Sling TV. Playstation Vue. DIRECTV Now. YouTube TV. Hulu.

Cord cutters have a growing number of choices for live TV over their internet connection. Here's another one that is taking a sports-centric approach to OTT: FuboTV. (Editorial comment: where do they come up with these names? The same people that name new drugs?)

FuboTV launched in 2015 as a streaming service primarily aimed at soccer fans. However in the last two years it's expanded its offering to include many of the "must haves" for sports fans, including CSN and the Fox Regional Sports networks. Missing, however, are the heavyweights-the ESPN networks-as none of the ABC-Disney channels have been launched.

Still, it's a compelling offering, especially for people who want a lot of sports.

BroadNet Connect, the division of Unity Point Health that has provided IT and bandwidth services for the past several years, has reached an agreement with Wisconsin Independent Networks (WIN) to manage those services beginning July 23rd.

In a letter sent to current BroadNet customers this week, the company stated:

WIN was founded 20 years ago with the goal of connecting Wisconsin's independent telephone companies with fiber. It's grown beyond its original mission to become a major wholesale and enterprise networking service provider in the Midwest.

There is a growing consensus among telecom industry insiders that Frontier Communication's days may be numbered.

​As this article at DSL Reports points out, the company continues to hemorrhage customers and revenues. In fact, the company lost 102,000 customers in the first quarter of 2018 alone. An aging network, slow speeds, and rate increases are all factors in the company's financial woes.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, the company's official line is positive:

All this negative financial news begs the question...what happens if Frontier can't continue to operate? Is bankruptcy on the horizon? Would another company be interested in acquiring its assets despite the fact that they will require significant upgrades to provide competitive services? Stay tuned.

The advent of over-the-top content and the evolving nature of consumer habits has a lot of small cable operators wondering what the end game is for live, linear pay TV services. A new report from Nielsen's shows the shift toward OTT and non-live viewing is continuing, but traditional viewing is still surprisingly strong.

As the story in Light Reading points out:

In other words, it may be a number of years before enough consumers have totally "cut the cord" to make it feasible for operators to stop providing live, linear pay TV.

Software giant Microsoft has announced plans to use so-called "TV white space" - the unused portions of spectrum between TV broadcasters' frequencies - to launch wireless broadband services to portions of rural America.

The plan is to launch pilot projects in 12 states next year that will deploy technology needed to make wireless internet service available.  The 12 states are Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.  However, Microsoft says it is NOT planning to become an ISP itself.

So far there are no details about exactly how Microsoft's proposed partnership with operators will work, but the development bears watching in the event that they decide to expand beyond the 12 pilot projects.

There are several good articles about the announcement available online. CLICK HERE to read Ars Technica's story.

The first Iowa provider to offer gigabit speeds is the first to test 10 Gbps service on its network.

In June, Cedar Falls Utilities conducted a successful field test of 10 Gbps service in conjunction with Calix, their fiber network platform.  Using NG-PON2 technology and Calix's new AXOS subscriber management platform, a customer on the CFU network was upgraded (temporarily) to 10 gig.

Calix created a video of the CFU demonstration. CLICK HERE to watch it.

Below is a copy of the news release from the CFU website.

Cedar Falls Utilities Tests 10 Gigabit Connection
Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Cedar Falls Utilities was one of the first internet providers in the country to offer gigabit internet service to every home and business in 2013.

This year, CFU network engineers are laying the groundwork for the next upgrade to 10 gigabit service.

Calix, a broadband hardware and software company, was in Cedar Falls in June conducting its first 10 gigabit field test in the country.

Cedar Falls was chosen for the test because of the community’s all-fiber optic communications network and the capabilities of CFU’s network engineering staff.

During the field test Calix equipment was set up at CFU’s control center to deliver the faster speeds. Calix engineers also installed an upgraded optical network terminal at a customer facility, the Mill Race coworking and collaboration space.

The test went as planned and 10 gigabit service was delivered to Mill Race on CFU’s network.
A film crew from Calix was onsite and documented the field test process and results. Calix will use the footage from Cedar Falls as an example for other communities and internet service providers around the country. Watch the video here.

"We have an upgrade to our internet delivery equipment planned over the next few years," said Rob Houlihan, CFU Chief Technology Officer. "In our discussions with Calix we realized that the product and platform they are developing are what we are looking for. We enjoyed serving as a test site and learning about the new platform’s capabilities and features."

Next, CFU will continue to evaluate and test the Calix equipment. A rollout of 10 gigabit service across the network is expected in the next two to three years.

In addition to faster internet speeds, the upgraded Calix software could give CFU more flexibility in managing the network and make the process of adding services or features for customers more efficient.
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"We know customer demand for bandwidth and connection speed will continue to grow," continued Houlihan. "We don’t know yet what our community will do with 10 gigabit service, but we view it as our job to offer a world-class communications network and get out of the way to see what our customers can do with no limitations."

As many operators devote a great deal of time, effort, and money into improving their networks and increasing internet speeds to their customers, they are often overlooking on important link in the chain...the final 100 feet.

Broadband Library, a publication of the SCTE, has a great article about how internet providers should be managing their customers WiFi networks in order to improve their experience and enhance their satisfaction.

The traditional philosophy has been to provide service to the modem and leave it up to the customer to get their internet to devices. However, in the eyes of the customer, WiFi IS their internet service, and when it doesn't work well it's the ISP's fault. 

Perception is reality.