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The Fiber Broadband Association’s annual conference, Fiber Connect, held in Nashville in July, showcased many fiber community success stories and a variety of innovations that promise to expand fiber deployment. As one of the telecom industry’s first in-person trade shows since the pandemic began, it highlighted fiber’s role as the preferred way of delivering symmetrical broadband speeds, state and federal funding mechanisms, open-access, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks and pricing. It also brought to light how broadband newcomers, particularly municipal broadband providers, need to overcome political and lobbying challenges from incumbents and think tanks, and the significance of public-private partnerships.
Offering homeowners instant-on, 10 Gbps, fiber-based gigabit service, Sunbridge, a master-planned community, stands out from other developments in Florida’s competitive real estate market. Our thanks to Alex Figuero, vice president of operations at Tavistock; Karlee Kunkle, senior communications manager at Tavistock; and Matt Hirsch, sales account manager at ADTRAN for helping compile this profile.
Beckert’s Park is taking a big shot at making managed Wi-Fi a key amenity for multifamily properties. Our thanks to Judd Ullom, director of development for Foulger-Pratt; Herb Sharpe, vice president of multifamily sales for Boingo; and Chris Cauthen, director of multifamily sales for Boingo.
The latest offerings from top broadband hardware and software suppliers, distributors and service providers
Main Street Connect is a new apartment complex in Montgomery County, Maryland, that offers symmetrical 50 Mbps internet services and digital training for low-income and special-needs residents via a partnership with the county government’s Department of Technology Services. Broadband Communities thanks Joseph Webster, the department’s chief broadband officer in the Office of Broadband Programs; Marjorie Williams, the department’s broadband, cable and franchise division manager; and Pierre Trudeau, CTO of Positron, for helping compile this profile.
The first virtual edition of the Fiber Broadband Association’s annual conference, Fiber Connect, held in December, showcased many fiber community success stories and a variety of innovations that promise to expand fiber deployment. The show highlighted how communities are banding together and working with state and federal agencies to build out broadband in underserved communities. It also brought to light the need to increase bandwidth and provide flexible service during the pandemic, along with the problem of permitting obstacles and other challenges.
The Reef at Winkler, a new luxury multifamily community owned by MJ Development Southeast and managed by Greystar in Fort Myers, Florida, leverages Boingo Wireless managed Wi-Fi services to deliver consumer broadband and smart-community applications. Our thanks to Matt Valentine, a partner at MJ Development Southeast; Ben Vander Velden, senior channel manager at Boingo Wireless; and Layne Spencer, vice president of sales and marketing for IOTAS, for helping assemble this profile.
The emerging model presents a scalable option for communities that lack the expertise or interest to operate networks or act as ISPs themselves but want to own and control the core communications assets in their communities as a means of securing the benefits of broadband internet. Here’s a look at the model’s business case, technical elements and risks.
Windham Woods School employs FirstLight Fiber’s fiber-based internet and unified communications services to increase reliability and responsiveness for its growing student body. Broadband Communities thanks Matt Taffel, assistant head of school and middle/upper school director for Windham Woods School, and Chris Canney, enterprise account executive at FirstLight Fiber, for helping assemble this profile.
At the Broadband Communities Virtual Summit 2020, participants shared stories about how they are driving broadband into multifamily properties to enable higher speeds and provide a host of IoT services for residents and building owners. Following are some highlights of conference sessions focused on the multifamily market.
Roam at Winter Park, Colorado, hopes to draw outdoor enthusiasts with its access to the Fraser River, skiing, open space and fiber-based broadband. Broadband Communities thanks Chip Besse, managing partner at the Fraser River Land Company, and CenturyLink for help gathering information for this profile.
Landmark on Grand River offers MSU students a 10 Gbps high-speed broadband network and a connection with the rest of the East Lansing, Michigan, community. Broadband Communities thanks Richard Laing, CEO of Spartan Net, and Brian Bell, COO of Harbor Bay Real Estate, for helping gather information for this profile.
Temple University students who reside at Vantage, an off-campus housing property, have access to two new amenities: XFINITY’s IPTV and buildingwide Wi-Fi. Our thanks to Mark Caltabiano, VP of asset management for The Goldenberg Group, and Adrian Adriano, VP of strategic initiatives for XFINITY Communities, for helping compile this profile.
New technologies, new funding programs, and the vastly expanded need for work-at-home broadband have trashed old business plans but made many new plans possible. Here are key strategies for deployers to consider, and ways to fund their dreams and to make necessary changes in federal rules on such issues as spectrum use and lien priority.
The latest offerings from top broadband hardware and software suppliers, distributors and service providers.
The Incompas 2020 Policy Summit, held in Washington, D.C., in March, covered key issues for competitive broadband providers. Topics included the homework gap, the modernization of UNE rules, the need for workforce training, and new partnerships between service providers and electric utilities.
~ This article will appear in the March/April issue. ~
The Rural Utilities Service made good on its promise of world-class service. The first ReConnect grants and loans offer convincing proof that private investment could work in unserved and underserved areas, even though Wall Street shuns them.
The National Multifamily Housing Council’s annual conference, OPTECH, held in Dallas in November 2019, showcased how service providers are extending fiber and other technologies into new and existing MDUs to deliver high-speed broadband. The conference also highlighted how wireless technologies – mmWave wireless, Citizens Broadband Radio Service and Wi-Fi – complement MDU wireline connections.
At Broadband Communities’ 2019 economic development conference, held in October in Alexandria, Virginia, participants shared stories about how communities are improving broadband access to facilitate economic development, digital literacy and consumer choices. Following are some of the highlights of the conference sessions.
At the Broadband Communities economic development conference in October, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks delivered a powerful call to make internet inequality across the United States a thing of the past. A data-driven review of what has and hasn’t worked over the past 10 years will help determine the path forward, he says.
Coretrust Capital Partners is transforming Los Angeles’ FourFortyFour South Flower with new wireless and automation technology. The property owner tapped Connectivity Wireless Solutions to install a distributed antenna system that will improve current 4G and upcoming 5G wireless technologies. Our thanks to Mark Niehus, director of strategic accounts for Connectivity Wireless Solutions, and Thomas Ricci, managing principal for Coretrust Capital Partners, for helping gather information for this profile.
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