expected to have a single vendor across RU-DU-CU to avoid operational challenges. Focus would be on building a thriving rApps development community. 4) And, of course, AI. It will emerge as a key tool (or only tool!) for automated operations of complex telco networks. There were good examples from Qualcomm on embedded AI capabilities that can be baked into Radio design. Good times ahead!

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Smart television set owners are moving away from using cable hookups and antennas to access content and are instead opting to stream content from broadcast and cable channels via platforms like YouTube TV, according to Vizio's Inscape data unit. "With a variety of apps and devices, smart TVs can access live, linear TV airing on broadcast or cable networks. In Q1 2024, nearly a quarter of that 'must-see-live' content was streamed," Inscape says. https://lnkd.in/gc2m3934

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Industry leaders emphasize the importance of addressing the middle mile in rural broadband initiatives. While $100 billion in U.S. broadband investment is earmarked for rural areas, the middle mile—the backbone connecting local networks to the broader internet—must not be overlooked. Focusing solely on last-mile fiber networks leaves rural markets with insufficient capacity. Let’s bridge the digital divide effectively by considering both the last fiber mile and the middle mile.  Read more on this article by Fierce Network >>> https://lnkd.in/gFJ8ikAx Share and advocate for robust rural broadband infrastructure! 🚀🌎 #BroadbandAccess #DigitalEquity #MiddleMileMatters

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