Slightly fewer than 10% of U.S. internet subscribers were provisioned for gigabit speeds at the end of Q1, compared with 3.8% in Q1 2020, OpenVault said Tuesday. It said the portion of subscribers provisioned for such rose 75% over the past two quarters. It said the monthly weighted average data used by subscribers in Q1 was 461.7 GB, up nearly 15% from Q1 2020. It said data usage was relatively flat compared with Q1, but usage is elevated from pre-pandemic.
UL's labs in Basingstoke, U.K., and Stuttgart, Germany, are the first sites in Europe to “address the immediate demand for Wi-Fi 6E wireless testing and certification services,” said the company Friday: “The facilities offer start-ups, scaling businesses and large corporations state-of-the art technology and a comprehensive service solution, including certifications to meet market regulatory requirements around the world, for the smooth introduction of Wi-Fi 6E-enabled products.”
The FCC is reviewing its systems for the emergency broadband benefit “on a day-to-day basis” to identify whether changes are needed, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters Thursday. There were connectivity issues in applying during EBB's initial days (see 2105180050). Rosenworcel warned providers that make subscribers buy more expensive services instead of their existing plans to “knock it off.” This “violates the spirit of the program,” she said: Those encountering problems should file an FCC complaint.
Some 1 million households signed up for emergency broadband benefits in the program's first week (see 2104290085), said the FCC Wednesday. “The high demand we’ve seen for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program demonstrates what many of us already knew to be true -- too many families are struggling to get online, even in 2021,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. More than 900 providers are participating.
Top U.S. cable and wireline ISPs gained 1.02 million net broadband subscribers in Q1 vs. 1.17 million in the year-ago quarter, reported Leichtman Research Group Tuesday. Cable had 73.77 million of 107 million total subscribers, adding 935,000 subs. Telcos had 33.3 million customers, adding 85,000 vs. a net loss of 60,000. Losses among telco non-fiber subs were more than offset by over 400,000 fiber adds, bringing fiber-based telco broadband subs to about 14.6 million. Over the past year, there were about 4.7 million net broadband user adds vs. 2.8 million the prior year, said Principal Bruce Leichtman.
Growth in U.S. net new broadband subscriptions fell 16% compared with the 2020 quarter when they got a COVID-19 boost, Pivotal Research Group's Jeff Wlodarczak wrote investors Friday. Subs were up modestly from Q1 2019. He expects 2021 net additions down 35% from record 2020 results but about 20% above 2019. Broadband household penetration finished Q1 at 86.8%, up 0.7% sequentially. Cable, with 98% share net new subscribers, saw a 24% drop year on year, up modestly from 2019. Telcos were “treading water” the last three quarters as DSL losses offset fiber-to-the-home gains; telcos added 18,000 in Q1. Some 19 million copper-based telco data subs “are ripe for cable to steal,” he said. Pay-TV results and outlook remain “ugly,” said the analyst, citing “bloodletting” at former DirecTV properties. Pay TV had a 2.1 million subscriber drop vs. 2.4 million in Q1 2020, the worst quarter, and virtual MVPDs lost 1.9 million. Traditional pay TV “remains a dead man walking,” and if players don’t have a credible direct-to-consumer strategy, “they are in trouble,” Wlodarczak noted. PRG is “increasingly excited” about Dish Network’s wireless buildout, noting “what could be a game-changing service with their [Amazon Web Services] relationship a key piece” (see 2104290045).
Washington lifted municipal broadband restrictions Thursday when Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed HB-1336 and SB-5383, passed last month (see 2104260061). While together they remove limits, the Senate bill would add a reporting requirement specific to unserved areas. Reporting requirements will vary and localities “can do whatever they want,” and Inslee "believes expanding access to broadband is important to equity and increasing opportunity for Washingtonians facing barriers to internet connectivity," a spokesperson said Friday. Rep. Drew Hansen (D) replied Friday to a tweet by Institute for Local Self-Reliance Director-Community Broadband Networks Christopher Mitchell, who raised concerns the Senate bill might keep some muni limits. Mitchell later told us “decades of history of the raw political power of large cable and telephone companies makes me wary of any doubt in whether there are barriers to local Internet choice but unless I hear differently at this point, my impression is that Washington has removed its barriers to publicly-owned networks.” Also Thursday, Inslee signed HB-1477 implementing 988. He signed SB-5009 on strategic lawsuits against public participation Wednesday (see 2104150028).
Eligible households seeking to apply online for the FCC emergency broadband benefit program may experience “connectivity issues” due to a “high demand,” an alert said on the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Co.'s websites Thursday. The FCC became aware of some users experiencing issues online Wednesday, a spokesperson told us. The problem appears to be “leveling off” now and the alert was posted “out of an abundance of caution,” she said.
Average monthly broadband bills increased 19%, adjusted for inflation, for consumers in the first three years of the Trump administration, Free Press said. That's a nominal increase of more than four times the rate of inflation, Thursday's report said. Despite a decrease in the average cost of broadband for low-income consumers, FP found an increase in prices for the poorest. It said actual prices paid and median published prices rose during then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's tenure.
Median U.S. download speeds of SpaceX's Starlink constellation vary widely, from 40.36 Mbps in Columbia County, Oregon, to 93.09 Mbps in Shasta County, California, Ookla said Wednesday, citing its Q1 speed tests. This was sometimes an improvement over local fixed ISPs, while other times it's slower. The speed testing firm reported the downlink range in Canada -- 53.61-80.57 Mbps -- was narrower. Starlink latency was higher in all but one U.S. county. And 86.7% of Starlink U.S. users met the threshold of 25/3 Mbps, compared with 83.2% with fixed providers. SpaceX didn't comment.