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Category Archives: Wireless

Doug Dawson from CCG Consulting looks at the FCC definition of broadband

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Doug Dawson from CCG Consulting looks at the FCC definition of broadband…

The FCC definition of broadband of 100/25 Mbps was adopted in March 2024. However, Commissioner Rosenworcel had been pushing for the increase to 100/20 Mbps for several years before that. It had been clear to everybody but the Ajit Pai FCC that the 25/3 Mbps definition of broadband was obsolete when the FCC’s mapping in 2022 showed that 90% of homes already had access to 100 Mbps download speed.

All of this leads me to ask if the 100/20 Mbps definition is already obsolete. Recent data from OpenVault says that 43% of U.S. households now subscribe to speeds faster than 500 Mbps download and 70% of homes subscribe to speeds of 200 Mbps or faster. It’s hard to look at these statistics and think that 100/20 Mbps should be the standard.

Unfortunately, the definition of broadband has political and financial overtones. A higher definition of broadband would declare that certain technologies are not really acceptable broadband. If we buy the arguments from NTCA and NRECA, then satellite broadband and FWA cellular would no longer be considered broadband. A huge percentage of cable company networks still have upload speeds far below 100 Mbps, even though there are numerous technology fixes for them to upgrade to faster, and even symmetrical speeds.

In a perfect world, the definition of broadband would be increased regularly to reflect that reality of the marketplace. But that’s not going to happen with this FCC, and in fact, in 2025, Commission Carr asked if the 100/20 Mbps definition is too high.

What is the right definition of broadband?. The easiest starting point for looking at download speeds is to look at the historical evolution of the definition of broadband from 4/1 Mbps, to 25/3 Mbps, to 100/20 Mbps. I’ve shown the following chart before that just trends forward that historic growth trend. If the definition of download speed continues on the same growth curve as from 1996 to 2022 (when the definition should have been 100 Mbps), the following definition of broadband is projected.

This suggests the minimum definition of download broadband for 2027 would be 250 Mbps. That doesn’t seem at all out of line considering the OpenVault numbers that say that 70% of U.S. homes already subscribe to speeds faster than 200 Mbps.

Here’s the Minnesota broadband speed goals…

237.012 BROADBAND GOALS.

Subdivision 1.Universal access and high-speed goal.

It is a state goal that:

(1) no later than 2022, all Minnesota businesses and homes have access to high-speed broadband that provides minimum download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and minimum upload speeds of at least three megabits per second; and

(2) no later than 2026, all Minnesota businesses and homes have access to at least one provider of broadband with download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second.

It’s worth nothing that in Minnesota, that “unserved locations” are defined as

households or businesses lack access to wire-line broadband service at speeds of at least 100 megabits per second download and at least 20 megabits per second upload.

That

Doug Dawson on reasons to support Public WiFi

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Doug Dawson reports on the POTS and PANS blog…

One of the most interesting positive things that came out of the COVID pandemic was that communities and organizations across the country deployed public WiFi hotspots. This was done at the time to support students and workers who were expected to find a way to work remotely. And this worked well in a lot of places, and I’ve talked to communities who said the public flocked to the free WiFi during the pandemic.

There was another benefit of the free hot spots – they created places where people who couldn’t afford broadband suddenly had a place to access the Internet. This number of people varies by community, but the nationwide numbers suggest that around 14% of homes don’t have a home broadband solution, and as many as 80% of those folks say they would buy a home broadband solution if they could afford it.

As I wrote about in a recent blog, the number of homes without broadband is unfortunately growing due to affordability issues related to the other increasing costs of daily life like rent, food, health care, and transportation. An increasing number of homes are finding it harder to maintain their broadband connection. Several ISPs have told me about a growing number of broadband customers that regularly disconnect and then reconnect broadband during the year depending on their ability to pay the bill.

The post goes on to talk about aspects of providing public WiFi to the community.

Administration plans to study the 4.4 GHz band for full-power commercial licensed use

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The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) reports...

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the Trump Administration has cleared plans to study the 4.4 GHz band for full-power commercial licensed use, a key milestone in the Administration’s efforts to advance America’s 6G leadership.  With this final study package being notified to Congress, the Administration has cleared the last milestone to begin four simultaneous repurposing band studies—an unprecedented accomplishment.

“Congress and President Trump directed NTIA to move with urgency to reallocate federal spectrum for commercial use and ensure the United States leads the world in 6G,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth. “NTIA has responded to that call. With today’s announcement on 4.4 GHz, every one of our four pipeline bands is now advancing simultaneously—a historic first that demonstrates we are operating with the speed and precision needed to fulfill our mandate.”

Last year, Congress gave NTIA a first-of-its-kind mandate: identify 500 MHz of federal spectrum for commercial use in five years. In December, the President went further, directing NTIA to complete its study of the 7.125-7.4 GHz band within 12 months. These mandates are central to ensuring the U.S. leads in 6G.

Incumbent federal agencies need the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) to fund the costs associated with spectrum relocation, but they must first submit detailed study plans. These plans establish a clear, executable roadmap for the engineering studies that must be completed for NTIA to identify spectrum for repurposing while protecting critical federal missions.

The Administration has now approved plans for all four bands under consideration: the 1.6 GHz band, the 2.7 GHz band, the 4.4 GHz band and the 7 GHz band. Approval of the plans triggers a 60-day review period by the Commerce and Appropriations Committees before OMB can release the requested funding. Once this review period passes for the 4.4 GHz band, all four bands will be under study—the most federal spectrum studied for repurposing in history.

NTIA will continue to update the public on progress through its newly revamped spectrum.gov.

WCB Announces Lifeline Minimum Service Standards and Indexed Budget

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The FCC announces…

By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces the minimum service standards for Lifeline-supported services as required by the 2016 Lifeline Order.1 The 2016 Lifeline Order established minimum service standards for certain Lifeline-supported services and established annual increases in those standards either in the Commission’s rules or pursuant to calculations set out in the Order and the Commission’s rules.2 Accordingly, we announce the minimum service standards for fixed and mobile broadband data usage allowance. These standards will continue until December 1, 2027. Additionally, we announce that the budget for federal universal service support for the Lifeline program for calendar year 2027 will be $3,053,892,630.3

Fixed and mobile broadband minimum service standard for data capacity. On July 1, 2026, the Bureau issued a waiver for one year pausing the increases in the Lifeline minimum service standards for the fixed and mobile broadband data usage allowance. As such, the standards will continue to be 1280 GB per month for fixed broadband and 4.5 GB per month for mobile broadband.4

Mobile voice telephony minimum service standard. The 2016 Lifeline Order established an automatic update to the Lifeline minimum service standard for mobile voice service through November 30, 2018.5 Accordingly, pursuant to the 2016 Lifeline Order, on December 1, 2026, the Lifeline minimum service standard for mobile voice service will remain unchanged, at 1000 minutes per month.6

Annual budget. The 2016 Lifeline Order adopted an initial budget of $2.25 billion for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2017.7 The 2016 Lifeline Order also stated that the budget amount will be indexed to inflation in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for all items from the

Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.8 To perform this calculation, the Bureau used the annual percent change factor for the preceding year (here, 2025) to the year in which the calculation is being performed.9 Based on this calculation, the indexed budget for federal universal service support for the Lifeline program for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2026 was $2,976,503,538,10 and the indexed budget for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2027 will be $3,053,892,630.

For further information, please contact Sam Lewis, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, at samuel.lewis@fcc.gov.

Wireline Competition Bureau announces counties where conditional forbearance from Lifeline obligation applies – include all 87 MN Counties

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The FCC reports…

By this Public Notice, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announces the counties in which conditional forbearance from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice service applies, pursuant to the Commission’s 2016 Lifeline Order.1 This forbearance applies only to the Lifeline voice obligation of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are designated for purposes of receiving both high-cost and Lifeline support (high-cost/Lifeline ETCs), and not to Lifeline-only ETCs.2 The Appendix lists the counties where the Commission’s conditional forbearance from high-cost/Lifeline ETCs’ Lifeline voice obligation will apply effective on September 8, 2026.

The 2016 Lifeline Order established conditional forbearance from Lifeline voice obligations in targeted areas where certain competitive conditions are met.3 To accomplish this forbearance, the Commission directed the Bureau to release a yearly Public Notice announcing the counties in which the competitive conditions are met.4 In particular, the Commission granted forbearance from high-cost/Lifeline ETCs’ obligation to offer and advertise Lifeline voice service in counties where the following conditions are met: (1) at least 51% of Lifeline subscribers in the county are obtaining broadband Internet access service; (2) there are at least three other providers of Lifeline broadband Internet access service that each serve at least 5% of the Lifeline broadband subscribers in that county; and (3) the ETC does not actually receive federal high-cost universal service support.5

Here are the 87 (out of 87) counties in Minnesota that are included in the list:

  1. MN AITKIN
  2. MN ANOKA
  3. MN BECKER
  4. MN BELTRAMI
  5. MN BENTON
  6. MN BIG STONE
  7. MN BLUE EARTH
  8. MN BROWN
  9. MN CARLTON
  10. MN CARVER
  11. MN CASS
  12. MN CHIPPEWA
  13. MN CHISAGO
  14. MN CLAY
  15. MN CLEARWATER
  16. MN COOK
  17. MN COTTONWOOD
  18. MN CROW WING
  19. MN DAKOTA
  20. MN DODGE
  21. MN DOUGLAS
  22. MN FARIBAULT
  23. MN FILLMORE
  24. MN FREEBORN
  25. MN GOODHUE
  26. MN GRANT
  27. MN HENNEPIN
  28. MN HOUSTON
  29. MN HUBBARD
  30. MN ISANTI
  31. MN ITASCA
  32. MN JACKSON
  33. MN KANABEC
  34. MN KANDIYOHI
  35. MN KITTSON
  36. MN KOOCHICHING
  37. MN LAC QUI PARLE
  38. MN LAKE
  39. MN LAKE OF THE WOODS
  40. MN LE SUEUR
  41. MN LINCOLN
  42. MN LYON
  43. MN MCLEOD
  44. MN MAHNOMEN
  45. MN MARSHALL
  46. MN MARTIN
  47. MN MEEKER
  48. MN MILLE LACS
  49. MN MORRISON
  50. MN MOWER
  51. MN MURRAY
  52. MN NICOLLET
  53. MN NOBLES
  54. MN NORMAN
  55. MN OLMSTED
  56. MN OTTER TAIL
  57. MN PENNINGTON
  58. MN PINE
  59. MN PIPESTONE
  60. MN POLK
  61. MN POPE
  62. MN RAMSEY
  63. MN RED LAKE
  64. MN REDWOOD
  65. MN RENVILLE
  66. MN RICE
  67. MN ROCK
  68. MN ROSEAU
  69. MN ST. LOUIS
  70. MN SCOTT
  71. MN SHERBURNE
  72. MN SIBLEY
  73. MN STEARNS
  74. MN STEELE
  75. MN STEVENS
  76. MN SWIFT
  77. MN TODD
  78. MN TRAVERSE
  79. MN WABASHA
  80. MN WADENA
  81. MN WASECA
  82. MN WASHINGTON
  83. MN WATONWAN
  84. MN WILKIN
  85. MN WINONA
  86. MN WRIGHT
  87. MN YELLOW MEDICINE

Internet provider RadioLink Internet formerly serving Ellendale closes doors (Steele County)

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KTTC reports...

RadioLink Internet (RLI) notified customers in an email last week it was shutting down immediately. …

The company, which was based at Petsinger’s home in Ellendale, provided internet for residents across approximately 5,000 square miles in southern Minnesota.

Petsinger said a changing political climate in some of the communities his company provided internet for and a declining customer base led to the closing.

In an email sent to KTTC, Petsinger alleged the cities of Ellendale and New Richland violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996 “by shutting down broadband competition.”

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 states “No State or local statute or regulation, or other State or local legal requirement, may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service.”

New Richland’s city administrator, Tyler Lendt, told KTTC the city council voted in May 2026 to remove RLI’s equipment from its water tower with a 60-day notice. Lendt said the city and company had contract from 2013 to 2018, but the equipment hadn’t been removed since the contracted ended.

Responding to the Telecommunications Act allegation, Lendt said the council’s decision to end the contract was “based on ensuring that the city was fairly compensate and, most importantly, one of the city’s most crucial pieces of infrastructure was protected.”

A representative from Ellendale has yet to provide comment.

Living in a rural area of Steele County, Ludeman said she relied on RLI’s fast internet speed during the COVID-19 pandemic to work remotely and needed the connection to better use her phone.

St Francis City Council approves first reading of an ordinance on small cell technology (Anoka County)

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Hometown Source reports…

St Francis City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance on small cell technology at their April 20 meeting.

Here are more details from the St Francis City Council website…

Ordinance Amendment – City Code Chapter 7 – First Reading

Ordinance 357 amending City Code Chapter 7, Section 5, Sub. 3, 7, 9, 10, 14, and 20 adding Small Cell Wireless Facility

The American Broadband Deployment Act could change broadband permitting and siting

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Wireless Estimator reports ona bill that was going through the Congress yesterday (spoiler: Punchbowl news reported that this bill was pulled from the House floor). While the immediacy may be gone, I think it’s still helpful to know what is being discussed…

A bill working its way through Congress could be one of the most significant boosts the tower and telecom siting and contracting industry has seen in years — and it may be one step closer to becoming law by tonight.

H.R. 2289, the American Broadband Deployment Act, introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), is a sweeping federal bill designed to streamline nationwide permitting for broadband and telecommunications infrastructure.
What began as a one-page proposal to exempt specified broadband projects from federal environmental and historic review requirements expanded dramatically through committee amendments into a roughly 100-page omnibus bill incorporating more than 20 separate permitting and preemption provisions affecting wireless siting, wireline broadband deployment, cable franchising, and federal review processes.
It would limit the ability of local governments to delay, restrict, or add costs to tower and network deployments — cutting through the kind of bureaucratic red tape that has slowed projects and drained contractor resources for years.

The bill has passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee and significantly restructures how local governments may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of communications facilities in public rights-of-way and on locally controlled property.

Industry support for the bill is broad and deep.

The industry is interested in bill; local governments are not as interested…

Not everyone is on board, however. A powerful coalition of local government organizations is fighting back hard. The National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors jointly oppose the bill, calling it an unprecedented and dangerous usurpation of local governments’ authority to manage public rights-of-way and land use.
The local organizations wrote that the bill “creates a framework that prioritizes communication companies’ shareholder value at the expense of the safety and financial interests of the communities and the taxpayers they serve.” Critics further argue that the bill would undermine public safety, force local taxpayers to subsidize private corporations, and disrupt the very broadband deployment progress it aims to accelerate.

FCC denies Savage Communications request for waiver of the Commission’s RDOF non-compliance rules

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The Benton Institute for Broadband and Society report on a recent order from the FCC…

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) denied Savage Communications, Inc.’s (Savage) request for waiver of the Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) non-compliance rules, finding that Savage did not demonstrate that good cause supports waiving the non-compliance rules or reducing the required support recovery. After being announced as an RDOF winning bidder, Savage filed a long-form application seeking to be authorized to receive support for the winning bids in exchange for providing voice and broadband service.  In December 2021, Savage was authorized to receive $6,090,479.10 in RDOF support over 10 years to serve 4,541 model-estimated locations in Minnesota.  In September 2025, WCB approved Savage’s transfer of its remaining RDOF support and obligations associated with its non-defaulted RDOF winning bids to Midcontinent Communications (Midcontinent). In November 2025, Savage officially notified the Bureau that it did not intend to meet its RDOF obligations in certain census block groups (CBGs) covering 1,310 model-estimated locations and acknowledging it “may be subject to the applicable non-compliance rules.” The Bureau stopped Savage’s future RDOF support and announced Savage’s default in a public notice in February 2026. In December 2025, Savage submitted a petition requesting waiver of the Commission’s non-compliance rules. Savage requested that the FCC generally waive its non-compliance rules, and if it denied this relief, Savage requested that the FCC reduce the required support recovery. Savage claimed there is good cause to grant the waiver, citing its inability to obtain a right-of-way access “despite good faith efforts and consultation with Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribe,” and explained that Consolidated Telephone Company (Consolidated) had received funding from a Minnesota county to offer broadband in one of the defaulted CBGs. Savage also indicated that it “was required to surrender four” of its RDOF CBGs as a result of being acquired by and transferring the RDOF support and obligations associated with the remaining 14 RDOF CBGs to Midcontinent, and emphasized its commitment to meeting the RDOF obligations as evidenced by the fact that had “connected 572 locations” across the defaulted CBGs. Finally, Savage claimed that the support recovery “would be unreasonable and disproportionate to the harm” caused by the defaults

How mobile use and data could redefine boundaries – starting with Wadena County

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The University of Minnesota Extension has an article on AI, mobile data and boundaries…

Today, with paved roads, remote work, and a highly mobile population, she [DeeDee LeMier} explains the limited data available to rural communities often obscures the real story of how they are functioning. But new mobile data tools are beginning to change this — offering a clearer picture of how people move, work, and connect across regions.

This shift is playing out in rural Minnesota where LeMier, an Extension community development educator, has been working with Placer.ai, a location analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze anonymous mobile device data.

She talked about Wadena County as an example…

In Wadena County, community leaders asked Extension to help blur the lines between counties for an annual planning effort. The request reflected a growing recognition that people’s lives — and local economies — don’t stop at jurisdictional borders.

Ben Winchester, a rural sociologist with Extension, frames the issue as “living in the middle of everywhere,” explaining that since 2018 a majority of Minnesotans now leave their home county to work every day. “People move for regional assets surrounding quality of life rather than solely job opportunities. That is, they find a home in the middle of their desired social and economic life,” he says, challenging long-standing economic development strategies focused solely on industrial attraction.

Using Placer.ai, Extension analyzed three key dimensions of community life: resident activity, visitor patterns, and commuting behavior. The results offered insight that traditional surveys often miss. “For many small communities, especially those in rural areas, there is no detailed information available without spending huge amounts of money to do in-person surveys,” says LeMier. “By having real-time data, we can share local information with county leadership that would otherwise not be available.”

Wadena community leaders found the results immediately useful. “The most valuable insight was seeing how people actually move through, into, and out of the community — where they are coming from, how long they stay, and which destinations are most connected to Wadena,” says Hope Williams, executive director of the Economic Alliance, Wadena County’s economic development agency. “This provided a more accurate picture of regional relationships and economic activity than traditional data sources alone.”

Mobile data, for example, revealed that Wadena is a net importer of workers, meaning a larger number of employees work in the county than those who cross county lines for outside work. Nearly one-third of workers came from regional zip codes, most commonly from the Fargo, North Dakota, metropolitan area.

Williams says one of the most surprising findings was the extent to which Wadena functions as a hub for the surrounding area. “The data showed stronger and more frequent connections with neighboring communities than expected,” she says, “reinforcing the idea that Wadena plays a regional role in services, employment, and daily travel.”

Benton looks at WISPs’ place in BEAD

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The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society took a look at whether WISPs are sufficient for BEAD funds…

Sue Marek, Editorial Director of Ookla, has been looking at the speed performance of a variety of broadband technologies over time, including Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite providers. This week, Marek analyzed the performance of eight of the largest U.S. wireless internet service providers (WISPs) over several quarters from Q1 2021 until Q2 2025.

All eight WISPs studied by Ookla improved their speed offerings over the observed period. But are their current speed offerings enough for BEAD?

They take a look at 8 providers representing a variety of WISP setups. You can check out the article for specifics; I’ll just share the results…

Using Speedtest data collected in Q2 2025, Ookla compared the median download and upload speeds of the eight WISPs to determine what percentage of their Speedtest users were receiving the Federal Communications Commission’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds (100/20 Mbps).

Ookla found that Starry is able to provide the FCC’s minimum standard for broadband to the highest percentage of users at 66.9 percent. Resound Networks, the second-highest of the eight WISPs and one of those receiving BEAD funds, still only comes in at 41.5 percent of Speedtest users achieving wireless broadband speeds of 100/20 Mbps. Wisper and Nextlink, the other two WISPs to receive BEAD funding, have users achieving 100/20 Mbps speeds at rates of 26.0 percent and 24.4 percent, respectively. The rest of the WISPs have lower percentages, with Rise Broadband being the lowest at just 6.7 percent.

So, according to Ookla’s analysis, most broadband consumers who will receive BEAD-funded fixed-wireless internet access service will not achieve the minimum speeds of 100/20 Mbps.

Of the providers mentioned only one is poised to get BEAD funding in Minnesota:

NextLink BEAD awards: Minnesota: $1,541,073 for 2,401 locations

FCC votes to end discounts for library Wi-Fi hotspot lending and school bus connectivity

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KSTP Channel 5 reports…

The Federal Communications Commission voted to end discounts for library Wi-Fi hotspot lending and school bus connectivity programs on Tuesday, drawing criticism from lawmakers and librarians who say the moves will make it more difficult for people who are low-income or live in rural areas to access the internet.

The 2-1 vote on hotspot lending reverses a Biden-era expansion of the discounts that allowed schools and libraries to use E-Rate funds for school bus Wi-Fi and hotspots so people could go online outside of schools and libraries.

The FCC said the agency “lacked legal authority for this expansion and that the agency failed to properly justify its decision” and said the program represented “unreasonable policy choices” and “invited waste, fraud, and abuse.”

The FCC to look into wireless access to municipal/community rights-of-way

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The FCC plans to look into state and local rules regarding wireline access to municipal rights-of-way, poles and conduit…

This Notice of Inquiry advances the Commission’s Build America Agenda by launching an inquiry into state and local statutes, regulations, and legal requirements that prohibit or have the effect of
prohibiting the provision of wireline telecommunications services in violation of section 253 of the
Communications Act (Act). To build out to consumers, providers must obtain authorizations from state
and local governments to deploy facilities in the public rights-of-way and use them to provide service.
This can be an onerous task, often requiring applications to be filed with numerous jurisdictions, and
resulting in delays and increased costs that impede deployments, disincentivize private investment in
modern networks, and potentially waste taxpayer funded federal support. In 2018, the Commission took
important steps to streamline requirements impacting deployments, which spurred significant
deployments in the ensuing years. Notwithstanding these improvements, the Commission continues to be
advised that wireline deployment projects are getting stuck in red tape created by state and local
requirements. This Notice commences in inquiry into actions the Commission could take to limit
processing times and fees for state and local authorizations in the wireline context, as it has done for
Small Wireless Facilities.
What the Notice of Inquiry Would Do:
• Seek comment on the delays that providers encounter when seeking authorizations to access and
use state and local public rights-of-way to provide wireline telecommunications services.
• Seek comment on the fees charged by state and local governments when providers seek
authorizations to deploy and provide wireline telecommunications services.
• Seek comment on in-kind compensation requirements imposed as a condition of obtaining
authorizations to access and use public rights-of-way.
• Seek comment on whether the fees, delays, and conditions imposed by state and local
governments prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of wireline
telecommunications services in violation of section 253.
• Invite broad comment on other types of state and local requirements that have a prohibitive effect
on wireline telecommunications deployments and services, including the identification of any
specific state or local statutes, regulations, or legal requirements that the Commission could
consider preempting via a sua sponte preemption proceeding under section 253(d).

AT&T acquires wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar for $23 billion

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The Minnesota Star Tribune reports…

AT&T will spend $23 billion to acquire certain wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar, a significant expansion of AT&T’s low- and mid-band coverage networks.

AT&T said Tuesday that the licenses cover virtually every U.S. market — more than 400 total — which the company plans to deploy as soon as possible to lure more home internet subscribers and meet its growth goals.

The deal also fortifies the long-term services agreement between AT&T and EchoStar, enabling the latter to operate as a hybrid mobile network operator providing wireless service under its Boost Mobile brand. AT&T will be the primary network services partner to EchoStar.

Shares of EchoStar, based in Englewood, Colorado, soared 76% at the opening bell Tuesday.

In May 2025, I reported that AT&T also announced plans to acquire Lumen’s mass market fiber business.

PCs for People Introduces CONNECT FWA/Wired Service and pre-qualified for BEAD funding in MN

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Telecompetitor reports…

PCs for People, a nonprofit that describes itself as promoting digital inclusion, has introduced CONNECT, a fixed wireless service (FWA) and wired service.

The FWA element of CONNECT uses 5G and 4G LTE networking. The 5G service delivers download speeds as fast as 280 Mbps and uploads as fast as 80 Mbps. On the 4G/LTE side, the service runs as fast as 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload speeds.

The new PC for People CONNECT service provides wired symmetrical 100 Mbps connectivity through a multiple dwelling unit (MDU) service.

Costs are “a fraction of the cost of traditional Internet providers,” the organization says. “We believe access to the internet is access to opportunity,” PCs for People CEO Casey Sorensen said in a press release about the new service. “With CONNECT, we’re doubling down on our mission to expand affordable, reliable internet in communities that have historically been underserved.”

The organization was founded in 2008. It claims to have connected more than one million people — including more than 3,000 MDUs — and deployed hundreds of FWA access towers. PCs for People said it plans to enroll 11,000 people in Cuyahoga County, Ohio in the new CONNECT service by the end of September.

In April, PCs for People was cleared by the FCC to apply for funding in Minnesota in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.