Denton Parson

Great reporting from Doug Adams on the problematic micro-management of this grant program by NTIA. Once envisioned as a “decentralized” program in which the federal Government recognized the states know their own markets better than a DC bureaucrat, BEAD is now looking more and more like a badly run reverse auction. This needs to be stopped.

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AT&T completed the acquisition of the Lumen consumer FTTH division and Verizon completed the acquisition of Frontier. Next up is Cox+Charter. A lot of consolidation in the ISP space. Lot of changes in the cellco space as well. The big keep getting bigger - not better, just bigger - with hardly any anti-trust scrutiny. AT&T has far more market power now than it did in 1982 (they were divested in 1984).

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4 Comments

Let’s keep BEAD from building yesterday’s networks tomorrow... Congress defined Priority Broadband Projects with two prongs: 100/20 Mbps today, and the ability to easily scale for tomorrow. That second prong only applies to PBPs — and it’s what makes them “priority.” If states don’t enforce it in SUBGRANTEE AGREEMENTS, they risk legal challenges, clawbacks of provisional awards, and wasted taxpayer dollars. (Full explanation in the first comment ↓)

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1 Comment

The game changes before most leaders see it. Fibre broadband isn’t an upgrade—it’s a strategic asset. Those who think several moves ahead shape the market. The rest respond to it.

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Recent press reports have suggested that EchoStar is negotiating to sell its AWS-3 holdings to Verizon. Let's take a deeper dive... EchoStar's AWS-3 holdings come in two blocks: 1) 15 MHz of uplink spectrum nationwide in frequency range 1695-1710. EchoStar paired this with its AWS-4 holdings to create a new band n70 and went to considerable effort to work with chipset manufacturers, OEMs and RAN vendors to get it deployed. This extra effort was factored into the original auction price which was about $0.50 per MHz POP. If Verizon buys this block, it would likely need to go through a similarly challenging deployment effort. Any deal above $2.5 billion for this block would be a win for SATS. 2) A 5x5 MHz block covering about two-thirds of the US. By contrast, this is perhaps the most marketable of anything in the EchoStar spectrum portfolio. All three major carriers have deployed AWS-3 and VZ and AT&T paid around $2.90 per MHz POP in the auction back in 2015. With the potential for a bidding war, one would imagine that EchoStar would require pricing well above $3 per MHz POP in a deal with Verizon. Anything below $7 billion for this piece (or $9.5 billion for the two together) would be a disappointment. The other interesting element of EchoStar's involvement with AWS-3 relates to its use of designated entities to purchase the spectrum. After a lengthy court battle, EchoStar was required to return spectrum covering about 1/3 of the US for subsequent re-auction by the FCC and to provide a $3 billion backstop against whatever proceeds are raised in the auction. Would a near term deal with Verizon potentially impact the proceeds from the subsequent re-auction and expose SATS to additional liability? This would certainly be another factor that would make for a complicated price negotiation with VZ.

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Encouraging progress for broadband expansion. The NTIA has approved final BEAD proposals for 18 states and territories—an important step toward unlocking billions in funding to deliver high-speed internet to underserved communities. What this means for infrastructure partners: As BEAD funding advances, large-scale broadband design and construction efforts will accelerate. Navigating permitting, regulatory requirements, and complex project management will be essential for timely deployment. Partners with deep expertise in these areas, like eX2 Technology, a Vivacity Company, will play a critical role in helping states and providers move from planning to execution. Learn more about the latest updates and the regulatory challenges that may lie ahead: https://lnkd.in/gEexiQaX #Broadband #BEAD #DigitalDivide

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