C Spire, an independent wireless company providing service in the southern United States is partnering with electric utility Entergy to jointly construct a new fiber optic network in remote sections of Mississippi to manage an electric smart grid and fiber broadband service.

C Spire will own and build the network, with Entergy contributing construction costs, according to C Spire vice president of government relations Ben Moncrief. The partnership grants Entergy leasing rights to use the fiber optic network to develop smart grid technology for rural Mississippi electric customers. Five individual fiber routes will be build, each with a capacity of 144 or more strands of fiber. Entergy will have exclusive use of its own fiber strands, but C Spire will get most of the capacity to power its backhaul facilities, including its network of cell towers, and eventually deploy the network for commercial and institutional users, with the possibility of expanding service to home and small businesses customers if there is adequate demand.

The fiber network will be uncharacteristically placed in some of the most rural parts of the state’s push to redevelop its rural economy to support digital businesses. C Spire itself has been in transition over the last five years, diversifying its core cellular business into fiber to the home broadband, phone, and television service targeting underserved, smaller communities across the state.

“A robust broadband infrastructure is critical to the success of our efforts to move Mississippi forward by growing the economy, fostering innovation, creating job opportunities and improving the quality of life for all our residents,” said Hu Meena, CEO of C Spire.

C Spire/Entergy Mississippi’s new fiber project

The construction project will involve placing fiber optic cable along five separate routes:

• Delta: 92 miles of fiber through Sunflower, Humphreys, Madison and Hinds counties and near the cities of Indianola, Inverness, Isola, Belzoni, Silver City, Yazoo City, Bentonia, Flora and Jackson.
• North: 51 miles in Attala, Leake and Madison counties, including the communities of McAdams, Kosciusko and Canton.
• Central: 33 miles in Madison, Rankin and Scott counties and near the towns of Canton, Sand Hill and Morton.
• South: 77 miles passing through Simpson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence and Walthall counties and near the towns of Magee, Prentiss, Silver Creek, Monticello and Tylertown.
• Southwest: 49 miles in Franklin and Adams counties near Bude, Meadville, Roxie, Natchez and Eddiceton.

C Spire got the idea to collaborate with the electric utility after the Mississippi Public Service Commission inquired if Entergy’s plans to build a fiber optic smart grid network could also be used to develop improved broadband service for rural Mississippi. Entergy and C Spire decided to collaborate on the project to deliver both services over the same network.

Fort Collins residents saw their mailboxes filled with mailers last fall opposing community broadband, paid for by the state’s cable lobby.

The Loveland, Col. City Council approved Tuesday four measures that include a $2.5 million spending authorization to lay the groundwork to allow the city to develop a new public broadband network.

The city plans to move quickly, spending $300,000 to develop an in-depth business plan for the service, which the city may run itself. The money will also be spent on researching financing options and a general outreach campaign to explain the service to local residents. Another $2.2 million will cover the development of a detailed solicitation for proposals to build the fiber network an exploration of bonding options.

Some Council members were adamant they will not repeat the mistakes of other Colorado towns by taking muncipal broadband up for a public vote. Several Loveland City Council members commented on a campaign of demagoguery and distortion practiced by incumbent cable and phone companies in Fort Collins and Longmont, which financed expensive campaigns to try to block municipal broadband proposals from getting off the ground. Both industry-funded campaigns failed.

For one Council member, the extensive lobbying campaign in 2017 to smear Fort Collins’ proposal municipal network backfired.

Councilman John Fogle had previously supported requiring a public vote if Loveland decided to get into the broadband business. But then last November he witnessed Fort Collins endure a well-financed effort by the Colorado Cable Telecommunications Association and the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce to defeat a similar broadband proposal. He changed his mind.

“It’s not an even playing field when incumbent industries will spend $900,000 at the drop of the hat to perpetuate … a monopoly,” Fogle said, noting that local governments cannot spend taxpayer dollars to fight lobbyists and defend their proposals.

Ball: We don’t need a public vote.

Councilman Rich Ball went even further, declaring unless he died or resigned, he would never support a public vote.

“We have the wonderful opportunity to collaborate or we can be the little city that I grew up in that always got beat … by Fort Collins and Longmont,” Ball said.

Many local residents supporting the Loveland public fiber network applauded the decision of local council members not to be tricked into an unfair fight with the well-financed telecom industry.

“I don’t want the Council to spend even five minutes entertaining Comcast’s circus of lies and distortions. I hope those TV ads run last fall in Fort Collins from that fake group sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce taught our state a lesson on what cable monopolies will do to protect their monopoly,” said Loveland resident Susan Collins. “They’ll do whatever it takes and you can lose if you play their game. We already had a vote when we elected our City Council. If people don’t like what they are doing, they can vote them out again.”

But Mayor Pro Tem Don Overcash expressed concern and requested the four measures be amended to require voter approval, believing the Council may be exceeding its authority.

“If citizens want to expand our powers to meet their needs, they have the right to do that,” Overcash said.

A handful of residents also worried they would be paying for a network they won’t use, choosing to stay with their local cable or phone company provider instead.

Loveland, Col.

Councilman Jeremy Jersvig complained that his fellow Council members were making “dictatorial” motions to move forward on the fiber network that, in his view, did not consider public opinion.

But Council members who support Loveland’s public fiber proposal noted:

• In a 2015 election, 82 percent of Loveland voters said “yes” to overriding a state law banning local governments from providing telecommunication services, such as high-speed internet. Other Colorado communities have gone through similar votes.
• The vote allowed the city to explore making high-speed internet available throughout the Loveland area, independently or in partnership, and without raising taxes. City Council will make the final decision on whether to provide this service, and what model to use if so.
• Ultra-fast internet service, with speeds greater than 1 gigabit per second, would be delivered through a citywide fiber-optic network, which is faster than what the local cable or phone company will provide.

New York’s Broadband for All Program yesterday announced the third and final round of grant winners to expand rural internet access across the state.

Verizon Communications was the top grant recipient, winning a total of $106,642,787 in combined state, federal, and private dollars to expand internet access to 15,515 residential homes, businesses, and institutions primarily in the Capital Region, Central New York, and the North Country.

Stop the Cap! has learned these funds will be spent on fiber internet expansion, which could mean direct fiber to the home (FTTH) connections or a combination of fiber and existing copper telephone wiring (FTTN). To meet the state’s requirements, Verizon will likely have to use optical fiber as much as possible, although some advanced forms of DSL are capable of meeting minimum speed requirements.

But where exactly will Verizon start building out its network? The state’s grant program includes census block data on the exact areas where Verizon will commence upgrades or bring internet service for the first time.

By far the biggest winner of Verizon upgrades is New York’s North Country where over 1,000 Census Blocks will be wired for service.

Here is a general breakdown on where Verizon will begin working on rural broadband expansion:

Capital Region

• 78 Census Blocks in Rensselaer County
• 59 Census Blocks in Schenectady County
• 132 Census Blocks in Washington County

Central New York Region

• 196 Census Blocks in Cayuga County
• 47 Census Blocks in Cortland County
• 5 Census Blocks in Onondaga County

Mohawk Valley Region

• 1 Census Block in Montgomery County

North Country Region

• 686 Census Blocks in Clinton County
• 203 Census Blocks in Jefferson County
• 279 Census Blocks in St. Lawrence County

Southern Tier Region

• 5 Census Blocks in Tompkins County

We are not well-schooled on mapping applications or integrating the data into a searchable tool or larger map (if you can, we’d love to hear from you). So for now, readers will have to search the database manually. Here are two ways to search:

Identify your Census Block ID and see if broadband improvements are coming to your area

1. Visit this website and enter your street address.
2. From the resulting list, click the  icon adjacent to the “Block” Geography Type, which will bring up a pop-up table containing additional information.
3. Find the “Code” line which will show a long number like this: 1000000US300500197056002. If you Copy everything to the right of “US”, in this example 300500197056002, that represents your Census Block ID. Omit everything else (including the ‘US’).
4. You can compare your Census Block ID number with the master list (click to download – .xlsx spreadsheet format) of New York’s third round census block winners. Just use the Search function and enter your Census Block ID number. If it matches with anything in that spreadsheet, your address is almost certainly to be serviced by Verizon (or another telecom company, as specified in the spreadsheet.)

To view coverage maps of winning Census Block IDs

1. Download the master list (click to download – .xlsx spreadsheet format) of New York’s third round census block winners.
2. Copy any Census Block ID listed, visit Melissa Data and paste the ID into the search box.
3. A map of the Census Block will appear. Not all Census Blocks have homes or businesses within them and will appear undeveloped. In many cases, this means a grant winner is being given funds to develop their network to pass through one Census Block to reach other areas nearby where customers live and work.

Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico has estimated it will take as long as June of this year to fully restore cable and broadband service to Puerto Rico.

It has been over 100 days since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. At least 45% of Puerto Rico remains without any electricity, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates it will take until May to fully restore power — eight months after the hurricane hit.

The island’s well-publicized power scandal with a politically-connected contractor also involves a decrepit utility, likely corruption in contract awards, incompetent management, and political interference from conservative groups who want to privatize the island’s utility and sell off its assets to corporate interests and entrepreneurs competing to turn the island into an experimental laboratory for renewable energy sources. All contribute to a slowdown in power recovery because no plan has adequate backing and sufficient resources to quickly bring power back online. Instead, mutual aid assistance from U.S. utilities is gradually rebuilding and strengthening the island’s existing power grid.

Liberty Cable’s original service area.

Liberty Cablevision claims many of its outages are power-related. When power is restored, their service will return as well. But many of their former customers will not. More than 140,000 Puerto Ricans have left since the storm hit Sept. 20 and some experts estimate more than 300,000 more could leave in the next two years. That’s on top of a similar number that have already left over the last decade as a result of the perpetual economic crisis on the U.S. island territory of 3.4 million.

Liberty is rebuilding significant parts of their network, spending millions to replace damaged coaxial cable with fiber optics, especially in areas closest to the eye of the hurricane where damage was greatest.

Liberty Global, controlled in part by cable magnate John Malone, this week completed spinning off Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico to Liberty Latin America, a new independent, publicly traded company. Included in the spinoff are Cable & Wireless Communications, a familiar telecom company serving Caribbean islands, parts of Latin America and the African island nation of the Seychelles, and VTR – Chile’s largest cable company.

A portable cell site

Cellular/Cable/Telephone

As of Dec. 29, 11.0% of Puerto Rico’s cell sites remain out of service. One county, Vieques, has greater than 50% of its cell sites out of service.

Satellite Cells on Light Trucks (COLTs) have been deployed in Aguadilla, Arecibo, Cayey, Coamo Sur, Fajardo, Guayama, Manati, Mayaguez Mesa, San German, Vega Baja, and Yauco and Terrestrial Cells on Wheels (COWs)/COLTs in Humacao, Quebradillas, Rio Grande, and Utuado.

U.S. Virgin Islands: Overall, 20.5% of cell sites are out of service. 50% of cell sites in St. John are out of service.

The FCC has received reports that large percentages of consumers are without either cable services or wireline service. While the companies have been actively restoring service, the majority of their customers do not have service because commercial power is not yet available in their respective areas. In Puerto Rico, there are no major telecom switches still affected.

Broadcast Stations

When broadcast stations are listed as “suspected to be out of service,” the statement is based on field scanning of relevant bands. Stations listed may be operating on reduced power or on a reduced schedule.

Television

Puerto Rico

• 5 TV stations are confirmed operational (WKAQ, WIPR, WNJX, WTIN, WORO)
• 2 TV stations are suspected to be out of service (WIPM, WELU)
• 70 TV stations have been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline
• 30 TV stations have unconfirmed status

U.S. Virgin Islands

• 14 TV stations have been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline
• 2 TV stations have unconfirmed status

AM Radio

Puerto Rico

• 42 AM radio stations are confirmed operational (WA2X, WABA, WALO, WAPA, WBMJ, WCMN, WCGB, WCPR, WDEP, WENA, WEXS, WGDL, WI2X, WI2X, WI3X, WIAC, WIPR, WISO, WKAQ, WKFE, WKJB, WKUM, WLEO, WLEY, WMDD, WMNT, WMSW, WOIZ, WOQI, WORA, WPAB, WPPC, WPRA, WPRP, WSKN, WSOL, WTIL, WUNO, WUPR, WVJP, WXEW, WYEL)
• 8 AM radio stations are suspected to be out of service (W227, WJDZ, WNVE, WVQR, WYAS, WZCA, WZMT, WZOL)
• 21 AM radio stations are confirmed out of service by the Puerto Rican Broadcast Association (WBQN, WCMA, WDNO, WEGA, WFAB, WGIT, WHOY, WIBS, WIDA, WISA, WIVV, WJIT, WKVM, WLRP, WNEL, WNIK, WOLA, WOSO, WQBS, WRSJ, WUKQ)
• 1 AM radio station has unconfirmed status
• 2 AM radio stations have been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline

U.S. Virgin Islands

• 2 AM radio stations are confirmed operational (WSTA, WUVI)
• 2 AM radio stations are suspected to be out of service (WDHP, WSTX)
• 1 AM radio station has unconfirmed status

FM Radio

Puerto Rico

• 55 FM radio stations are confirmed operational (WAEL-FM, WCAD, WCMN-FM, WCMNFM3, WCMN-FM6, WEGM, WERR, WERR-FM1, WERR-FM2, WERR-FM3, WFDT, WFID, WIDI, WIRI, WIVA-FM, WKAQ-FM, WKAQ-FM1, WKAQ-FM2, WLUZ, WMAA-LP, WMEG, WMIO, WNNV, WNRT, WNRT-FM1, WNRT-FM2, WNVM, WODA, WORO, WOYE, WPRM-FM, WPUC-FM, WPUC-FM1, WQML, WRIO, WRRH, WRTU, WRXD, WTOK-FM, WTOKFM2, WTPM, WTPM-FM1, WVDJ-LP, WVIE, WVIS, WVJP-FM, WVJP-FM2, WXYX, WXYXFM1, WXYX-FM2, WZAR, WZIN, WZNT, WZNT-FM1, WZOL)
• 8 FM radio stations are suspected to be out of service (W227CV, WJDZ, WNVE, WVQR, WYAS, WZCA, WZMT, WZOL-FM3)
• 17 FM radio stations are confirmed out of service by the Puerto Rican Broadcast Association (WCAD-FM1, WCAD-FM2, WCRP, WELX, WIDA-FM, WIOA, WIOA-FM1, WIOC, WNIK-FM, WQBS-FM, WQBS-FM1, WUKQ-FM, WUKQ-FM1, WXHD, WXLX, WYQE, WZET)
• 3 FM stations have been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline
• 28 FM radio stations have unconfirmed status

U.S. Virgin Islands

• 2 FM radio stations are confirmed operational (WVIE, WZIN)
• 1 FM radio station is suspected to be out of service (WVIZ)
• 1 FM radio station has been issued Special Temporary Authority to be offline
• 19 FM radio stations have unconfirmed status

In a sign that could spell trouble for Altice’s ambitious plans to scrap Cablevision’s coaxial cable network in favor of fiber to the home service, Altice has announced it is ending its plan to build its own fiber to the home network by 2025 across France.

Instead of building its own network, Alain Weill, head of Altice’s SFR Group said the company would lease space on the government’s own public fiber network now under construction instead.

“With Patrick Drahi… we’ve recently decided to go for a more traditional model… and a collaboration with local authorities,” Weill told surprised French officials.

France considers its forthcoming national fiber network a national priority to help the country achieve the ability to fully compete in the 21st century digital economy. France is treating fiber broadband like roads and bridges — a public infrastructure project necessary to maintain the country’s standing in the global economy. France had relied on private providers like Altice to construct telecommunications networks and as a result fell to the bottom of EU rankings for superfast broadband.

President Emmanuel Macron said relying on the private free market to stimulate France’s digital economy was inadequate because the companies answered to shareholders, not the country. The European Union is on track to bump North America to third place behind Asia and Europe in fiber speed broadband.