Industry News | ERC Broadband

Pandemic Builds Momentum for Infrastructure

Bradley Cain — Thu, 23 Apr 2020 15:23:29 +0000

The coronavirus pandemic is boosting momentum for major broadband legislation, highlighting the widespread lack of high-speed internet in U.S. homes at a time when it has become more essential than ever. The full article can be found HERE.

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North Carolina Joins FirstNet

Bradley Cain — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 21:01:44 +0000

“North Carolina took a step today toward strengthening public safety and emergency preparedness by clearing the way for its first responders to join FirstNet, the first nationwide broadband network specifically built for public safety agencies.”

Full article can be found HERE.

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Verizon abandons 8500 Rural Customers

Bradley Cain — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 15:27:38 +0000

“Verizon has notified 8,500 customers via letter that it will ‘no longer be their service provider after October 17, 2017,’ because these customers have been using ‘a significant amount of data’ while roaming on partner networks. Customers in Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin have been affected, a Verizon spokesperson told Ars Technica . Many of these customers were on unlimited data plans, but are still being cut off for using too much data.”

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Land of Sky releases Broadband RFN

Bradley Cain — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 19:10:04 +0000

The Land of Sky Regional Council has released a Request for Negotiation (RFN) for advanced #broadband services. The project is named the “West Next Generation Network” or WestNGN. The RFN can be viewed, downloaded, and/or printed HERE.

The above link also includes specifications and instructions for responding to the RFN. Additional information can be obtained at the Land of Sky Regional Council offices located at 339 New Leicester Hwy, Suite 140, Asheville, NC 28806.

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Municipalities band together to draw high-speed Internet

Bradley Cain — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 20:20:37 +0000

Blue Ridge Now also covers the WestNGN effort. See the article HERE.

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Getting the Internet to everyone in WNC

Bradley Cain — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 15:55:23 +0000

“As the number of digital devices and demand for high-speed internet grows for individuals and businesses, the question of how to achieve greater reach continues to be asked. The answer, while not easy, appears to be emerging in partnerships and unique efforts throughout Western North Carolina.”

Getting the Internet to everyone in WNC (links to Asheville Citizen-Times)

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Fiber to the Beach House?

Bradley Cain — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 13:13:27 +0000

MCNC‘s Jean Davis talks with Lightreading about fiber growth across North Carolina.

View the link HERE.

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Wheeler Proposes Tech-Neutral Special Access Approach

Bradley Cain — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 13:00:47 +0000

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler wants special access service regulation to be tech neutral, whether it is being provided by incumbent telcos (ILECs), competitive telcos (CLECs) or cable operators, and he has the reform framework ready to roll—it was circulated to the other commissioners April 7.

The goal is to promote more competition, competition, competition (the chairman’s mantra) for business services, which could include price regulation on cable service where it does not face competition.

Special access lines are dedicated connections used by businesses and institutions to deliver voice and data traffic, including for ATMs and credit card transactions. The regs have been applied to the larger ILECs—Verizon, AT&T,, CenturyLink and Frontier—but the chairman thinks they should apply across the board where more competition is needed. FCC officials speaking not for attribution signaled the FCC had concluded there was more competition in high-bandwidth (above 50 meg) services and less in low-band.

Link to article is HERE.

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Greensboro issues Broadband RFP

Bradley Cain — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 14:03:27 +0000

On Thursday, March 24, the cities of Greensboro, Burlington, and High Point, along with Guilford County, UNC Greensboro, NC A&T State University, and the Piedmont Triad Regional Council (PTRC) have become the latest NC partnership to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for enhanced broadband capacity. This collaboration, known as TriGig, asked Internet service providers to submit proposals for next-generation broadband infrastructure. See the press release HERE. See the RFP HERE. Download the RFP HERE.

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Broadband Is More Than Infrastructure

Bradley Cain — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 19:45:40 +0000

“Access to high-speed broadband Internet is becoming vital for businesses and economic development, and most cities recognize its importance. Broadband adoption and use, which were once commonly overlooked, are equally important for economic development and are now beginning to get their fair share of attention.”

Link to article: Broadband Communities

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