The digital divide isn’t the only gap industry should worry about as rural carriers also face a cybersecurity gap, said Terry Young, director-5G product marketing at A10 Networks, during a Fierce Telecom virtual conference Thursday. Other speakers said open radio access networks will have a role in bridging the digital divide.
Charter Communications, like Comcast (see 2207280035), saw its broadband growth slow to a halt between Q1 and Q2. Charter ended Q2 with 28.26 million residential broadband subscribers -- up 54,000 year over year but roughly flat from the previous quarter. The sputtering growth had some analysts bearish. The two companies' broadband news "had a decidedly 'end of an era' feel," MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote investors.
No technical conditions exist that could ameliorate worries about harmful interference expected to come from opening the 12 Ghz band to terrestrial use, SpaceX Satellite Policy Senior Director David Goldman told reporters Tuesday. Satellite operators' already-heavy use of the band means employing highly sensitive receivers and low power levels, and given 5G advocates' suggested high-power mobile service, "there is not an in-between on that," Goldman said.
Intelsat and SES expect further delays in satellite aspects of their parts in the C-band Phase II clearing. In their latest docket 18-122 quarterly status updates, they said they still anticipate meeting the overall Phase II clearing deadline. They had warned the FCC earlier this year of some satellite delays (see 2204010052).
Download speeds for SpaceX's Starlink broadband service are up 38% in the U.S. over the past year, from averaging 65.72 Mbps in Q1 2021 to 90.55 Mbps in Q1 2022, Ookla said Tuesday. It said average speeds in Canada were up nearly 58% over the same span, from 61.84 Mbps to 97.40 Mbps. It said average upload speeds decreased: from 16.29 Mbps in Q1 2021 to 9.33 Mbps in Q1 2022 in the U.S. and 16.69 Mbps to 10.70 Mbps in Canada. It said median latency was up slightly, from 40 milliseconds to 43 in the U.S., and 51 to 55 in Canada. For many users, that latency increase is likely negligible, it said. It said Viasat in the U.S. in Q1 was averaging speeds of 22.31/2.81 Mbps and latency of 628 milliseconds, and HughesNet averaged 22.19/2.65 Mbps and latency of 724.
New Jersey senators voted 38-0 Thursday for a 988 bill (S-311). The amended bill, now in the Assembly, orders the state’s human services commissioner to report by April 1 whether a monthly fee on phone bills is necessary to support the hotline and, if so, what the amount should be and how it will be collected. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) had included funding for the hotline in his budget (see 2204010032).
Neither Comcast nor Charter Communications considers fiber overbuilders or fixed wireless significant competitive challenges now, the companies' CEOs said Wednesday during a MoffettNathanson tech conference. Comcast's Brian Roberts said there's increased competitive pressure from fiber and fixed wireless, but Comcast's penetration rate is growing in the areas it serves. He said record-low churn is a mixed blessing because it means fewer customers leaving, but it also means fewer opportunities to get customers who are leaving another provider: "Jump balls will continue to be good for cable." He said about 41% of Comcast's footprint is overbuilt by fiber, and that likely will grow to at least the mid-50s. He said fixed wireless competitors could face congestion problems. "We will see how their services stand up," he said. "They have a lot of trade-offs they will have to sort through." He said Comcast expanded its network by about 813,000 new passings last year, mostly in residential developments, and likely will do about the same in 2022. Comcast is "very confident" in its strategy of DOCSIS 4.0 as a route to multi-gig speeds rather than fiber in most cases, though it will likely use fiber in some areas, said Roberts. While 38% of Charter Communications' footprint has a fiber overbuilder, CEO Tom Rutledge dismissed concerns about fiber being a major competitive threat. "The landscape is littered ... with failed builders" faced with the challenge of getting returns on their investment, he said. He said lack of skilled labor could be a challenge for Charter and other companies considering rural expansions. That labor has to be trained, and rural areas have low population, requiring bringing in crews, he said: "It's challenging. Right now, there is no labor force for any jobs anywhere. We have thousands of unfilled positions."
The Redbox Entertainment “legacy business” of 38,000 DVD-rental kiosks “still has tremendous reach and power for consumers looking for the ultimate value,” said CEO Galen Smith, appearing on Thursday’s Q1 earnings call of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment to discuss its proposed $375 million Redbox buy (see 2205110051). Redbox has been “investing heavily” in recent years to transform the company into a “multi-window multifaceted digital entertainment company,” said Smith. But COVID-19 “severely impacted” the Redbox kiosk business when it forced studios to release content on streaming platforms or delay movies “completely outright,” he said. The expected recovery has taken “longer than we expected,” and has “hampered our ability to invest in the digital transformation,” he said. “Joining forces” with CSSE will give Redbox “much needed scale,” plus access to capital, to “power” the digital transformation, “something we couldn’t do on our own,” he said.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, owner of the Crackle video streaming service, agreed to buy Redbox Entertainment in a deal designed around scale, said the companies Wednesday. The combination will create an “independent, integrated direct-to-consumer media platform delivering premium entertainment for value conscious consumers,” they said. The combined company will have Redbox’s 38,000-plus kiosks, digital capabilities in ad-based, transactional and premium video-on-demand and free, ad-supported streaming TV channels, plus access to a 40-million Redbox Perks member list. The companies will build a “fully developed AVOD and FAST streaming business: proven branded streaming services, formidable content and production capabilities, and a strong AVOD and FAST ad sales operation,” said Chicken Soup CEO William Rouhana. Redbox CEO Galen Smith said the purchase will “accelerate Redbox’s transition from a physical to high growth digital media company.” Ad spending on connected TV platforms grew 57% from 2020 to 2021 and is expected to grow another 39% this year, they said, citing Interactive Advertising Bureau figures. The deal, valued at $375 million, includes $50 million in Chicken Soup stock and the assumption of $325 million in Redbox debt. Upon closing, expected in the second half, Chicken Soup for the Soul stockholders will own about 76.5% of the combined company, Redbox stockholders 23.5%, they said.
Elon Musk will buy Twitter for $44 billion and take it private (see 2204210038), the company announced Monday to Republican cheers and Democratic concerns. Unanimously approved by Twitter’s board, the deal is expected to close this year, the company said. Stockholders will receive $54.20 cash for each share of Twitter common stock, a 38% premium to Twitter's closing stock price April 1, the company said. Musk disclosed his 9% stake in Twitter on March 31. Stock dropped 5.66% Monday, closing at $51.70.