[00:00:04] Hello and welcome. You're listening to the Broadband Exchange, the podcast from your friends at telecompetitor. I'm Ian Descher, Pivot's director of Media and Story and managing editor of telecompetitor. It's time to review this week's broadband news. Let's get into it. We'll start with SpaceX, which made another move toward its goal of connecting ordinary mobile phones directly to satellites. Grain Management announced an agreement to sell SpaceX its entire nationwide portfolio of 800 MHz spectrum. The low band frequencies would support Starlink Mobile and its plans to provide direct to device connectivity from space, complementing terrestrial wireless networks. Grane acquired the spectrum from T Mobile in August, exchanging cash and its own 600 MHz spectrum. The proposed sale to SpaceX still needs FCC approval, and the companies did not disclose a purchase price.
[00:00:55] This is a particularly timely development. In last week's podcast. If you remember, we discussed the FCC's authorization for SpaceX to deploy a new constellation of 15,000 satellites for direct to device service. The new spectrum agreement offers another piece of the infrastructure SpaceX wants to assemble for that business.
[00:01:13] Another wireless announcement involved a very different approach to making home Internet affordable. New provider UWiFi launched a 5G fixed wireless Internet service with standard pricing starting at $55 per month. But its unusual pitch is that subscribers can reduce their bill, potentially to zero, by voluntarily watching advertisements through an app called FreeYou. Uwifi also introduced a gateway with automatic failover that it said can switch among major national 5G networks if the current connection fails. The company announced a strategic partnership with T Mobile and described its equipment as plug and play, with no technician visit required.
[00:01:52] Of course, the service is new, and the company's claims about savings and network performance will have to play out in practice.
[00:01:58] Now let's turn to customer experience, starting with some encouraging numbers for wired broadband providers. The latest JD Power Residential Internet Satisfaction study found that wireless providers continue to lead wired providers, but their advantage is shrinking. Wireless Internet received an overall satisfaction score of 645 out of 1,000, compared with 560 for wired Internet. The gap narrowed by eight points from last year.
[00:02:25] The researchers credited improvements in wired customers, perceptions of value and digital tools, but wireless still has an affordability advantage. 70% of wireless customers considered their plans affordable, compared with 55% of wired customers. T Mobile ranked highest in the national wireless category and among wired providers, G Fiber led in the South, Verizon led in the east, and ATT ranked highest in both the North, Central and West regions.
[00:02:52] JD Power took the results to mean that reliable service is increasingly just table stakes. But the way customers manage accounts, solve problems and perceive value matter more than ever.
[00:03:02] AT&T made a related announcement by expanding what it calls America's Best Guarantee, which is its customer service guarantee. Under the updated commitment, eligible customers calling for assistance will speak with an expert within five minutes after being routed to support or will be offered a callback at a time they choose.
[00:03:21] AT and T is also promising a single technical support expert for customers who combine AT and T Wireless with AT and T Fiber or Internet Air, reducing the need to repeat their issue to multiple agents. If it misses these commitments, the company said, eligible customers will receive a benefit, a $5 gift card, a $5 bill credit or a $25 accessory coupon.
[00:03:43] Optimum also put the focus on customer relationship with a new program, although with a less technical approach.
[00:03:49] Its new Optimum thanks you appreciation program offers customers opportunities for giveaways, sweepstakes and special experiences, including entertainment and sporting event tickets. There are also planned discounts and offers tied to services such as Optimum Mobile. Optimum stressed that this is not a points based reward program it's meant to recognize existing customers rather than reward them for accumulating transactions.
[00:04:13] Moving from the customer experience to the technology behind it, G Fiber, Qualcomm and Gemtech I unveiled a new Wi Fi 8 gateway designed for G Fiber's symmetrical 20 gigabit service. The companies are calling the device AI native rather than sending every request to the cloud. It is designed to process certain AI functions directly in the home gateway. The companies held demonstrations of the new gateway, which included voice controlled parental settings, network health diagnostics and a touchscreen that can display a QR code to help guests connect.
[00:04:45] The gateway uses Qualcomm's Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite platform. G Fiber said existing 20 gig customers will be the first to receive it, with upgrades planned once certification is complete.
[00:04:57] On a broader network level, a study from STL Partners found that providers have made real progress toward autonomous broadband operations, but some familiar obstacles remain. The report, commissioned by the broadband forum, surveyed 100 senior decision makers at fixed broadband providers. It found that 78% had at least partially deployed software, defined networking or virtualized network functions, and 92% regarded AI and machine learning as important or critical to that strategy. But 83% identified poor data quality across sources as a major AI challenge. Nine in 10 pointed to integration with legacy systems as a problem, and 78% flagged weak interoperability between vendors.
[00:05:43] The study also suggested that network engineers are more comfortable accepting AI recommendations for diagnosing problems than letting AI make resource allocation decisions on its own. Getting the intelligence into a network is one thing, but trusting it to act independently is another.
[00:05:58] The Fiber Broadband association, meanwhile, released practical guidance for a different stage of the network lifecycle, turning fiber construction plans into buildable designs. The third chapter of its Building Better Broadband white paper series focused on low level design, the step that takes approved high level plans and field survey data and turns them into highly detailed construction and permitting documents.
[00:06:20] One recommendation was to install at least one more conduit than a project initially needs. For rural deployments, the association suggested at least three one for feeder and distribution, fiber one for drops and a spare. The paper also addressed directional drilling, aerial make ready work, and the importance of checking designs before construction begins.
[00:06:41] On the funding side, the Pew Charitable Trusts urged states to plan for the broadband investments that will still be necessary when current federal programs run their course.
[00:06:51] Pew found that 40 states have laws authorizing broadband infrastructure funding programs, but only 19 of those states are currently providing state dollars for deployment. It turns out that having a program on the books doesn't necessarily mean it has money behind it. The analysis pointed to recurring funding approaches in states like Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as broader infrastructure funds in Texas and California.
[00:07:14] Pew argued that states will still need resources for places left unserved, future network upgrades and ongoing maintenance after bead construction is complete.
[00:07:24] Turning to mergers and acquisitions, a legal challenge has temporarily stopped Cable One from buying the rest of Mega Broadband Investments. The company Behind Vive Broadband Cable One already owns 45% of Megabroadband and had agreed to purchase the remaining 55%.
[00:07:40] But a federal court issued a temporary restraining order after lender CoBank filed suit, arguing that the transaction would amount to a constructive fraudulent transfer. Cable 1 disputed that claim and said it will fight the challenge. The company also outlined a proposed refinancing package addressing about $2.45 billion in obligations and near term debt maturities. That package, too, depends on resolving the legal restraint, and definitive financing agreements haven't yet been signed.
[00:08:10] So, long story short, the purchase is on hold for now.
[00:08:14] Finally, a survey offered an interesting look at how Americans want to watch television and whether they want to watch all of it.
[00:08:21] Research sponsored by subscription bundling company Bango found that 32% of U.S. adults would rather watch highlights from a show than every full episode. That figure climbed to 43% among Gen Z respondents. But short clips are not necessarily replacing longer programs. They 51% said clips helped them discover shows worth watching, while 65% said new episodes of shows they follow are important to keeping their streaming subscriptions, and 61% said a less expensive bundle would make them more likely to stay subscribed.
[00:08:53] That's a useful combination of findings for video providers. Shorter formats can encourage discovery, while full shows and subscription values still matter. As for the Broadband Exchange, we'll keep trying to fit the highlights into one brief episode for you.
[00:09:07] And that's it for this week. Thank you for listening to the Broadband Exchange. You can read all the articles we talked about
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