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Articles by Greg Owens
Another Voice: Washington must stand up for New York’s manufacturers
Another Voice: Washington must stand up for New York’s manufacturers In 2005, my business partner and I started Sherrill Manufacturing. We wanted to establish a manufacturing company in upstate New York that could provide good jobs for our community. To do so, we purchased a factory that had once manufactured flatware – but had moved its production overseas. Today, our company is flourishing, with more than 65 employees and tens of thousands of customers nationwide.
This tiny carrier is using 5G and CARES Act cash to smash the digital divide
Email This Print Comment Data Stream Broadband reached an agreement with several counties in Virginia to build an LTE network in order to provide fixed wireless Internet services to customers with slow or nonexistent Internet services. And now, thanks to CARES Act funding and equipment from Ericsson, the company is planning to expand its efforts via cutting-edge 4G and 5G 64T64R Massive MIMO radios.
Cable operator upstream capacity spending spiked in Q4 - Dell'Oro
Reflecting data demands seen during the pandemic, cable operator spending on upstream channel purchases climbed 96% in Q4 2020 versus 2019, according to fresh data from Jeff Heynen, VP, broadband access and home networking, at Dell'Oro Group. By comparison, global spending on cable network downstream channel purchases climbed just 3% during the period. For all of 2020, upstream channel purchases by cable operators rose 43%, while downstream channel purchases actually dipped 8%.
BBWN Bites: DC Dems propose $94B broadband bill
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: Community Broadband Act seeks to bolster municipal Internet projects; Web inventor calls for getting disconnected young people online; CityFibre identifies remaining cities and towns for nationwide UK fiber rollout. Democrats in the US House and Senate on Thursday introduced a $94 billion broadband bill aimed at bridging the digital divide. Written largely by Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Sen.
Comcast starts to ratchet up downstream speeds on select tiers
Comcast confirmed that it activated speed upgrades for select tiers in its Central Division on March 9, including a boost that raises the maximum downstream of its 1-Gig service to 1.2 Gbit/s. The max downstream speeds for Comcast's Extreme Pro tier, meanwhile, are rising from 600 Mbit/s to 800 Mbit/s.
Podcast - The Divide: Upstream's Kostas Kastanis on offering 'free' Internet in Africa
On this episode of The Divide, we hear from Kostas Kastanis, deputy CEO of Upstream – a mobile technology company that works with providers to offer affordable and secure access to Internet services, primarily in emerging markets. Our conversation focuses on Upstream's work in Africa, where its service Zero-D offers free Internet access through an ad-supported model. Kastanis says this works especially well in countries like Nigeria where 1 gig of data costs more than an average day's pay.
Starry set to put 24GHz spectrum to work
Email This Print Comment Fixed wireless Internet provider Starry told the FCC that it's preparing to test the "final performance" of its equipment operating in the 24GHz spectrum band, and that its next steps will be "final certification and deployment." However, the company did not respond to questions from Light Reading about when it might start that deployment. The Starry Point receiver, used for multiple dwelling units.
Starlink moves on mobile connectivity
Even as Starlink pushes toward a commercial launch of its fixed broadband satellite service, its parent company, SpaceX, is also pursuing a plan to connect Starlink's network to trucks, planes, ships and other types of relatively large moving vehicles. Starlink's mobile-facing interests were outlined in an application for blanket-licensed Earth Stations in Motion, or ESIMs, filed on March 5 with the FCC.
BBWN Bites: US senators call for 100Mbit/s speed standard
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: CED releases broadband policy proposals; 2020 saw record growth for service providers; report shows 21% of US adults lack Internet; France sees "unparalleled" FTTH progress, says Arcep. Four US senators have sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for updated federal standards for high-speed Internet.
Podcast - The Divide: WISPA's Claude Aiken on tech-neutral solutions
3/4/2021 | Virgin Media trials multi-gigabit network technology Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Hunter awarded $19.2M in RDOF to boost broadband in Oregon and California Tuesday, March 2, 2021 LOGIX, Connected2Fiber team to automate selling of Texas network footprint Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virgin Media expands network in Armthorpe, Doncaster Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Proximus brings superfast fiber network to Bruges Monday, March 1, 2021 Hyperoptic launches 'Fair Fibre Plan' Monday, March 1, 2021...
Video streaming accounted for 71% of Comcast's downstream traffic in 2020
From a broad point of view, next-generation access network activity slowed for many cable operators in 2020 as they focused on splitting nodes and adding capacity to existing network gear to keep up with the traffic surge fueled by the pandemic. However, Comcast said its work around network virtualization and the use of new AI and machine learning techniques that optimize and enhance the performance of the access network accelerated over the past year.
15 million US households using mobile-only Internet - report
Email This Print Comment High costs and poor service have driven 12 million US households to cut the cord on their home broadband and go full mobile. That's the takeaway from new research published by Parks Associates, revealing that 15 million households are using mobile-only broadband, including 12 million that have canceled existing service and an additional 3 million that never subscribed to a home Internet service.
Operators in Australia and New Zealand get glimpse of post-pandemic broadband
Email This Print Comment Broadband operators can expect higher upstream traffic post-COVID, even as downstream returns to previous levels. That's one of the lessons from Australia and New Zealand, where the pandemic is mostly contained and lockdowns have been lifted. Ray Owen, CTO of NBN Co., said while downstream traffic was returning "to where we expected it to be," upstream data volumes were still significantly higher.
BBWN Bites: FCC approves $50 monthly broadband subsidy
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: West Virginia demands documents from Frontier; hopes are high for Starlink; Nextlink to expand in 11 states; Alaska Communications gets Xtreme. In a unanimous vote, the FCC has approved enacting the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, a $3.2 billion federal initiative to provide qualifying households discounts on their broadband service and devices.
Judge clears California's net neutrality rules for takeoff
Email This Print Comment Network neutrality rules are poised to take effect in California in the wake of a federal judge's ruling Tuesday that effectively clears the way. The ruling, a clear blow to telcos and cable operators that claim net neutrality mandates add uncertainty to the market and curtail network spending, could be just the latest yo-yo effect on rules that have been altered or rolled back during recent presidential administrations.
Podcast: Low-latency broadband powers a Michigan music masterclass
The Light Reading podcast welcomes Dan Kurin, the tech coordinator at Factory Two, and Brandon Corder, the CEO of Beats x Beers, to discuss an upcoming experiment with low-latency broadband in Flint, Michigan. Using the LoLa software system, developed in Italy and popularized by Internet2, a group of musicians at Factory Two will conduct a real-time musical performance and hip hop masterclass over a low-latency fiber network for students across town at the Flint Cultural Center Academy.
Comcast extends data cap delay in the Northeast
Email This Print Comment Comcast said it will hold off implementing data usage and capping policies in its Northeast division until 2022, a move that extends an earlier commitment to delay implementing those policies until July 2021. "We recognize that our data plan was new for our customers in the Northeast, and while only a very small percentage of customers need additional data, we are providing them with more time to become familiar with the new plan," Comcast said in a statement.
BBWN Bites: WISPA sets policy priorities
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: DayNet fiber build starts in Dayton, Texas; new report shows millions of Americans aren't getting advertised Internet speeds; TIM "ends" digital divide in Apulia. The Wireless Internet Service Provider Association (WISPA) released a set of policy priorities yesterday aimed at closing the digital divide in the US.
Podcast - The Divide: How US counties are confronting connectivity needs
On this episode of The Divide, we hear from Judge JD Clark of Wise County, Texas and Councilmember Craig Rice of Montgomery County, Maryland – co-chairs of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Broadband Task Force. The task force, formed in October 2020, is a coalition of nearly three dozen county government officials from across the US studying the country's digital divide and the challenges facing underserved communities.
FCC takes first step toward fixing broadband mapping
Email This Print Comment Under the leadership of Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced a new task force dedicated to improving the agency's broadband data and mapping tools.
Australian broadband wholesaler NBN has nowhere to go on pricing
Email This Print Comment NBN Co has given its answer to retail service providers demanding lower wholesale fees: "later, maybe." The Australian broadband wholesaler has begun its latest two-year review of prices but won't make any structural changes for at least another two years. In particular, it won't be dumping the contentious connectivity virtual circuit (CVC) charge, although it says it will examine possible alternatives.
BBWN Bites: Comcast cap inspires town to consider building own network
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: Nokia projects fiber 'leading broadband technology' in India by 2025; Truespeed rolls out in Bath; Telesat taps Thales for satellite broadband network; and more. A Comcast plan to charge broadband overage data fees in its Northeast division has inspired a town in Massachusetts to reconsider its options.
1-Gig and 1 terabyte users continue to climb
Email This Print Comment It's no secret that overall broadband data consumption has surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a new study from OpenVault shows that "power users" – those who consume at least 1 terabyte of data per month – have almost doubled. According to OpenVault's Broadband Insights Report (OVBI) for Q4 2020, 14.1% of weighted average subscribers consume over 1 TB per month, up 94% from 7.3% in Q4 2019.
Podcast - The Divide: Dr. Nicol Turner Lee on the 'digitally invisible'
On this episode of The Divide, we hear from Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, a senior fellow in governance studies and the director of the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institute.
Starlink broadens its scope
Email This Print Comment Starlink has begun to accept $99 pre-orders for a satellite broadband service that will ultimately be powered by thousands of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The move signals that Starlink, a unit of Elon Musk's SpaceX, is preparing to broaden access to the service following a more limited beta service launched last fall.
Pressure builds for FCC to bring back net neutrality rules
Email This Print Comment The FCC is coming under increased pressure to bring back Title II network neutrality rules amid a COVID-19 pandemic that has illustrated the critical need for reliable broadband connectivity, particularly for low-income households.
Starlink capacity will hit a wall, fiber and telco pressure groups claim
Email This Print Comment Starlink's recent Regional Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) wins are being scrutinized in the form of a new study (PDF) estimating that the satellite broadband service will fail to meet its RDOF capacity requirements and commitments in the years to come. According to a Cartesian study commissioned by The Fiber Broadband Association and the NTCA, Starlink would hit a capacity wall within seven years.
Minim debuts broadband data tracker
Email This Print Comment Minim, a maker of DOCSIS gateways and management and security software, has added a data usage tracker to its app as part of an effort to "demystify" data caps and help consumers understand usage patterns and if or when they might be in need of a broadband speed upgrade.
Charter to spend $5B on rural broadband expansion
Email This Print Comment Charter Communications has shed more light on its network expansion plan in rural areas, pledging to spend $5 billion to cover more than 1 million new customer locations in the coming years. That dollar total is offset by the $1.2 billion Charter is getting via the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
BBWN Bites: NY broadband bill dies on Cuomo's desk
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: Openreach customers cut off by arsonists; Eutelsat, TelOne to bring satellite Internet to Zimbabwe; Vodafone, Nokia tout progress on "teleportation." New York Governor Andrew Cuomo "pocket vetoed" a broadband bill this week that would have required the state to perform an in-depth study of broadband coverage to determine where it's lacking.
Operators weigh next-gen network moves
US cable operators remain far from uniform on their next-gen network plans, and some of that debate continues to focus on whether to upgrade hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks to the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs or take the financial hit involved with fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) upgrades. Schurz Broadband Group, a service provider that operates both types of networks, is giving FTTP overbuilds more thought amid fiber-powered competition that can deliver symmetrical 1-Gig broadband services.
Podcast - The Divide: How Starry connects cord cutters and the underserved
On this episode of The Divide, we hear from Virginia Lam Abrams, senior vice president of Government Affairs and Strategic Advancement at the alternative broadband provider Starry. Currently live in five major cities, Starry sets itself apart as a hybrid fiber-wireless provider that uses fixed-wireless technology for last-mile connections.
Comcast postpones data cap fees in the Northeast
Email This Print Comment Facing mounting pressure from lawmakers, Comcast has delayed charging broadband overage data fees in its Northeast division until July, per a set of commitments brokered by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Under the agreement, Comcast will also waive any early termination fees for customers who opt out through December 2021.
Comcast doubles download speeds for 'Internet Essentials'
Email This Print Comment Comcast will soon double the maximum downstream speeds of its "Internet Essentials" program for low-income households while it also moves to accelerate the deployment of Wi-Fi-powered "Lift Zones" for students. Under the revised Internet Essentials offerings, new and existing customers on the plan will see speeds rise to 50 Mbit/s downstream (up from a previous max of 25 Mbit/s), starting March 1. Upstream speeds are also rising – to 5 Mbit/s from 3 Mbit/s.
Rogers posts cable, IPTV sub gains in Q4
Email This Print Comment While its overall performance is still slumping, Rogers Communications is still posting broadband and IPTV subscriber gains as it grapples with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The big Toronto-based operator reported mixed subscriber and financial results for Q4 2020 late last week as it copes with a second wave of lockdowns across Canada this winter.
Italy's TIM tees up co-investors for FTTH splurge
Email This Print Comment Telecom Italia (TIM) unveiled details of a "co-investment" plan for the FiberCop last-mile network grid, as it awaits the conclusion of an investigation launched by Italy's competition authority in December. TIM is inviting all interested operators to participate in the construction of a secondary access network, to accelerate the rollout of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services across Italy. The plan has been unveiled ahead of FiberCop's expected launch by March 2021.
Charter adds 217K broadband subs in Q4, 2.11M for all of 2020
Email This Print Comment After adding pay-TV subs in Q2 (+102,000) and Q3 2020 (+53,000) aided by video bundling tied to explosive broadband subscriber growth, Charter Communications reversed direction in Q4 2020. Charter lost 66,000 residential video subs in the period, dropping its grand total to 15.63 million.
BBWN Bites: One in six can't afford broadband in UK - report
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: Report urges full fiber for Europe; Chattanooga's Gig City brings in billions; Salt shows its speed; CenturyLink, Frontier fall short. A new report out this week from Citizens Advice, a UK charity that aids people with financial and legal issues, revealed that more than one in six people in the country are struggling to afford broadband.
Comcast added nearly 2M more broadband customers last year
Email This Print Comment Comcast turned in another big quarter for broadband, tacking on 515,000 residential subs in Q4 2020, improving on year-ago gains of 424,000, and extending its grand sub total to 28.35 million. Comcast added 1.97 million residential and business broadband customers for the full year. "Broadband is the cornerstone of what we do," Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said on Thursday's call.
Mass. lawmakers seek temporary ban on data caps, service shutoffs
Email This Print Comment Weeks after a group of Massachusetts legislatures urged Comcast to roll back the activation of usage-based broadband data policies in the northeastern US, two state representatives have proposed a bill that would ban data caps and service shutoffs for a period extending beyond the pandemic. The proposed bill, filed jointly by state representatives Andy X.
Podcast - The Divide: NDIA's Angela Siefer on digital redlining
Welcome to "The Divide" – a podcast from Light Reading exploring the ongoing digital divide: why it still exists, where it still exists and what needs to be done to fix it. Today's guest is Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). We talk about what digital inclusion work looks like, how the digital divide is being made worse by digital redlining, and what needs to happen at a provider and policy level to change that.
Clearfield CEO: Pandemic reinforces broadband demand
At the onset of global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Internet usage spiked between 50% and 70%, and streaming increased by 12%, according to Forbes. Light Reading's Women in Comms recently caught up with Cheri Beranek, president and CEO of Clearfield, to discuss how the pandemic has impacted broadband demand, fiber infrastructure and the industry's efforts to close the digital divide.
Google Fiber ramps reach of 2-Gig service
Email This Print Comment Google Fiber is ratcheting up deployments of a new 2Gbit/s broadband service that was initially offered last fall in select markets via the ISP's Trusted Tester program. Atlanta is part of the early batch of Google Fiber markets to get the new 2-Gig product.
SpaceX, Amazon engage in satellite spat
Email This Print Comment SpaceX and Amazon are taking swipes at each other even before they both launch competing satellite broadband services. In this early round, they're duking it out at the FCC and on Twitter over Starlink's proposal to lower the orbits of thousands of satellites.
Wave Broadband deals for Digital West
Email This Print Comment Wave Broadband, a service provider that's part of the larger Astound Broadband conglomerate, has struck a deal for Digital West, a provider of fiber-based services focused on California's Central Coast region. Digital West provides a mix of services, spanning Internet connectivity and carrier transport, voice, cloud computing and storage, colocation, and data backup, to "thousands" of customers in the region via locations in San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and San Jose.
Cable tech chiefs target broadband moves
Less than two months after their two groups agreed to join forces, the heads of CableLabs and SCTE/ISBE are focusing on how to speed up the development and deployment of cable's next-gen broadband services and applications.
US ISPs tacked on 1.1M subs in Q4 2020 - analyst
Email This Print Comment US broadband providers will turn in another solid quarter in Q4 2020, but the gains won't be high enough to match up with the blowout subscriber numbers seen in the third quarter of the year, the analysts at ISI Evercore predicted in a preview ahead of quarterly results. US service providers are expected to add another 1.1 million broadband subscribers in Q4 2020.
BBWN Bites: Pop goes Loon
Email This Print Comment Also in this roundup: Outgoing FCC chair releases "confounding" report; SHLB announces policy agenda; Rogers ranked "most consistent" by Ookla. Following an optimistic launch in Kenya in July 2020, balloon-powered broadband company Loon announced today that it's shutting down. According to a blog post, Loon's CEO Alastair Westgarth said the company was unable to find a viable business model.
Podcast - The Divide: Pew's Anna Read on state efforts to close the gap
Welcome to "The Divide" – a new podcast from Light Reading exploring the ongoing digital divide: why it still exists, where it still exists and what needs to be done to fix it. Today's guest is Anna Read, a research officer with the broadband research initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts. We discuss ongoing challenges to broadband access and adoption, which policies and efforts are (and are not) working and how state programs and public-private partnerships can make a difference.
DZS snaps up Optelian to shore up mobile transport play
Email This Print Comment It didn't take long for new DZS CEO Charlie Vogt to swing his first deal. Vogt, who has overseen about two dozen acquisitions while at the helm of companies such as Genband and Imagine Communications, has made a play for Optelian, a mobile transport specialist based in Ottawa, Canada. The deal will bring new coherent technologies to DZS and put the vendor on a path toward 200-Gig and 400-Gig transport capabilities.
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