Metronet said Monday that it’s now offering its 100% fiber-optic network to 3 million homes and businesses. T-Mobile acquired Metronet in July as part of a joint venture with investment firm KKR (see 2507240027). The company has “evolved into a wholesale builder and operator of fiber-optic networks used by T-Mobile Fiber for residential customers and microbusinesses and by Metronet itself for commercial customers,” it said.
Google subsidiary Starfish is seeking FCC approval to build and test parts of the Bulikula submarine cable system in U.S. territory while the agency reviews the cable landing license application. In a special temporary authority application Friday, Starfish said it needs approval by Dec. 16 so cable-laying activities in U.S. territory can start on schedule. The Bulikula system would connect Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii to Fiji and French Polynesia. Google applied for FCC approval in November 2024 (see 2411180002).
Gigapower, a joint venture between AT&T and BlackRock, announced last week that it added ISP Flume as its second customer. AT&T had been its only customer. “Gigapower is maximizing the potential of its open access network by onboarding a second ISP,” which will serve multifamily properties in the metro Phoenix area, said Gigapower CEO Francisco Maella. Flume CEO Prashanth Vijay added that open networks “are the best way to scale connectivity quickly to areas that have historically not had options for home internet.”
Midco said last week it had closed on its acquisition of SCI Broadband, which expands Midco's Minnesota network and positions it for further fiber expansion in the state. President Ben Dold said the company is also on track to launch mobile service by year-end.
The Competitive Carriers Association, which represents wireless carriers, supported an FCC proposal to speed up copper retirements in comments posted Wednesday in docket 25-208. But, the group warned, that step will have only limited success unless the FCC also addresses the IP transition. “Without addressing how voice traffic is exchanged between networks, the transition to IP will remain incomplete and the public safety benefits of network upgrades will be unrealized.”
Incompas warned Tuesday that FCC proposals for the business data services (BDS) market could do more harm than good. The commission’s competitive market test “remains a fundamentally flawed measure of competition, inappropriately allows monopolies or duopolies to qualify as competitive markets, and fails to realistically assess barriers to competitive entry,” the group said in comments in docket 21-17.
AARP remains concerned about older adults having an “uninterrupted ability” to reach 911 as the FCC considers proposals to speed up copper retirements and other network changes (see 2509300039), the group said in reply comments Tuesday in docket 25-208. “Because the transition will not occur overnight, it is important to establish a robust consumer-friendly roadmap to guide the nation’s modernization of its telecommunications network such that the transition is seamless for consumers and important consumer protections are retained.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed comments in docket 25-253 Monday calling on the FCC to work with industry to remove regulatory red tape for wireline deployments. The FCC sought comment in a notice of inquiry approved in September (see 2509300063). Among other recommendations, the chamber said the agency should eliminate burdensome state requirements, including “unreasonable fees and undue restrictions on right-of-way, pole and easement access, as well as arbitrary requirements and construction restrictions.”
The FCC Wireline Bureau partially granted Copper Valley Telephone Co-op's requested review of a Universal Service Administrative Co. decision that the Alaskan provider wasn't in compliance. But in a docket 10-90 order Friday, the bureau said USAC nonetheless is to proceed with recovering more than $1.5 million in high-cost support from Copper Valley. USAC sought recovery of $1,547,112 in 2018 due to two findings of noncompliance related to affiliate transactions between Copper Valley and its Copper Valley Long Distance. The bureau said Friday it agreed with Copper Valley that its transactions with a subsidiary didn't violate FCC rules, but Copper Valley incorrectly recorded the interexchange transport service purchased from its affiliate. Copper Valley inflated operating expenses, and USAC is to proceed with recovering $1,526,960 in high-cost support, the order said.
USTelecom plans to file at the FCC this week a fact sheet urging the commission to cut red tape for wireline builds, a spokesperson said Friday. In response to a notice of inquiry that commissioners approved in September (see 2509300063), the fact sheet offers real-world examples of the impediments faced by carriers.