Midco and Ritter Communications are in the due diligence phase of a potential move into mobile. Meanwhile, a Breezeline exec shared some lessons learned following the op's recent launch via the NCTC's deals with AT&T and Reach. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3z0l6J5

The FCC has voted for a revised 5G Fund that will allocate $9 billion to bring 5G to rural areas. Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr dissented, arguing that the FCC should instead fix BEAD, which 'has gone off the rails.' Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4e4QxAV

Kinetic, the Windstream brand, has struck a deal with AT&T that enables the broadband operator to hawk a discounted bundle of home broadband and mobile services. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3XdCEd1

Verizon is nearing a deal to acquire Frontier, according to The Wall Street Journal. A play for Frontier would fit into a fiber/mobile convergence strategy at Verizon & possibly spark more M&A for fiber assets among Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Read more: bit.ly/4gdmvgc

Verizon believes acquiring Frontier will supply the scale it needs to drive a fiber/mobile convergence strategy. However, one analyst says it's not nearly enough, declaring the deal 'a terrible idea.' Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4dQwdn0

New Street Research says Verizon should follow its play for Frontier by courting Lumen, believing such a pair of transactions would help to fuel Verizon's expanding fiber/wireless convergence strategy. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4dRqhdH

Calix's Claudia Tarbell and Mary St. John on the platform provider's Broadband Academy and Broadband Success Playbook for Tribes, and how these resources are helping people fund, design, build, operate and market broadband networks. Listen here:

Looking to sell fiber services beyond its own wireline footprint and the areas targeted by the Gigapower JV, AT&T has teamed with four open access partners: Boldyn Networks, Digital Infrastructure Group, Prime Fiber and Ubiquity. Read more: bit.ly/3Xdgkjq

Some 4.3 million FWA customer units were shipped in Q2 2024 compared to just 4.1 million DOCSIS units. That inflection point arrives as FWA continues to gain subs while cable ops struggle to return to broadband subscriber growth. Read more: bit.ly/3ZkUcGM

Charter will build out its CBRS spectrum, but the pace is tempered by the cable op's 'symbiotic' MVNO relationship with Verizon, CEO Chris Winfrey says. He also offered an update on Charter's HFC upgrade and his thoughts on AI. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3TqhvuY

US cable could nearly double its base of mobile lines when the industry reaches 'equilibrium,' a state in which gross adds are equal to the number of subs being lost to churn, according to a new MoffettNathanson analysis. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4goKKIw

The successful launch of AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird satellites puts the broadband startup on a trajectory to provide satellite roaming to AT&T and Verizon. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3ZmAFFW

#TheBuildout: altafiber heads to Northeast Ohio; Kinetic kicks off in Poyen, Arkansas; Michigan's middle-mile 'MOON-Light' project is complete– and more. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4e21ZOf

CityFibre's boss slams the old 'lazy duopoly' of BT and Virgin Media while guiding for a 'three-network scenario' in the future. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4dWdvdQ

New Street Research believes that Verizon's offer for Frontier undervalues the company and that Frontier's shareholders should demand a higher price. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/4eml3Gz

Responding to a request for comment on NTIA's BEAD guidance on alternative technologies, ACA Connects and NTCA said low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites should be used 'in very limited circumstances,' and fiber should be the priority. Read more: bit.ly/3Bi7CsQ

Indian telcos rise up in arms against proposed changes in the PM-WANI Wi-Fi scheme. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3Zr2QmW

Following a recent deal with Mediacom, Tarana Wireless confirmed trials with Cox and said Midco is using its fixed wireless access (FWA) tech to extend broadband reach. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3XKGtYv

Neos Networks' CTOO Matt Rees says his firm and other broadband providers face high costs and disruption amid Openreach's push to close around 4,500 exchanges. Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3XOsm4C

The FCC opened an application window for schools and libraries to request funding through a three-year, $200 million pilot program to 'defray the costs of eligible cybersecurity services and equipment.' Read more on Light Reading: bit.ly/3MMTLgZ