POTs and PANs

Working from home is still one of the most important uses of broadband, particularly in rural communities. Roberto Gallardo, who writes in Substack as the “Data Whisperer”, recently wrote an article discussing the change over time of those who work from home. For those who don’t know Roberto, he’s an Associate Professor and the Vice … Continue reading →

The Benton Institute recently wrote an article that reminded me that Starlink is operating a second satellite network, separate from the one used to serve residential and business broadband customers. The company announced this network, which it dubs Starshield, at the end of 2022. Today, this network is now highlighted on the SpaceX website. Starshield … Continue reading →

It seems that almost everybody I’ve talked to in the last week is wondering what NTIA is up to when the agency said that non-deployment funds can be used to serve locations missed by the first round of BEAD grants. The common question I’m being asked is where NTIA and State Broadband Offices are going … Continue reading →

One of the most common tasks required when building a new fiber network, particularly when burying fiber, is fixing the damage caused during the construction process. In the industry, we refer to this work as remediation, which means, in plain English, putting everything back to the way it was before the start of construction. There … Continue reading →

AT&T and Verizon (and now the newly purchased Frontier) have continued with their big push to shut down copper networks. There are good reasons to finally walk away from this obsolete technology. Copper networks are largely far past the end of economic life and are rotting on the poles. Vandalism is rampant since the price … Continue reading →