Pandemic an inflection point for U.S. telecom policy

We Need Our Internet Access Networks to Be Something They Are Not: As the Covid-19 medical crisis is contained and Congress does what it can to recharge the economy, an important economic recovery question will be whether our political leaders will push huge stimulus dollars to Big Cable and Big Telecom companies under the premise that we need better networks and they are the logical choice for solving that problem. Giving big checks to the seven companies that control most of our internet infrastructure will mean we are doubling down on a system that should be overhauled. The Boards at the large incumbent ISP’s have their fingers crossed that Covid-19 doesn’t lead to a re-thinking of the current arrangement. To make sure the $500 Billion annual ISP annuity continues, an army of lobbyists is likely tasked with making sure the pandemic is not an inflection point for internet access and infrastructure.

If Congress wants to stimulate the deployment of very reliable, low-cost networks that are designed to favor consumers, it should provide low-interest loans that allow municipalities, electric co-ops, and entrepreneurs to create non-profit, open access, fiber optic networks where the subscribers to the network own the infrastructure. If Congress made inexpensive capital available to build this infrastructure, the entire country would get reliable and robust networks over the next ten years and the next time we’re all forced to live life at a distance, we won’t have to worry if our networks will have the capacity and flexibility to meet the demands we place on them.

The incumbents have a real credibility issue now having built up a track record over the past two decades of taking billions of dollars in federal subsidies yet leaving lots of Americans with substandard advanced telecom infrastructure.

Policymakers have been punked by the incumbents into believing the issue is one of addressing a "broadband" bandwidth gap inherent in their scarcity, unit pricing based business models. When in fact as the author of the Medium post points out, the real issue is insufficient fiber to the premise #FTTP infrastructure. American consumer culture makes it easy for the incumbents to frame bandwidth as a "good, better, best" consumer commodity and price tiered accordingly. As long as policymakers see this as a consumer commodity, they'll continue to fly blind, chasing "broadband speeds" and have a difficult time properly seeing #FTTP as essential infrastructure.

Response to #USTelecom re pandemic and advanced telecom infra

Broadband & COVID-19: #TogetherApart: Twenty million Americans do not have an on-ramp to high-speed internet. The capacity exists for the government and broadband companies to relegate this fact to the history books in relatively short order. A surge now in federal funds to connect the final frontier — primarily unserved areas that are cost-prohibitive for businesses to serve on their own — can get us to the long-distant mountaintop of universal connectivity. Now is the time for our nation’s policymakers to think and act boldly and decisively about achieving — permanently — truly universal service for all Americans.

But that surge in federal funds should NOT go directly into the coffers of investor owned telephone and cable companies but instead create a “public option” of fiber to the premise #FTTP infrastructure. These companies should be limited to designing, building, maintaining and offering services over it -- but not ownership. The past 25 years have shown universal connectivity – a public interest – conflicts with the private interest of investors to limit capital expenditures on infrastructure. That’s what created the service gap to which the writer refers. Members of USTelecom also oppose regulating Internet connectivity as a common carrier utility under Title II of the Communications Act because doing so would mandate universal service and prohibit neighborhood redlining.

In the meantime, additional funds should be made available immediately to quickly create a nationwide broadband map that can identify with pinpoint accuracy every last unserved home and business in America. This will allow for the expedited and highly targeted deployment of resources to connect them.

Utter rubbish. USTelecom members know exactly where unserved homes and businesses are. They deliberately redlined neighborhoods they deemed unable to provide the rapid return on their infrastructure investments their investors demand. Calling for better mapping is a disingenuous delaying tactic intended to protect their service territory monpolies. It's time to place this propaganda in the trash heap where it belongs.

California proposes 3-day backup power for cell towers, communication networks - SFChronicle.com

California proposes 3-day backup power for cell towers, communication networks - SFChronicle.com: “It’s important to remember that one size does not fit all when it comes to network management during an emergency,” AT&T spokesman Jim Kimberly said in an email. “Adding 72 hours of backup power could mean adding large fuel tanks or multiple refrigerator-sized cabinets in the middle of communities, which in many areas is simply not feasible. A combination of fixed and mobile solutions is what is needed.”

Kimberly is right re fixed solutions. Residential fiber connected to premises backed up with premise generators and batteries would provide one such solution. That would require AT&T to rapidly change out its aged legacy copper outside plant to fiber -- something it should have done decades ago -- and consider placing in underground conduit in high wildfire risk areas to increase suvivabilty. Also, to offer both business and residential fiber service. In some of its Northern California service territory, AT&T has deployed fiber to business customers but does not offer fiber service to nearby residences.