2023.04.07 – Open Broadband News

Fixed broadband to boost Indian fixed comms service revenue

Total fixed communication services revenue in India is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from US $10.2 billion in 2022 to US $13.9 billion in 2027, mainly driven by the strong growth in the fixed broadband segment. This is according to GlobalData in its India Fixed Communications Forecast (Q1 2023).

The report points out that fixed voice services revenue will, in fact, decline at a CAGR of 1% over 2022-2027, owing to the drop in circuit switched subscriptions and a decline in fixed voice average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) levels as users increasingly adopt OTT-based communication services, and operators include free voice minutes with their fixed bundled plans.

However, according to Srikanth Vaidya, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, fixed broadband services revenue will increase at a CAGR of 7.3% during 2022-2027, “driven,” he said, “by the solid growth in broadband subscriptions, especially fiber broadband, and increasing broadband ARPU levels”.

GlobalData advised that it is optimistic about India’s fixed broadband services outlook and estimates fiber optic lines to hold over 85% of total broadband lines in 2027, supported by government investments in fiber network infrastructure and operators’ Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) service expansions.

Report – People underestimate the number of IoT devices in their homes

Residents of U.S. households significantly underestimate the number of IoT-based devices in their homes, according to research conducted by Ting Internet of 1,500 U.S. families.

The survey asked people how many IoT devices they had and subsequently presented them with a detailed list of IoT devices. Their guesses underestimated the realities. On average, respondents believed they had eight IoT connected devices in their household. When presented with a detailed list of options, however, it was found that they had 13 devices.

Other key results of the survey, which assumes that Internet-connected devices and IoT devices are synonymous, found that:

• Adults between 35 and 54 years of age tend to own more IoT devices. They also underreport the number of devices they think they have more than adults in other age groups. There is a 67% increase in perceived vs. actual in this age group.
• S. families see a disconnect between the average perceived number of devices in their home vs. average actual count. The disparity is 82% in the Northeast, 64% in the Midwest, 74% in the West and 62% in the South.
• Homes are hooked to a network of smart devices that have been overlooked. The most commonly owned devices with IoT functionality are smartphones (96%), followed by computer/laptop (86%), tablet (70%), smart TV (69%), gaming consoles (62%), streaming devices (49%), smart speaker (42%) and smartwatch (31%).

 Failure to enforce faster broadband switching deadline could see £1.85 billion loss

“Misplaced” concerns around switching broadband providers are costing 11 million UK customers £1.85bn a year in potential savings, according to research from comparison and switching service Uswitch.

And with the research released on the day UK regulator Ofcom’s delayed One Touch Switch standard was due to come into effect, Uswitch added that the failure to enforce this deadline with broadband providers meant customers could each miss out on potential savings of £162 a year.

Announced in September 2021, One Touch Switch is a new broadband standard designed to make switching providers easier so customers can swiftly move to a cheaper deal, a faster package or change if they are unhappy with their broadband service. Ofcom advised that under the One Touch Switch process, broadband subscribers would only need to contact a new home broadband provider to switch, without needing to speak to their current provider before making the move. It said changing providers would also be quicker under One Touch Switch, taking just a day where possible.

FCC talks ‘big picture items’ at Connected America 2023

Speaking at the Connected America conference in Dallas, Texas, FCC Press Secretary Paloma Perez took to the stage for the morning keynote address, shedding light on some of the Commission’s key initiatives for bringing connectivity to every US citizen.

In November 2021, the US government signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law, setting aside $65 billion to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet across the country. As part of the IIJA, the Government ordered the FCC to create the Affordable Connectivity Programme (ACP), helping to subsidize broadband costs for those citizens that need it most. The ACP has been running since 2022, with 17 million households having already enrolled nationwide.

“In Texas alone, it’s almost 1.3 million households,” explained Perez. “That’s 1.3 million Texas homes with connections they need for work, school or anything else. That’s 1.3 million Texas homes finding it a little easier to make ends meet each month.”

Broadband bills in Congress would address BEAD mapping, taxes, and supply chain

The US Congress has introduced several bills in recent months that would impact the rollout and implementation of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

The most recent example is a bill introduced by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Thune (R-SD) entitled the Accurate Map for Broadband Investment Act. The bill would “ensure that broadband maps are accurate before funds are allocated under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program based on those maps,” according to a description of the bill on Senate.gov.

Senator Rosen has been one of several vocal critics in Congress of the FCC’s broadband map. “The FCC’s failure to fix their deeply flawed broadband map and the Department of Commerce’s refusal to wait to allocate broadband funding until the map is fixed puts hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for high-speed internet in Nevada at risk,” said Rosen in a press release about the legislation. “My bipartisan bill would ensure the FCC can fix this map before money goes out the door.”