The FCC is looking into deals between landlords and ISPs to find out if those deals raise prices for apartment dwellers. Being examined are revenue sharing agreements in which the landlord takes a percentage of the revenue an internet service provider receives, incentivizing the landlord to steer tenants to that provider; exclusive wiring agreements that involve a landlord saying only one internet provider can use a building’s wires to provide service and exclusive marketing agreements where only one company can market its services in the building.
The FCC vendor LightBox has released a nationwide broadband map, using US geographic data and connectivity data. Per the map, 60 million people in the US lack broadband access, which is a number a lot higher than estimates from the FCC of third-party site BroadbandNow.
It’s happening locally too – the City of Boston is spending the next six months on a commission to examine digital inclusion and broadband expansion efforts during the pandemic. The intention is to do assessments, and recommend strategies for improving service availability.
Broadband access will be changing, and I’m cheering all the way to the bank for the opportunity to access more customers. To unlock all the potentials of the cloud for all customers, this is a necessary change.
Telecos, be warned… IT services companies, be excited.