Maine Joint Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee members voted Thursday to table a bill to create a grant program to cover costs of signing up for satellite-based broadband. The vote came despite significant amendments introduced by a sponsor and a call during a committee hearing by its chairman, Sen. Mark Lawrence (D), that the legislature instead might want to give guidance to the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA). SB-1107 as introduced, would establish a state grant program giving up to $500 to individual households in unserved and underserved areas of the state. After questions about lack of means testing and concerns about whether satellite service would meet the FCC's broadband definition, amendments introduced this week by Sen. Trey Stewart (R) strike language on use of satellite-based service and creates a definition for inadequately served areas. Stewart said the tech-neutral language recognizes that modes of broadband provision are changing rapidly. Rep. Seth Berry (D) said it's tough to envision a service aside from SpaceX's Starlink that would fit the grant even with the amendment. He also questioned the use of individualized grants rather than those targeting communities. ConnectMaine Authority Executive Director Peggy Schaeffer said the $500 amount "isn't that helpful" in covering last-mile costs. She urged the legislature to consider means testing for the grants. She also warned that the agency, with a small staff, has limited capacity to manage up to 2,000 grant applications. "This individual-type program would take a lot of work" to verify and track, she said. Rep. Steven Foster (R) said focusing on means testing is misguided since the state hasn't taken such an approach when subsidizing cable network extensions. "There has been a commitment made to get everyone connected ... at whatever cost," he said. Lawrence said with the state getting sizable federal money for connectivity efforts, now is the time to give state agencies legislative direction on what lawmakers' priorities are, such as a focus on the most un- or underserved and use of individualized grants. Stewart said he and MCA President Andrew Butcher will try to have proposed language ready for committee members by late next week.
Maine Joint Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee members voted Thursday to table a bill to create a grant program to cover costs of signing up for satellite-based broadband. The vote came despite significant amendments introduced by a sponsor and a call during a committee hearing by its chairman, Sen. Mark Lawrence (D), that the legislature instead might want to give guidance to the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA). SB-1107 as introduced, would establish a state grant program giving up to $500 to individual households in unserved and underserved areas of the state. After questions about lack of means testing and concerns about whether satellite service would meet the FCC's broadband definition, amendments introduced this week by Sen. Trey Stewart (R) strike language on use of satellite-based service and creates a definition for inadequately served areas. Stewart said the tech-neutral language recognizes that modes of broadband provision are changing rapidly. Rep. Seth Berry (D) said it's tough to envision a service aside from SpaceX's Starlink that would fit the grant even with the amendment. He also questioned the use of individualized grants rather than those targeting communities. ConnectMaine Authority Executive Director Peggy Schaeffer said the $500 amount "isn't that helpful" in covering last-mile costs. She urged the legislature to consider means testing for the grants. She also warned that the agency, with a small staff, has limited capacity to manage up to 2,000 grant applications. "This individual-type program would take a lot of work" to verify and track, she said. Rep. Steven Foster (R) said focusing on means testing is misguided since the state hasn't taken such an approach when subsidizing cable network extensions. "There has been a commitment made to get everyone connected ... at whatever cost," he said. Lawrence said with the state getting sizable federal money for connectivity efforts, now is the time to give state agencies legislative direction on what lawmakers' priorities are, such as a focus on the most un- or underserved and use of individualized grants. Stewart said he and MCA President Andrew Butcher will try to have proposed language ready for committee members by late next week.
Low earth orbit satellite startup E-Space's plan to launch as many as 100,000 satellites (see 2202080004) licensed by Rwanda is seen by critics as an effort to skirt the heavier regulatory or spectrum burdens of more-traditional space regulatory regimes. Some see such moves potentially leading to bigger orbital debris problems.
Despite a growing need for clarity on liability of commercial space operations, no answers are coming soon, said speakers at an American Bar Association air and space law forum Friday in Washington. The nascent on-orbit servicing industry is having trouble getting traction because of that lack of clarity over liability and attribution, such as who ultimately bears financial responsibility for a mishap or cleanup in space, said Chris Kunstadter, AXA XL global space head.
Cable One will end its 100 Mbps broadband tier this spring and migrate all customers to its 200 Mbps tier, raising their bill by $5 per month, CEO Julie Laulis said in a quarterly earnings call Thursday. Twenty-two percent of its residential customers have 100 Mbps speeds now, she said. Nearly 80% of new customers choose tiers of 200 Mbps or higher, she said. Chief Financial Officer Steven Cochran said as part of its increased broadband focus it will unwind its bulk video offerings to places like hotels and condominium buildings, eliminating time and resources spent on an unprofitable product offering.
Dish Network's mobile 5G network is up and running in Las Vegas, albeit with mixed results, and the company will easily meet its June goal of reaching 20% of the U.S. population, executives said Thursday, announcing its 2021 year-end results. "When it works, it works pretty well," Chairman Charlie Ergen said. He said network optimization and working with handset manufacturers to ensure Dish frequencies are in their hardware are still to be done before broad commercial launch, plus fixing of some regulatory issues like Enhanced 911 access.
WideOpenWest will spend $40 million over the next two to three years on extending its fiber network to parts of Orange County, Florida, CEO Teresa Elder said during a call Thursday announcing its latest quarterly results, in addition to $60 million it will spend over the next two to three years on fiber expansion to greenfield areas of Seminole County, Florida, announced earlier this month. Elder said the Orange County focus will be on the northern suburbs rather than the Orlando metro area. Chief Financial Officer John Rego said construction should start in the second half of this year, with the first Greenfield customers expected to come in early 2023. He said the two projects combined will take its network past 100,000 new homes. WOW said it ended 2021 with revenue from continuing operations of $725.7 million, down $45 million. It said it finished the year with 511,700 high-speed data subscribers, up 12,900 year over year. It said broadband generated $399.1 million for the year, up $40.1 million from 2020. Rego said that partially offset year-over-year declines in video and telephony revenue of 13% and 12.1%, respectively. WOW stock closed at $16.96, down 3.8%.
Dish Network's mobile 5G network is up and running in Las Vegas, albeit with mixed results, and the company will easily meet its June goal of reaching 20% of the U.S. population, executives said Thursday, announcing its 2021 year-end results. "When it works, it works pretty well," Chairman Charlie Ergen said. He said network optimization and working with handset manufacturers to ensure Dish frequencies are in their hardware are still to be done before broad commercial launch, plus fixing of some regulatory issues like Enhanced 911 access.
Orbital debris and space sustainability are increasingly a discussion topic in international diplomacy, said Elle Agnew, Canadian Space Agency manager-international and regulatory affairs, Wednesday. During a George Washington University Space Policy Institute symposium, Agnew said space security was long a topic in G-7 meetings, but last year for the first time "we really dove into the science part," such as debris. She said the G-20 started a space economy forum as a venue for similar talks. Nicolas Maubert, French Embassy space counselor, said the U.N.'s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is an effective but slow international forum for tackling space issues. He said there should be national commitments to implementing COPUOS' 21 guidelines for space sustainability, as well as discussions about harmonizing the regulatory regimes of nations with launch and manufacturing capacity. Asked whether the mushrooming mega constellations raise Outer Space Treaty issues, State Department Office of the Legal Advisor lawyer Emily Pierce said those are issues that need consideration.
House Commerce Committee leaders' two draft bills to revamp the FCC's low earth orbit (LEO) satellite licensing rules (see 2202110064) raise questions such as how the measures would affect agency resources and the potential impact on spectrum availability, industry experts told us. Many in the satellite industry don't expect Congress to make much progress in advancing the bills this year and expect development of the proposals to be a multiyear effort.