Alaska’s 40-Site Fixed Wireless Expansion

Alaska internet provider SPITwSPOTS is preparing a fixed wireless expansion at 40 sites. Its procurement notice seeks antenna space on existing towers and other structures.

The state’s latest award table lists $16.6 million for the BEAD project and a planned reach of 1,825 locations.

The company’s procurement plan covers tower space and grant administration. The plan compares total tower costs over 10 years, including rent increases and upfront charges.

A later solicitation is planned for installation contractors in Alaska and suppliers of base radios, microwave links and site power and cabling.

Equipment bids will be scored out of 100 points. Delivered price accounts for 20 points, and shipment consolidation and transit time together account for another 20. The notice calls for shipments to Anchorage by site kit, or by link kit for microwave equipment. It also describes road and air access and says seven sites are reached by ferry.

Cox’s Nine-State RDOF Withdrawal

Charter Communications, the company behind Spectrum, says it is withdrawing nine Cox affiliates from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund across nine states.

Charter completed its Cox acquisition in August. In an October 28 letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the company cited difficulties with speed testing and service milestones. Charter says broadband is already available at most locations on the affiliates’ interim required location lists.

For locations still without service, Charter says it sent the FCC a location list on October 27 for possible BEAD consideration.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced a supplemental deployment process in September. Some locations may qualify because a commitment under another federal program ended. In those cases, the funding agency had to report the removal to NTIA and the FCC’s Broadband Funding Map by September 3. Whether the Cox locations qualify for that round remains unclear.

Fiber Supply Risks for BEAD Projects

The Fiber Broadband Association’s October Fiber Network Materials Outlook examines how shortages and competing demand could affect broadband construction costs and schedules.

The report focuses in part on germanium, which manufacturers use in the glass preforms that are drawn into optical fiber. It describes China as the main source of the material. Much of the supply is recovered through zinc production, and refining capacity is limited.

Those constraints make it difficult to increase output quickly, according to the association. The report warns that fiber manufacturers could pay more and wait longer for the germanium compounds used in production.

For optical fiber and ribbon cable, the association says demand from growing data centers puts much more pressure on supply than conditions in the germanium market.

Its advice to cable buyers is to work with vendors on planning around project deadlines. The association also encourages buyers to establish whether the products offered meet Build America, Buy America requirements and whether suppliers can keep those products available when demand is high.

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