RDOF, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, is a critical piece of federal funding for broadband initiatives. RDOF already allocated round one of funding. Still, as round two gets underway, Wavelengths asked Tyler Cooper, Editor in Chief of BroadbandNow, to provide an eagle-eye view on RDOFs past and present to form some actionable strategies for the future as the FCC prepares new rules for fund payout. Cooper wrote an in-depth article for BroadbandNow on RDOF titled, Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) –Map, Auction and Analysis.

RDOF is an FCC program designed to close the digital divide by investing over $20 billion to construct rural broadband networks as a brief refresher. The total funding, spread out over ten years, will include multiple phases. RDOF is an evolving initiative that's already changed since its inception.

HFC plant and home Cable connectorisation has remained one of the most challenging parts of the end-to-end broadband HFC network. Year on year millions of connectors are replaced, intermittent faults remain a constant challenge. Customer quality of service has now become more important than ever for broadband providers, as the broadband is now seen as a major part of day-to-day home and business users. After several years of ground-breaking research and thinking outside the box, Amphenol will demonstrate the new connectorisation evolution with an intriguing presentation of the new cable interconnect breakthrough.

By Keith Mothersdale of Amphenol Broadband Solutions.

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) promises to bring true broadband connectivity to America’s wide open spaces, as well as the nation's small "off the beaten path" spots.

This webinar will focus on the various elements that make up a typical rural fiber network deployment, as well as how to plan, engineer, procure and construct such a network - labor resources, supplier selection, inventory management, construction and service turn-up at the customer premises. Our speakers will include key Amphenol executives who will share their expertise in technology and supply chain issues.

Speakers:

Jim Kane, VP Sales & Product Management, Amphenol Broadband Solutions

Minesh Patel, VP Product Management & Engineering, Amphenol Charles Industries

Todd Richard, SVP Business Development, Mears Group, Inc.

Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading

To learn more about Amphenol Broadband Solutions visit us at amphenolbroadband.com

Improving broadband access is a major initiative in the U.S. Last year’s infrastructure bill included substantial dollars to make it more accessible. Bill Price, the Vice President of Government Solutions for LightBox, joined Wavelengths host Daniel Litwin to discuss access and funding. Price, a broadband mapping architect, managed the development of one of the most granular, state-level broadband mapping programs in Georgia. The two also discussed what companies like LightBox are doing to bring high-speed internet to all U.S. residents.

In addition to the infrastructure funding, additional money is available through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). While there’s excitement about expansion, challenges remain.

The Biden administration’s ten-year plan to deliver high-speed internet access across rural America is already off to a head start with the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Wavelengths’ Daniel J. Litwin and Diana Goovaerts, Senior Editor of FierceWireless/FierceTelecom, spoke about other government-funded programs that are available to make broadband a reality for all.

With phase one of RDOF completed in 2020, phase two budget allocations are still to come. According to Goovaerts, companies looking to fund broadband projects are turning to other government spending acts that will allocate federal budget to the states. Then, the states will distribute the funds via grant programs to companies with winning bids.

On this episode of Wavelengths, an Amphenol Broadband Solutions podcast, Voice of B2B Host Daniel Litwin hit on two significant buzzwords: network convergence and network virtualization. Along for the ride was PJ Jayawardene, Senior Director of Wireless R&D for Charter Communications. The duo dug into the state of the union of each of these words and what they mean for the industry, as well as how service providers can be actionable around them.

Network convergence is a familiar trend for service providers. The term continues to expand and create strategic challenges. Convergence in the telecommunications industry is about providing a continuous network thread, according to Jayawardene. He elaborated that people are going to care about the different service providers in their homes. The goal is that all these things will be seamless to the consumer.

“It’s not just the one word. It’s not just convergence,” Jayawardene said. “You have to think about network and convergence together because, when you think about convergence, people think of multiple things coming together.”

Network virtualization is another big buzzword, as small and big businesses find the term popular. Growth is expected in virtualization for service providers. Some 2020 research from Spiceworks found that double-digit growth is expected within the next two years in the use of application, network, desktop, storage and data virtualization.

“The example is to start thinking of it as being able to build your own car,” he said. “With the parts you need to put together, you have this preference of a car that needs to go at a certain speed that can change its dynamic … and you put it all together.”