NEWS

Fastwyre Broadband who brought together the American Broadband, TelAlaska and Cameron Communications brands has further expands with the acquisition of Moundville Communications in Alabama.

Fastwyre Broadband is owned Madison Dearborn Partners and Catania Capital Partners and has ambitions to deliver high-speed internet services across America and now reaches Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas.

Chris Eldredge, CEO of Fastwyre commented “This acquisition accelerates our growth by providing immediate access to vibrant communities in Alabama. We look forward to furthering the expansion of our high-quality, reliable broadband services into new Alabama communities, including those in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties.”

Beyond Alabama, Fastwyre has also announced plans to extend fibre broadband services into Louisiana, Missouri and Nebraska in the first quarter of 2023.

Scott Taylor, former President and CEO of Moundville Communications said that “With the support and resources of Fastwyre, we are poised to be the preferred regional fiber-based broadband provider in the area.”

The Fastwyre Broadband name was announced in August 2022 as a rebrand of American Broadband Holding Company and looks to address the increasing need for access and upgrades across the United States. At the time the announcement Eldredge was quoted as saying “We believe all Americans should have access to reliable internet service. Our new identity reflects our pursuit of that mission, unifying our markets under a single national brand that will help keep communities connected.”

For more on the expansion of fibre broadband across the USA, join Total Telecom for Connected America on 28-29 March 2023 at the Irving Convention Center, Dallas.

News

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new update that would require telcos to accelerate their reporting of data breaches for both customers and law enforcement

On Friday, the FCC began proceedings to bolster the existing rules regarding telco obligations to notify their customers when sensitive data has been compromised.

Currently, network operators are required to notify the relevant authorities – the FCC, but also potentially the US Secret Services and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – of a data breach within a maximum of seven days after discovery. Only then, assuming no objections from law enforcement agencies, can customers be notified.

Now, the newly proposed update suggests eliminating this seven-business-day window, meaning that customers can be notified more quickly, “without unreasonable delay”, when their data has been leaked.

The update would also broaden the existing scope of what is considered a ‘breach’, now including cases of “inadvertent access, use, or disclosures of customer information”, rather solely breaches as a result of cyber-attacks. In short, telcos will be required to report incidents where customer data is compromised due to their own negligence as well as those caused by malicious actors attacking the network.

“The law requires carriers to protect sensitive consumer information but, given the increase in frequency, sophistication, and scale of data leaks, we must update our rules to protect consumers and strengthen reporting requirements,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.  “This new proceeding will take a much-needed, fresh look at our data breach reporting rules to better protect consumers, increase security, and reduce the impact of future breaches.”

If passed, this update will bring the FCC regulations more closely in line with those of data protection standards found elsewhere in the world, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires customers to be notified of any breach within 72 hours.

This would be the first time the law has been updated in 15 years.

How are the latest regulatory changes impacting the telecoms landscape in the US? Learn more from the operators themselves at the upcoming Connected America conference live in Dallas, Texas

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A new survey of 5,139 UK consumers who had their contract end on either their mobile, broadband and /or TV plans has examined the impact of switching to a different ISP vs haggling for a lower price with your existing provider. On average, TV and broadband users saved £162 a year by switching, while haggling […]

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News

Nepal’s Ministry of Communication, Internet and Technology (MoCIT) has requested that the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) stops removing internet cables from its utility poles

This week, the ongoing conflict between Nepal’s internet service providers and the NEA has escalated yet further, with the MoCIT formally asking the NEA to stop removing internet service cables from its utility poles.

For many years, Nepal’s ISPs have been using the NEA’s utility poles to host internet and TV cables, a highly efficient strategy for rapidly deploying networks across the country at minimal cost.

However, around a year ago, the NEA announced it would be increasing the rent on the use of its utility poles to host internet cables – in some cases by up to 700%.

Naturally, this price hike posed a considerable concern to the ISPs, who took to legal channels to complain.

Shortly after the increase was announced, the ISPs told the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) that they would need to pass on these costs to customers, raising monthly subscription prices by around 150 Rs (~$1.13) in rural areas and 300 Rs (~$2.27) in urban areas to handle this increased rental price.

According to The Internet Connectivity Index-2021, the average monthly charge for broadband services in Nepal in 2021 was 1,600 Rs (~$12.10).

By October 2022, the ISPs were still disputing the new pricing and refusing the pay the increased fees, hence the NEA began removing internet cabling from their utility poles in various regions in, causing significant disruption to internet services.

The move was met with condemnation by both the ISPs and the NTA, with the latter suggesting that the NEA could potentially be punished by law for obstructing services.

This week, with the cables’ removal still ongoing, the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nepal (ISPAN) has called for government intervention to stop the NEA, arguing that the ISPs were being unfairly pressured to pay the unilaterally increased fees.

The NEA, on the other hand, says it is simply following legal procedure, removing the cables from its infrastructure due to lack of payment.

Now, the MoCIT itself has been forced to weigh in on the conflict, requesting that the NEA cease removing the cables due to the internet’s integral role in public life. It urged the NEA and the ISPs to come to a speedy compromise, noting that internet access is key to the Digital Nepal Framework, the government’s 2019 plan to increase digital literacy and ICT access throughout the country.

The MoCIT has officially requested that the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, which oversees the NEA, order the energy provider to cease its disruptive activity.

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Press Release

Orange is announcing the signature of a memorandum of agreement with Reservoir Sun, a leading player in self-supply solar electricity systems for companies and local government, to set up a photovoltaic power station in Bercenay-en-Othe (Aube)

The station is due to go online in 2025. The project’s first major milestone is the environmental impact analysis.

To fulfill its environmental commitments, Orange is increasingly turning to renewable sources of energy and wishes to accelerate this transition by making the most of solar energy on its tertiary and technical sites. The Group will therefore deploy its first solar farm in France and in Europe[1] on the strategic satellite communications site at Bercenay-en-Othe. The farm will cover a surface area of 50,000 m2, or the equivalent of seven football pitches.  With an installed capacity of 5 MW (1MW for self-consumption and 4MW for reinjection), the power station will supply 20% of the site’s energy needs and surplus electricity can be fed back to the grid. This locally generated, low-carbon electricity corresponds to the annual energy consumption of 1,700 homes and will save over 100 tons of CO2 every year.

The first milestone, starting today, is the environmental impact analysis required to carry out the project, in agreement with the DREAL (Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing). This study will be carried out over a period of up to 12 months, or four seasons, to determine the potential impact of the project on living species on the site. The study of the natural environment aims to minimize the impact of the facilities and to recreate, if required, species’ habitats.

Michaël Trabbia, interim CEO for Orange Wholesale and International Networks, declared: “We are happy and proud to launch an ambitious local solar farm project at our Bercenay-en-Othe site. This solar farm reflects our additionality approach and is fully in line with our strategy to develop the use of low-carbon energies, in order to contribute to our environmental commitments. This project thus contributes to securing our energy supply while decarbonizing our activities. »

Mathieu Cambet, Managing Director of Reservoir Sun: “Reservoir Sun is very proud to have been chosen by Orange as a trusted partner for its first solar power project on one of its own sites. We hope that this shared project will mark the start of a strong collaboration to take on the challenges of decarbonization and local energy production.”

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News

Bullitt Satellite Connect will reportedly ensure that customers are connected “wherever you have a clear view of the sky”

This week, at the CES show in Las Vegas, UK-based rugged phone manufacturer has shed light on its much-anticipated Bullitt Satellite Connect service, a two-way satellite messaging service.

Using proprietary software and service components, Bullitt Satellite Connect will provide text messaging services via an app, Bullitt Satellite Messenger. Messages will be relayed via satellite, allowing customers assurance that they will never be without signal so long as they are outside.

The service will first attempt to connect to Wi-Fi or a cellular network, but when these are unavailable it will connect via satellite. Messages sent from Bullitt Satellite Messenger can be received as a simple SMS on smartphones without the app; the receiving party will, however, need to download the app in order to reply.

In addition to messaging, the service will also offer more typical satellite services, such as location tracking and SOS assistance.

Subscriptions for the service will begin at $4.99 a month, with the SOS assistance free for the first year.

“Bullitt Satellite Connect solves a real connectivity problem. American’s send 6 billion SMS text messages each day* but, due to the sheer scale and topography of the country, no single carrier covers more than 70% of the US land mass and around 60 million Americans lose coverage for up to 25% of each day**,” said Richard Wharton, Co-Founder at Bullitt Group.

“That means hundreds of millions of instances where people who want to communicate via their phone cannot. Coverage blackspots persist to a greater and lesser extent the world over. We have a truly international solution. Bullitt Satellite Messenger provides total reassurance that you will have a connection wherever you have a clear view of the sky.”

These capabilities have reportedly been developed over the past two years working alongside partners including chip giant MediaTek, satellite partner Skylo, critical event response specialist FocusPoint International, and others.

The first smartphone to support this new messaging service will be the next device in Motorola’s Defy range, the full details of which have yet to be announced. Bullitt and Motorola first struck a strategic alliance back in January 2021.

Bullitt says the new service is set for commercial launch later this quarter.

*Source: CTIA

**Source: https://www.opensignal.com/2019/09/24/mobile-experience-in-rural-usa-an-operator-comparison

What role will non-terrestrial networks play in the wider telecoms industry in the coming years? Join the experts in discussion at this year’s live Connected America conference in Dallas, Texas

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