BBWN Bites: Court Upholds Most FCC Net Neutrality Moves
Also today: a decision on DOCSIS 4; broadband households and 5G; WOW! likes OpenVault; Southern Cross spans ocean; and alleged Polish content pirate convicted.
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the Federal Communications Commission's 2018 deregulation of net neutrality, and its Title I reclassification of both fixed and mobile broadband. However, the court found the FCC went beyond its legal authority when it barred states from implementing their own requirements, even if they did not match FCC's approach. And the court ordered the FCC to examine what Title I reclassification means for the regulation of pole attachments, public safety and the Lifeline Program.
On the Same Spec Page
Speaking at SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in New Orleans this week, Comcast's Robert Howald was one of several Tier One operators who underscored DOCSIS 4's embrace of two specifications: Full Duplex DOCSIS (FDX), a technology favored by Comcast, and Extended Spectrum DOCSIS (ESD), which is gathering momentum among many other providers.
(Photo source: Jeff Baumgartner, Light Reading)
DOCSIS 4 will include both FDX and ESD, hopefully ending FUD and the chasm that began earlier this summer when engineers in both camps began pointing out the pros and cons of each specification. Combining the two into one spec creates a scaled ecosystem and allows CableLabs and its members to focus on each spec's best facets. "That the cable industry is now on the same page on where to go with HFC next was amplified in comments made Monday morning by engineering execs at the two largest US cable operators -- Comcast and Charter Communications," wrote Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner, from SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in New Orleans. (See DOCSIS 4.0 ends cable network feud.)
More than one third of US broadband households are somewhat familiar with 5G and more than 40% are interested, but more than half of US broadband households are unfamiliar with 5G, finds new research from Parks Associates.
Operator WOW! is extending its relationship with OpenVault to include more of the vendor's operations, analytics and policy products so it can see beyond subscribers' current usage and impact on WOW's network and develop next steps for improved availability and quality for the operator's 800,000-plus customers, OpenVault announced today.
Southern Cross Cable Network expects to soon begin building its Next subsea cable to provide data connectivity between Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles. The new 13,483-kilometer cable system, slated to begin offering service in January 2022, is now jointly owned by Singtel, Spark, Verizon and Telstra; the latter company plans to acquire a 25% equity interest in SCCN. Alcatel Submarine Networks will build the new high-capacity express route from Australia and New Zealand to the US. (See New SCCN Subsea Cable to Link Australia, New Zealand & US.)
A Polish court sentenced the owner of a pirate video site to eight months in prison for distributing original content shown by Platforma Canal+, wrote Media2.pl (via Broadband TV News).
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— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.
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Here's where you can find episode links for 'The Divide,' Light Reading's podcast series featuring conversations with broadband providers and policymakers working to close the digital divide.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will present our Cable Next-Gen Europe conference as a free digital symposium on June 21.
Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.
As we have for the past two years, Light Reading will stage the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference as a free digital event over two half-days in mid-March.
Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs.
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