#broadbandinternet — Public Fediverse posts

CNBC: Google sells partial stake in fiber business, becomes minority owner of new venture. “Google said its fiber internet unit called GFiber is combining with Astound Broadband and forming an independent provider, with Google remaining as a minority shareholder.”

BBC: Formula 1 tech used to rev-up train wi-fi speeds in new pilot . “A new UK-first pilot scheme is aiming to create fast and more reliable train wi-fi, using technology originally developed for Formula 1 cars. It will see a train in the Great Western Railway fleet use a hybrid system of both signals from mobile phone masts on the ground and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites in space to create […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/18/bbc-formula-1-tech-used-to-rev-up-train-wi-fi-speeds-in-new-pilot/

ZDNet: Slow internet? The right way to run a speed test (and what to do with the results) . “In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to accurately test your home internet using Speedtest by Ookla, a highly trusted tool. I’ll instruct you on how to prepare for an accurate test, interpret those results, and what steps you should take to improve your home network.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/11/17/zdnet-slow-internet-the-right-way-to-run-a-speed-test-and-what-to-do-with-the-results/

State announces trimmed-down fiber internet expansion

As of June of this year, Louisiana was one of three states that had already awarded grants for deployment of BEAD, the federal government’s broadband internet deployment program.

Known in the state as GUMBO 2.0, the federal grants were the state’s second wave of fiber internet deployment, set to connect the parts of the state missed by the first round of GUMBO program funding.

However, after months of waiting, the federal government declared all states had to re-award the programs, starting a new 60-day consideration process, in which the state would consider cheaper satellite offers along with fiber cables, including from Elon Musk’s Space X. 

Louisiana was the first state in the nation to have its plans for fiber expansion approved by the feds as part of a Biden era grant program. Now, that approval has been revoked by Trump’s secretary of commerce.

Now that process is nearly wrapped, and the new program is looking to spend $250 million less on internet deployment, with more than $7.5 million awarded to Space X.

While the original GUMBO 2.0 was set to cover 140,000 locations, including many of the state’s most remote areas, the newly drafted proposal is set to cover 13,000 fewer locations, with others still to receive coverage, but from less reliable satellite internet. 

The majority of the new internet deployments now mapped at Connect LA are scheduled for completion by 2030 and over three-fourths were awarded to providers headquartered within the state.

University of Michigan: Digital lifeline: High-speed internet linked to drop in COVID-19 death rates. “A new University of Michigan study found that broadband connection was a key factor in reducing mortality and incidence during the early months of the pandemic. The average county with high internet access had 48%-53% fewer new COVID-19 deaths and 19%-34% fewer new COVID deaths per 100,000 […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/27/digital-lifeline-high-speed-internet-linked-to-drop-in-covid-19-death-rates-university-of-michigan/

Comcast is investing more than $265 million and will reach 100,000 potential new customers before the end of this year in Grimes, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties. An industry analyst says the company is playing catch-up to its competition.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/business/2024/03/25/481597/comcast-expanding-fiber-optic-infrastructure-internet-service-in-northern-outskirts-of-houston-area/

#Business #Infrastructure #Local #News #Technology #Texas #AtT #BroadbandAccess #BroadbandInternet #Comcast #HoustonArea #InternetServiceProviders