Telco/Cable Competition Heats Up: CoBank

Communications is seeing "unprecedented amount[s]" of investment, especially as large telcos shift their businesses away from media and back to connectivity, CoBank economist Jeff Johnston reported Wednesday. The citizens broadband radio spectrum auction, by offering particularly small spectrum blocks, opened the door for small rural cities, homeowners' associations, universities and others to build carrier-grade wireless networks rather than rely on national wireless carriers, he said. That should drive big wireless investment, with the North American market topping $2 billion over the next seven years, he said. Bidding activity for broadband network overbuilders could heat up, if Atlantic Broadband's acquisition of WideOpenWest's Ohio assets is a portent of things to come, he said. Telcos' increased investments in fiber could be a competitive challenge for cable, as telcos' copper DSL markets traditionally were easy pickings, he said. "Now that the telcos have woken up and realized the media business isn’t for them, fiber is 'the new black.'"