2022.11.18 – Open Broadband News

100% of cable companies are deploying virtual cable modem termination system within 2 years

In its latest report, Dell’Oro Group noted 100% of operators said they have either already deployed or are planning to deploy some variant of a virtual cable modem termination system (vCMTS) within the next 24 months.

Jeff Heynen, Dell’Oro’s VP of Broadband Access and Home Networking Research, said the unanimous result “was the biggest surprise.” It was such shock, in fact, that Dell’Oro went back to its survey respondents and asked them how they defined vCMTS. The report shows a large majority, 73%, plan to deploy Remote-PHY devices connected to a software-based vCMTS running on a server. Another 20% are pursuing Remote-MACPHY. And the remaining 7% will be using a traditional converged cable access platform (CCAP) as the MAC core with Remote-PHY nodes.

Of the survey respondents, 40% were located in North America, 34% were in Western Europe, 20% were in Latin America and the Caribbean and 6% were in the Asia-Pacific region. The survey was conducted between January and March of this year.

FCC promises broadband maps draft to arrive November 18

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revealed it plans to release what it called “a pre-production draft” of broadband accessibility maps on November 18, 2022.

The maps will provide the FCC’s estimation of broadband availability throughout the U.S. as of June 30, 2022, based on input from service providers delivered earlier this year. Among other uses, the map will provide guidance to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as it allocates funds to states from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

The map will contain location level information on broadband availability across the U.S. The map will be searchable by address; there is a mechanism by which the accuracy of the information for each address can be disputed. In addition to giving individuals the ability to correct potential errors, the FCC will accept bulk challenges to the reported data from state and tribal governments as well as what it called “other entities.”

Uganda’s broadband connections rise to 23.7 million

A total of 232,000 new broadband subscriptions were recorded between April 2022 and June 2022, bringing the total number of connections in Uganda to 23.7 million, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) market performance report has indicated.

According to UCC, in a year-on-year comparison, it recorded 1.9 million new broadband subscriptions – an 8% year-on-year growth in broadband subscriptions.

“In terms of penetration, the 23.7 million broadband subscriptions translate into a broadband penetration of 55 internet connections for every 100 Ugandans,” says the UCC report.

Fixed and mobile subscriptions grew by more than 690,000 subscriptions during the period, bringing the total number of subscriptions to 31.3 million at the end of June 2022.

US telco giants driving FWA technology growth

According to Dell’Oro Group, revenues from Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Radio Access Network (RAN) technology and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) are set to increase by 35% year on year in 2022, driven mainly by demand in North America.

Findings from a recent Juniper Research forecast advise that service providers are expected to generate an estimated $2.5bn from 5G FWA services in 2023, compared with an expected $515m this year. The predictions for 2027 are even more bullish: 5G FWA deployments are expected to account for $24bn in revenue, depending on telcos’ capabilities to deliver bundled services and lure customers away from fiber broadband services.

“Fixed wireless access has become a key component to bridging the digital divide and connecting rural and underserved markets globally,” noted Jeff Heynen.

African Telecommunication Union rallies for broadband investments

African Telecommunication Union Secretary-General John Amo called for African nations to place fiber deployments at the heart of their fiscal plans to attract private investors to drive economic growth or face being left further behind on the global stage.

Speaking at Broadband Africa Forum in Cape Town, Amo said: “Africa still lags way below the global average in terms of broadband deployment and that should be a fact that drives us to do more as regulators, operators and policymakers – to put the jigsaw together to accelerate deployment of broadband in Africa.”

He highlighted a World Bank study that highlighted that for every 10% boost in broadband penetration in low and middle-income countries, GDP sees a boost of 1.38%. The Secretary-General urged African nations to place “broadband development at the core” of their plans, which will yield global economic and social development for the continent.