Ken Denman

April is the most active time of the year for tornadoes in the U.S. with multiple severe storms recently hitting the Gulf Coast and South. In case disaster strikes, is your business ready? My colleague and Windstream CTO Art Nichols shares how businesses can preserve connectivity, security and collaboration when Mother Nature takes its course: https://bit.ly/3sqDgQE #extremeweather #businesscontinuity

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Frontier Internet has partnered with the Fiber Broadband Association and The Brattle Group to develop a first-of-its-kind study that quantifies the significant economic, social and environmental impact of fiber deployment. Fiber opens a world of opportunity for education, telehealth, AI and other emerging technologies, but over half of the U.S. still lacks access. Learn how deploying fiber to 62 million homes and businesses unserved by fiber could generate $3.2 trillion in national economic impact: https://lnkd.in/eKKFPf-R #BuildingGigabitAmerica

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It's devastating to see the damage caused by the California wildfires. T-Mobile is doing everything we can to help affected communities and first responders stay connected. Here are a few updates:  🔘 T-Mobile and Starlink opened up our T-Mobile Starlink Direct-to-Cellular service in impacted areas, delivering wireless emergency alerts, SMS, and enabling 911 texting, even without commercial power.  🔘 We’ve restored over half of the sites affected by power loss and are working to support the rest with portable generators.  🔘 We are collaborating with federal, state, and local officials to ensure critical connectivity, including deploying Wi-Fi routers at key locations.  Additional details on community support can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gnpXud6B

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Fixed Wireless Service Providers (FWSPs) are vital to rural America's digital landscape. Their impact extends to boosting economic development, enhancing educational opportunities, and improving healthcare access, making them crucial catalysts for rural modernization and growth.

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Resilient network, resilient communities, and a resilient planet 🌎 In 2023, T-Mobile focused on how to use our scale and resources to benefit our customers and our planet. We’re moving forward together toward a cleaner, more equitable future. Read our full 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report here! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g9WYTnR9

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Are you a small Internet Service Provider serving fewer than 100,000 connections? If so, the deadline to comply with the FCC’s broadband “Nutrition Label” disclosure rules is fast-approaching! #broadband #compliance #regulation #fcc #nutritionlabel #consumerprotection

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For those who know me, collaboration and teamwork are at the core of everything I do. I'm pleased to share my blog post on the 'Power of Strategic Partnerships.' Discover how KORE can be your ideal partner for your IoT needs! Dive in and explore the possibilities! #partnerships #colloboration #IoT

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"The age-old wisdom of a Native American proverb, “You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep”, resonates strongly with the current malaise pervading the telecoms industry. It is a fitting metaphor for the industry’s collective denial of its own flawed 5G gambits, which is costing it dearly in capital and, more deeply, compromising its long-term viability." Credit: Luke Kehoe, "5G: telcoms’ denial of its flaws and failures is costing them dearly" Short term the industry needs to get back to basics - customers, efficiency, 101 running a good business Long term... #6G cannot be the next #5G https://lnkd.in/eQDy-vj6

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Interesting statistics from BoFA on Erica's usage. Erica is the BoFA assistant, and it is interesting to see what customers use it for. #1 assistance request: what is my routing number? It makes sense to do this via the assistant rather than with a live agent on the phone or in chat. #customerexperience #AI #banking #deflection

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Data caps were designed by providers with network limitations, and consumers are fed up with getting milkshake-sized connections through coffee-straw-sized data caps! The internet, by its very nature, was designed to be unlimited. Connectivity isn’t just about speed; it’s about enabling people to do more, connect more, and experience more without worrying about hitting some imaginary cap. At LiveOak, we believe in true, unrestricted connectivity. Unlimited internet means our customers can realize the full value of their connection. That's why we’ve built our network from the ground up to offer unlimited services – because we know our customers deserve to enjoy the internet the way it was meant to be. #UnlimitedInternet #Broadband #CableIsOnlyForTV

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What does it take to redefine the future of intelligent ecosystems? Bill Faruki shares how MindHYVE.ai is leading the charge with groundbreaking innovation in AGI. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/gtDSU8UT

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The recent news of Verizon's $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications has significant implications for the future of broadband networks in the US. This deal marks a major step forward for Verizon's ambitions in the broadband space, granting it access to Frontier's established infrastructure and expanding its reach to millions of new customers. Frontier's network, spanning over 7.2 million locations, is a formidable asset that Verizon will leverage to accelerate its broadband deployments. This acquisition significantly boosts Verizon's footprint, bringing them closer to their target of reaching 10 million locations by the end of 2026. The deal is likely to intensify competition in the US broadband market, putting pressure on other major players like AT&T and T-Mobile to step up their investments. However, increased competition should benefit long suffering US consumers with faster network deployment and potentially more competitive pricing. With all three major mobile operators now focusing on fibre – AT&T through organic growth and T-Mobile US via its recently-announced acquisition of Metronet – this deal gives Verizon a significant step up. #Verizon #Frontier #FiberOptics #Telecom #US #Technology

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Dive into the future of AI with "AI is Chaos," the final eBook in our partner RapidScale's "Technology is Chaos" series. This guide reveals how to leverage AI to enhance your business, tackle challenges like talent gaps and data management, and turn technological chaos into your competitive edge. #Cloud #ArtificialIntelligence #Technology https://lnkd.in/eT9WTC6q

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A personalized customer experience is critical. But ineffective chatbots and poor omnichannel experiences can drive consumers away. Join Verizon on experts in exploring findings from our recent 4th CX Annual Insights Report. #CX #AI #omnichannel

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Federal Broadband Mandates Driving the Need for Connectivity Hubs Ilissa Miller, Founder & CEO iMiller Public Relations, explores the importance of making sure networks work for the communities they serve. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) is well underway. Across the nation and all U.S.-owned territories, $42.5 billion in Federal funding is being deployed to construct broadband networks. These funds are allocated to companies that can help bridge underconnected communities in order to expand the United States’ broadband infrastructure with increased capacity and reach to everyone. Each state receives federal funds for specific projects; the grant dollars are distributed to businesses through an application process that validates their design and solutions that meet the program requirements. The program funds are administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a United States Department of Commerce organization, with key deadlines and criteria required to be met along the way. As an example, San Martin-based South Valley internet recently announced it has received up to $30 million in funding from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), leveraging California’s allocated BEAD funding, to extend broadband services to underserved communities. https://lnkd.in/g6HdWrwk

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Looking for a sound fixed broadband strategy? My Bell Labs Consulting colleague, Mohcene MEZHOUDI, outlines strategies for service providers to enter or expand fixed broadband networks.  Among key strategies, it includes: 🔸 Leveraging emerging technologies (like fiber optics, 5G and LEO) 🔸 Prioritizing customer experience 🔸 Forming strategic partnerships 🔸 Implementing robust cybersecurity measures 🔸 Utilize targeted market segmentation 🔸 Plan investments carefully 🔸 Ensure regulatory compliance. #BellLabsConsulting offers consulting services to help organizations navigate these complexities and succeed in the competitive broadband market.

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Has the telecom world gone too far on fiber? Verizon announced it will buy Frontier for $20B. T-Mobile is putting in $950M into a Lumos partnership. AT&T's launches Gigapower with an investment from Black Rock. Uniti will buy or merge with Windstream. Being clear, I love, love, love fiber. It started with my hardest college classes and has continued from there. I was blessed to visit AT&T Bell Labs (best trip ever!) in 1990 and later the first US FTTH trails at Bell Atlantic, etc. Great trials but the expense of a superhighway was not supported by the horse and buggy of that day. Fiber is always the best answer when it can be justified with only one caveat- it cannot be done really wrong. This is rare but personally I did clean up one such system in a business park. After advocating for years, fiber is now appearing everywhere. How can that be too much? 1) Blowback - This will cause blowback in the future and the customer will pay for it. Many rural communities are getting 2, 3 or more providers in areas that can only support a single, subsidized provider. The rural SC area that I am from has around 7 homes per mile. Now there are 2 fiber providers in most places and 3 in some- the local EMC, the local telco coop, and AT&T. Will small telcos and EMCs be able to sustain this in 10, 20 years? Two is one too many and with others jumping in, there's not enough customer to go around. Don't stop competition. We've needed it and the telcos were slow to seal their markets. But irrational investment always leads to a downfall. Who paid for Enron or the 2008 crash? Not those companies driving it. 2) Customer focus - No one wakes up and says, "This big name telco and some Wall Street company will provide me better service and will be there for me and the community 10 years from now." Frontier was sued in 2021 by the FTC, 6 states and others for terrible service. I routinely talked to people who would go without POTS services for 4 months waiting on a single visit. Garbage in- garbage out. In the fad to play the game, being left out is a big fear. The execs and investors don't see the day-to-day and, honestly, they want to be left out. A good headline is only a temporary bump. Experience shows that poorly performing systems will require much more time and investment than the new owner can stomach. People will get blamed and there will be announcements in a few years undoing some of these deals. Guess who will still have bad service in 5+ years? 3) Imbalance - While some areas get too many providers, some will continue to go ignored. Even with all the funding available, a number of companies are defaulting on CAF and RDOF obligations. There will be many more of these. What's worse than getting too tipsy at a party? Missing out altogether. Crown's board has done exactly that- seeking to divest itself of fiber. The opposite of crazy is crazy. https://lnkd.in/evdu2GDS

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