Carr Wants Convergence Focus in Next Communications Marketplace Report
The FCC released this week its biannual Communications Marketplace Report, which commissioners approved 3-2 with Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting. Carr, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency, objected, as he has in the past, to the focus on market segments rather than on the converged market (see 2101040051).
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The report was posted in Thursday’s Daily Digest and was the first to incorporate data from the FCC’s broadband data collection program.
“Instead of providing an accurate assessment of the converged market for communications services, the Commission continues to use a decades-old approach that looks at each broadband technology -- including mobile, fixed, and satellite -- as services that compete only in distinct and separate silos,” Carr said: “That is not at all a reflection of the dynamics at play in the real world today.” Carr indicated he would address that issue as chairman. “The good news is that there will soon be an opportunity to correct course,” he said.
Simington said that it's time for the commission "to modernize its understanding of the communications marketplace along several axes, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the future to help create, and implement, that new understanding.”
Among the trends cited in the biannual report was wireless industry consolidation, with three nationwide providers, rather than four, after T-Mobile acquired Sprint. “At the same time, there is increasing convergence between all sectors of the marketplace, with [Dish Wireless] deploying a 5G Open Radio Access Network, cable companies investing in mobile virtual network operators that take advantage of offloading traffic to Wi-Fi, and wireless providers increasingly competing with traditional fixed providers with their 5G home services,” the report said.
The FCC found a reduction of almost 19% in copper residential connections between December 2022 and December 2023: “Although widely available because it is built on the existing telephone network, this service is generally slower than other types of broadband services.” Fiber-to-the-premises connections increased from 24.4 million to 28 million during the same period.
Prices vary widely. Based on the latest numbers, internet-only packages cost on average $70.35 per month for DSL, $93.91 for cable, $51.28 for fixed wireless and $160.34 for fiber.
Fixed wireless access continues to grow while cable and wireline connections decline. “5G’s increased spectral efficiency has made it a viable technology for FWA,” the report said: “FWA can be less costly and more rapidly deployed compared to other types of fixed broadband service, and consumer antennas can be installed by consumers themselves without the need for company installers.”
The report noted the growing use of private 5G networks and underscored the role AI will likely play. As networks grow more complex, "AI and machine learning are expected to be essential in optimizing network configuration and spectrum utilization," the FCC said: “Many companies have already incorporated AI in communication tasks such as troubleshooting, power saving, and [multiple-input and multiple-output] detection. Qualcomm predicts AI will optimize distributed clouds, create intelligent disaggregated networks, evolve air interface design, and optimize smart edge devices.”