Google Fiber launched in Louisville in three neighborhoods, it blogged Wednesday. The company will provide 1 Gbps service for $70 monthly and 100 Mbps for $50, it said. Incumbent ISPs AT&T and Charter challenged a Louisville ordinance requiring one-touch, make-ready, a policy that Google Fiber sought to speed up its fiber rollout. In August, a federal court ruled in the city’s favor and against AT&T (see 1708210045). “Louisville is the fastest we’ve ever moved from construction announcement, which happened in May, to signing up customers,” Google said.
Local community networks are a key to bringing internet access to the half of humanity that's still unconnected, the Internet Society said Wednesday, highlighting a paper backing approaches governments and others can take. Policymakers can help communities connect "with innovative licensing and access to spectrum," said Raul Echeberria, vice president-global engagement, in a release that noted "100+ ministers" were attending an ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference in Buenos Aires through Oct. 20. It said network providers can help through fair backhaul rates, equipment and training, and sharing of infrastructure and spectrum. Community network costs can be low, often requiring something as simple as a router, it said.
Iridium began live testing its L-band broadband Iridium Certus service on its operational Next satellites, the company said Thursday. It said it plans to make Certus commercially available in Q2 and will be capable of speeds of up to 1.4 Mbps. It said Certus terminals are being built by several manufacturers, and live on-orbit testing of the terminals will be done as they're ready.
The stand-alone price of Comcast's Performance Starter broadband package, offering speeds of 10 Mbps/2 Mbps, is $49.95 a month in all the major metropolitan markets where it operates, but pricing of its Performance plan -- offering speeds up of 25 Mbps/5 Mbps -- can vary, according to the latest annual broadband pricing the company posted Wednesday in FCC docket 10-56. Comcast said its Performance pricing can be from $64.95 a month -- in markets such as Indianapolis and Nashville -- to $74.95 a month in markets such as metro Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The report also showed different pricing in different markets for some other broadband service offerings, such as its Gigabit service -- 1 Gb/35 Mbps -- ranging from $104.95 to $159.95. The report is required as a condition of Comcast's buy of NBCUniversal. Comcast didn't comment Thursday.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has “pressing concerns” about Charter after the company’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable, Cuomo’s counsel, Alphonso David, told the New York Public Service Commission in a letter released Tuesday. Charter isn’t providing broadband to unserved areas, “which appears to violate the essential terms and conditions of Charter and Time Warner Cable's merger agreement with the State of New York,” David said. “For Charter to have failed to comply with the terms of the merger agreement so early in the process raises significant concerns about Charter's ability to meet its obligations moving forward.” The cable operator's workforce appears to have “diminished in size and skill, leaving customers vulnerable to poor service,” despite it promising the PSC it would maintain its workforce, David said. The PSC shares the "concerns about Charter's commitment," a spokesman said Tuesday. "The PSC intends to vigorously enforce the terms of its merger order, as demonstrated by our recent $13 million settlement with Charter for missing its broadband buildout target last May, and we will immediately commence the additional review called for in Mr. David's letter." The agency approved the settlement last month (see 1709140041). In a Sept. 14 statement on the settlement, PSC Chair John Rhodes said Charter is "delivering on many" of its commitments but failed to expand its network to unserved customers as fast as it said it would. Rather than pay penalties, it agreed to pay $1 million in equipment grants to provide computer and internet access to low-income users and to set aside $12 million as a security to meet the network expansion commitment. The company blamed delays on slow pole-attachment and make-ready processes. Charter shares the governor's "goal of connecting more New Yorkers to our high speed broadband network and [is] working closely with the PSC to obtain the access to poles needed to do so," a spokeswoman said Tuesday. The company provides at least 60 Mbps across the state and hired more than 3,000 New Yorkers this year, she said.
In-flight connectivity could be a $130 billion market globally within 20 years, representing $30 billion additional revenue for airlines by 2035, said a London School of Economics and Political Science study commissioned by Inmarsat, the company said Tuesday. It said in-flight connectivity could provide $1 billion revenue for airlines by 2018, with most coming from broadband access, with advertising, e-commerce and premium content adding to that total. It said by 2035, broadband access revenue could hit $15.9 billion, with e-commerce another $6.8 billion and ads $6 billion. The LSE study said roughly 53 of the estimated 5,000 airlines worldwide offer in-flight connectivity, but it will be ubiquitous by 2035.
Altice's Economy Internet low-cost broadband service is now available in its Suddenlink and Optimum footprints, the company said Tuesday. Altice said the $14.99-a-month service was launched in select areas of the New York region last year before becoming available across its Optimum and Suddenlink territories. The New York Public Service Commission required creation of the low-cost broadband offering as a condition on Altice's buy of Cablevision (see 1605200070).
New York public service commissioners cleared Charter Communications' $13 million settlement with New York State for failing to meet a cable network buildout condition in the PSC order that OK’d the company’s buy of Time Warner Cable (see 1708220021). They voted 4-0 Thursday for the order at a livestreamed meeting. Rather than pay a penalty, Charter agreed to pay $1 million in equipment grants to provide computer and internet access to low-income users and to set aside $12 million as a security to meet the network expansion commitment, the Department of Public Service said. The company also agreed to finish the buildout in increments over six periods through May 18, 2020. The company agreed to forfeit its right to earn back up to $1 million each time it misses a six-month target, DPS said. Charter agreed to develop a communications plan within 60 days of settlement execution informing New Yorkers if they’re part of the buildout plan. “We need to be vigilant about ensuring full and complete compliance by taking these additional steps,” Chairman John Rhodes said. Commissioner Gregg Sayre said it’s a “fair settlement,” “far better for customers and for the state than simply pursuing penalties.” Sayre wants improvements to pole-attachment processes statewide to expedite broadband rollout in New York. "Charter has met and even exceeded the vast majority of our key year-one commitments in New York associated with the merger," a spokesman said. "Delays in pole-attachment approvals and make-ready by pole owners made it impossible to extend our network to the targeted number of homes in the first year post-merger." Thousands have access "where approvals and make-ready have occurred, and we have a solid deployment plan to reach the thousands of additional homes in our commitment," he said.
SES's SES-17 satellite will be launched in 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket, SES said Tuesday. It said SES-17 will provide in-flight connectivity and data services over the Americas and Atlantic region.
Many U.S. cities lack funding and other support for advancing broadband, said a Strategic Networks Group report released Wednesday. About 63 percent of some 100 cities surveyed don’t have broadband funding, a city broadband office, and broadband adoption and training programs, the report said. About half the cities said lack of funding is the main thing stopping them from moving forward with broadband network investments, and 36 percent blamed a lack of political leadership. More than 80 percent said they had a utility or network asset that could be used for the buildout of a municipal network. Half the cities said they considered their broadband speeds excellent or very good, while two-fifths rated their city’s broadband value for money as such, it said. “Leadership, investment, and strategies need to be put in place at the municipal level to ensure the competitiveness and effectiveness of today’s American cities,” said President Michael Curri in a news release. SNG surveyed 103 U.S. cities in 38 states, plus one Canadian city. Corning, Henkels & McCoy, Fujitsu Network Communications, and Power & Tel underwrote the report.