Total Telecom are keeping track of the latest news from the USA as billions of dollars pour into developing internet access for all. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at how progress is being made, check out our new Connected America event.
10 August 2022
New York’s MTA announces wireless connectivity plan for entire subway – telecompaper
9 August 2022
America’s Two Biggest Cable Broadband Monopolies Failed To Add Any New Customers Last Quarter – techdirt
States are Making Their Own Broadband Maps to Challenge the FCC’s Data – BroadbandBreakfast 
8 August 2022
$30M Fiber-optic Broadband Infrastructure Project Coming to Holland, MI – Inside Towers
7 August 2022
Affordable Connectivity Program&’…

Total Telecom are keeping track of the latest news from the USA as billions of dollars pour into developing internet access for all. If you are interested in a more in-depth look at how progress is being made, check out our new Connected America event.

10 August 2022
New York’s MTA announces wireless connectivity plan for entire subway – telecompaper

9 August 2022
America’s Two Biggest Cable Broadband Monopolies Failed To Add Any New Customers Last Quarter – techdirt

States are Making Their Own Broadband Maps to Challenge the FCC’s Data – BroadbandBreakfast 

8 August 2022
$30M Fiber-optic Broadband Infrastructure Project Coming to Holland, MI – Inside Towers

7 August 2022
Affordable Connectivity Program’ for broadband internet services offered to ND households – KFYR

4 August 2022
Congress Proposes Broadband Plan 2.0 – Multichannel News

Brightspeed Announces Initial Fiber Build Markets for Tennessee – PRNewswire 

3 August 2022
Quantum Fiber launches multi-gig service, delivering symmetric 8 gigabit internet speeds in select cities – PR Newswire

2 August 2022
20 Providers Offering $30-a-Month High-Speed Internet Access – AARP

27 July 2022
The Fiber Broadband Association Recognizes More All Fiber Networks Across North America – Press Release

26 July 2022
La. state leaders announce major investment in broadband internet expansion, digital literacy program – WAFB9

22 July 2022
Rural US wireless carriers ask for more 5G subsidies – LightReading

19 July 2022
State of Indiana and AT&T Collaborate on Plan to Deliver Fiber-Powered Broadband to Portions of Nine Indiana Counties – Press Release / Cision

18 July 2022
Home Telecom supplies 1,400 homes with better internet with $2M grant – Live 5 NewsWire

United Communications secures $130M credit facility to support broadband grants – Williamson HomePage 

16 July 2022
How Washington state could use federal infrastructure money to close the digital divide – Geek Wire

Peninsula Fiber Network Plans To Improve Internet Service – Radio results Network

FCC Chair Rosenworcel Proposes 4X Increase in Minimum Broadband Speeds – tvtech

14 July 2022
Despite External Challenges – RAN Still Expected to Surpass $40b by 2026 – PR Newswire

13 July 2022
AT&T claims first with 20 Gbps symmetric speeds in production network – Telecompaper

13 July 2022
Shentel Awarded Grant to Bring its Glo Fiber High Speed Network to Frederick County, Maryland – PR Newswire

13 July 2022
Arelion expands its long-haul network in Atlanta – Fierce Telecom

13 July 2022
All 50 States on Board for BEAD, Digital Equality Broadband Funding Programs – Telecompetitor

13 July 2022
Mesa, Arizona selects 4 fiber providers inlcuding SiFi Networks and Google Fiber – Fierce Telecom

13 July 2022
FCC Awards More Than $266M in ECF Program – Telecompetitor

13 July 2022
Starry adds record subs in Q2 as total nears 81,000 – LightReading

12 July 2022

12 July 2022

12 July 2022

11 July 2022

11 July 2022

1 July 2022
FCC Awards Almost $159m in ECF Funding – Telecompetitor

30 June 2022
Construction Begins at Quantum Loophole’s Frederick Data Center Campus – Inside Towers 

29 June 2022
Sen. Marklein: The battle for better broadband continues – WisPolitics

28 June 2022
Verizon delivers faster connections to 64 Native American reservations in 13 states – LightReading 

27 June 2022
Clearwave Fiber Begins Buildout of Fiber Internet in Lansing, KS – PR Newswire 

24 June 2022
Broadband internet provider Conterra expanding, investing nearly $10M now, $12M later in Union County – WRAL TechWire 

Connectbase welcomes NYC’s Skywire Networks to Connected World platform – telecompaper 

22 June 2022
Highline Commences Next Phase of Fiber Internet Expansion in Lumberton, Texas – Telecompetitor 

20 June 2022
FPB wins $8 million in grants to fund broadband for unserved – The State Journal (Kentucky)

State of New York unveils broadband map – Inside Towers

18 June 2022
Hargray Fiber expands fiber Internet to Hinesville, GA – TelecomLead.com

17 June 2022
Biden aims to train more broadband workers to fend off labor crunch – Fierce Telecom

Washington County, Pa., Approves $3.2M for Internet Expansion – Government Technology

16 June 2022
Shentel Expanding its Glo Fiber High-Speed Network to Delaware – KLTV

Texas Broadband Plan Could Connect 2.8M Unserved Households – Government Technology

13 June 2022
Ohio State hosts first meeting for statewide broadband and 5G partnership – Ohio State News

11 June 2022
West Virginia Working To Avoid Past Broadband Mistakes – The Intelligencer

Connected America brings together the people and companies redefining the future of US connectivity and unites the leading stakeholders from the entire value chain. Join us in Dallas, 28-29 March 2023

This week, Korea Telecom (KT) has announced it has signed a new strategic agreement with Turkish state-run operator Turk Telekom, seeking to mutually develop their 5G capabilities and explore the technology’s commercialisation.
 
As part of the deal, the partners will co-develop a private 5G platform for to Türk Telekom’s customers…

This week, Korea Telecom (KT) has announced it has signed a new strategic agreement with Turkish state-run operator Turk Telekom, seeking to mutually develop their 5G capabilities and explore the technology’s commercialisation.

As part of the deal, the partners will co-develop a private 5G platform for to Türk Telekom’s customers, coinciding with the operator’s broader 5G launch scheduled for 2023.

Beyond 5g, the deal will also see the operators explore joint investment opportunities, particularly in technology start-ups, with Türk Telekom looking to support a number of KT’s various tech subsidiaries. 

The agreement also covers content sharing, with content produced by KT offered to Türk Telekom’s customers via the latter’s Internet TV and over-the-top service platform. Reciprocal content exchange may also be explored at a later date. 

KT itself has already found considerable success in its newly created subsidiary, KT Studio Genie, which has produced the currently most-watched non-English TV series on streaming platforms, ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’. SK Telecom, meanwhile, has established its own streaming service, Content Wavve Corp., in 2019, and LG Uplus has recently invested in children’s animation studio SAMG Entertainment.

“We are embarking on an exciting journey with Korea Telecom, the world’s leading technology company, to implement joint R&D projects in the field of 5G, to invest in start-ups, an area we value very much, and to exchange content for our TV platform. I believe that this cooperation will yield very successful results,” said Türk Telekom CEO Ümit Önal.

The formal agreement follows the two companies signing a collaborative Memorandum of Understanding at Mobile World Congress back in March. 

This week, DITO has announced it has filed two complaints against Globe Telecom and PLDT (Smart) with the Philippine Competition Commission, claiming that the two larger telcos are exploiting their dominant market position to prevent DITO from competing fairly.
The operator alleges that Globe and Smart have failed to follow the standards of the National Telecommunications Commission…

This week, DITO has announced it has filed two complaints against Globe Telecom and PLDT (Smart) with the Philippine Competition Commission, claiming that the two larger telcos are exploiting their dominant market position to prevent DITO from competing fairly.

The operator alleges that Globe and Smart have failed to follow the standards of the National Telecommunications Commission, which requires all mobile operators to ensure good interconnection between rival networks. 

« Out of 100 calls that DITO makes to reach out to one of these telcos, only 30 are able to get through. Seventy out of 100 calls are unable to interconnect. For the other one, it’s even worse, out of 100 calls, only 20 are able to interconnect, » said DITO’s Chief Administrative Officer Adel Tamano.

DITO Telecommunity launched its mobile services in the Philippines in March 2021, aiming to break up the duopoly of Globe and Smart. 

The Philippines had been seeking a third mobile entrant since at least 2019, with then-President Rodrigo Duterte repeatedly blaming the country’s bipartite mobile market for the Philippine’s relative lack of infrastructure development compared to its international neighbours.  

As a result, the launch of DITO was met with much fanfare, with the new operator saying it would aggressively take on the existing operators, pledging to invest $6 billion in its new network and aiming to capture 30% of the market. 

Since then, the company has indeed gained subscribers rapidly. By the end of 2021, roughly nine months after launch, the company had reached five million subscribers. Today, that figure stands at around 11 million, with DITO saying it is aiming to reach 12 million by the end of the year. 

DITO says that its rapid customer acquisition is due to their competitive pricing and high-quality service.

But while this growth is no doubt impressive, it still leaves the newcomer utterly dwarfed by both Globe and Smart, which have around 87 million and 71 million mobile subscribers, respectively. 

« We are alleging abuse of dominant position. Obviously Globe and Smart are in a dominant position. They’re giants. Our market share for the entire market is at most 5 percent, » said Tamano, who said that DITO’s growth would be “much, much higher if interconnections were okay”.

Globe and Smart have yet to officially respond to this announcement.