Voice Isn’t Dead: Why Business VoIP Still Matters for Broadband Providers
It’s easy to think of voice service as a legacy technology. With so much attention on fiber expansion and higher speeds, not to mention the steady march from landlines to cell phones, voice can feel [...]
The Changing Video Landscape: What It Means for Broadband Providers Today
For years now, the industry story on video was that cord-cutting means the end of traditional TV. Because of that, some broadband providers stepped away from video altogether, convinced it was no longer worth the [...]
Marketing at Gigabit Speed: Broadband Strategies for Success
Connectivity is king and broadband has become the lifeblood of digital life around the world. As we increasingly rely on high-speed internet for work, entertainment, and communication, the broadband industry has evolved into a huge [...]
What are the NIST Cybersecurity Requirements for BEAD Funding
In the online world, where every wrong click can lead to disaster, it's critical that broadband service providers have robust cybersecurity in place. In addition to the benefit of mitigating the substantial negative impact a [...]
Greenfield Broadband Deployments and IPv4
June 6th, 2012 was World IPv6 Day. On that day several major ISPs, equipment manufacturers and website operators committed to deploy IPv6 for their products and services. Yet, over ten years later there are estimates [...]
Online Filing of CALEA SSI Plans Now Mandatory for Internet Providers
In 2022 the FCC announced they would be launching a new CALEA Electronic Filing System (CEFS) for the filing of CALEA System Security and Integrity (SSI) Plans. They later launched that system and asked Internet [...]
GPON or XGS-PON: Options for Fiber Deployments
Offering ultra-high-speed broadband via fiber has become a key differentiator for service providers in this era of rising bandwidth demands. Providers just venturing into fiber are trying to decide on which technology to use. Should [...]
Carpet Bombing and the Rise in DDoS Attacks
Over time, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks have grown and evolved into threats that have targeted businesses across the globe. Because so many of our daily activities are Internet-based, an attack can disrupt network [...]
Navigating Your Holiday Subscriber Support
The holidays are not like any other time of year when it comes to customer service strategy. The season is more stressful for you and for your subscribers. Subscribers will call your office at all [...]
What Weather Can Do To Your Fiber Optic Cables – Part 2: Ice
With winter weather coming, you face another serious challenge: freezing temperatures, snow, sleet and ice. The change in seasons means a shift in reasons why connectivity disruptions occur. Fiber optic cables are built to withstand [...]
What Weather Can Do To Your Fiber Optic Cables – Part 1: Wind & Water
A lot has happened in recent years that’s changed people’s reliance on communication. Before the pandemic there was pressure to get the power back on after a storm, today it’s more about ‘Why isn’t my [...]
What is CALEA and Why is it Important to Broadband Providers
CALEA is the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which requires all facilities-based broadband providers and providers of interconnected voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to have the procedures and systems in place to be [...]
ISPs Struggled with the FCC’s Inaugural Broadband Data Collection Process
Following are the results from a survey I conducted of broadband service providers related to the new FCC mandate for biannual reporting of broadband availability data in the Broadband Data Collection System. First, let me [...]
Improving HFC Performance with Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM)
Cable operators have long known the benefits of having more fiber in their Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) plant, and for some, especially so, as they have taken fiber all the way to the premises in [...]
The Open Access Model for Rural Broadband Networks
Open Access broadband networks have been gaining ground over the past few years as governments and municipalities are noticing the many advantages they provide. It’s a way for a city to provide fast and affordable [...]
Key Steps to Bringing Broadband to Your Utility Customers
Being able to provide fast, reliable, AND affordable broadband access to all parts of the country has been a goal that has created several public policy discussions about deployment and getting access to underserved areas. [...]
FCC Assistance Available for the Broadband Data Collection Mandate
In its effort to ensure greater accuracy with its Broadband Map, the FCC is requiring that every provider of broadband service in the U.S. and U.S Territories to begin uploading their broadband serviceable locations into [...]
What are Unserved and Underserved Locations in the IIJA/BEAD Program?
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $65 billion dollars to improve broadband access and affordability across the U.S. The biggest portion of that bundle of cash is the $42.45 billion that will be distributed [...]
IPv4 Shortage? Here’s What You Need to Know
With the lingering IPv4 address shortage, providers are trying to find viable solutions to tackle the problem. If you’re one of these providers, there are several factors that you need to be aware of that [...]
The Power of Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM)
What is PNM? DOCSIS Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) is a relatively new tool for cable operators that allows them to find and resolve issues in the cable plant before they impact subscribers. For most of [...]
The Shift from Traditional Cable TV to OTT and IPTV
As more and more people spend their evenings checking out the latest shows from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, or one of the ever-increasing streaming services out there, over-the-top (OTT) video streaming is taking [...]