TELECOM VICE PRESIDENTS COMMITTEE
Telecom Industry News
CWA in the News
Labor Notes, In The Twin Cities, A Massive Strike Against ICE, 1/27
Democracy Now!, ICE Out of Minnesota: Unions & Churches Lead Economic Blackout in “Day of Truth and Freedom”, 1/23
Jacobin, Military Vets in Labor Are Joining the Fight Against Trump, 1/18
Wireless
TmoNews, T-Mobile Links Employee Performance to Credit Card Signups, 1/21
Urgent Communications, Impact of Verizon outage also hits Verizon Frontline users, 1/20
Ars Technica, Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones, 1/20
RCR Wireless, Operators see FWA momentum, but potential capacity limits loom, 1/15
Light Reading, How Charter and Comcast are building their way out of Verizon dependency, 1/12
Wireline
Light Reading, AT&T’s copper shutdown project takes ‘wireless-first’ approach, 1/27
Fiber Broadband Association, Fiber Deployment Cost Annual Report, 2025, 1/22
Light Reading, The Buildout: Ziply marches on in Oregon, 1/16
Light Reading, Altice’s telecom assets remain in the balance amid debt shake-up, 1/15
Wall Street Journal, Verizon Gets Final California Approval to Secure $9.6 Billion Frontier Deal, 1/15
Broadband Breakfast, AT&T Approved to Discontinue Service at More Than 30% of Copper Footprint This Year, 1/13
Other Corporate Developments
TIME, Tech Workers Speak Out Against ICE After Minneapolis Killings, 1/27
Benton Institute, SpaceX Seeks Exemption from Certain BEAD Requirements, 1/27
Light Reading, Verizon-Frontier deal enters the show-me phase, 1/21
Investing News, BlackRock, Microsoft-Backed AI Venture Draws $12.5 Billion, 1/16
Fierce Network, FCC is now in a bind with Supreme Court, Congress, 1/14
CWA in the News
In The Twin Cities, A Massive Strike Against ICE
By Luis Feliz Leon, 1/27/2026
Labor Notes
Icicles hung from the beards of men in union beanies. The lobbies of large commercial buildings in downtown Minneapolis opened to the public for respite filled with people rubbing each other’s sore feet, peeling the sticky adhesive off foot warmers to place them under their socks, and jamming their feet into thickly insulated boots.
On January 23, what looked like more than 50,000 people marched in downtown Minneapolis in a protest dubbed “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom.” They braved temperatures as low as -20°F, with their glasses fogging over, the frost crusting into a thin film. They were demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its thousands of masked agents wielding war-style weaponry leave the metropolitan area. They also demanded the prosecution of the agent who killed legal observer Renee Good, and that Congress reject additional funding for ICE. [Full article]
ICE Out of Minnesota: Unions & Churches Lead Economic Blackout in “Day of Truth and Freedom”
Democracy Now!, 1/23/2025
Hundreds of businesses in Minnesota have closed for the day as part of an economic blackout to protest the surge of ICE agents into the state. Organizers of the strike include faith leaders and unions, who are encouraging people to stay home from work, school and shopping.
Kieran Knutson, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 7250, says the strike comes “after weeks of living under the heavy weight of this racist campaign of terror by ICE agents” in the Twin Cities area. “Nothing runs without the working class in this country, and today we’re going to show our power.” [Full article]
Military Vets in Labor Are Joining the Fight Against Trump
Military veterans are more likely than other Americans to work union jobs. Vets in the labor movement have increasingly joined and led fights against Donald Trump’s attacks on Veterans Affairs and on federal workers’ jobs and collective bargaining rights.
By Steve Early and Suzanne Gordon, 1/18/2026
Jacobin
The United States is home to seventeen million military veterans. About 1.3 million of them currently work in union jobs, with women and people of color making up the fastest-growing cohorts. Veterans are more likely to join a union than nonveterans, according to the AFL-CIO. In half a dozen states, 25 percent or more of all actively employed veterans belong to unions.
In the heyday of industrial unionism in the decades following World War II, hundreds of thousands of former soldiers could be found on the front lines of labor struggles in auto, steel, meatpacking, electrical equipment manufacturing, mining, trucking, and the telephone industry. Many World War II vets became militant stewards, local union officers, and, in some cases, well-known union reformers in the United Mine Workers and Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers. [Full article]
Wireless
T-Mobile Links Employee Performance to Credit Card Signups
TmoNews, 1/21/2026
T-Mobile is ramping up efforts to get customers to sign up for its branded Visa credit card, and store employees are now being held accountable for making it happen.
According to Android Authority, anonymous T-Mobile workers have revealed that credit card applications are now factored into employee performance evaluations through an internal metric system. This shift in how workers are judged means customers visiting T-Mobile stores should expect to hear about the card more frequently and more aggressively than before. [Full article]
Impact of Verizon outage also hits Verizon Frontline users
Carrier attributes widespread outage for consumer and Verizon Frontline public-safety customers to “software issue.”
By Donny Jackson, 1/20/2026
Urgent Communications
Verizon users in many parts of the U.S. were left without cellular connectivity on Jan. 14, when the carrier’s services—including its Verizon Frontline offering for public-safety users—was disrupted by a “software issue” that resulted in an outage for several hours in impacted locations.
Verizon has not announced any details about the nature of the “software issue” that caused the widespread outage, but a spokesperson for the carrier informed IWCE’s Urgent Communications that “we have no indication that this is related to a cyber incident.” [Full article]
Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones
Verizon changed prepaid brands’ policy a week after FCC waived unlocking rule.
By Jon Brodkin, 1/20/2026
Ars Technica
Verizon has started enforcing a 365-day lock period on phones purchased through its TracFone division, one week after the Federal Communications Commission waived a requirement that Verizon unlock handsets 60 days after they are activated on its network.
Verizon was previously required to unlock phones automatically after 60 days due to restrictions imposed on its spectrum licenses and merger conditions that helped Verizon obtain approval of its purchase of TracFone. But an update applied today to the TracFone unlocking policy said new phones will be locked for at least a year and that each customer will have to request an unlock instead of getting it automatically. [Full article]
Operators see FWA momentum, but potential capacity limits loom
Dell’Oro Group VP Jeff Heynen told RCR that U.S. operators are being careful not to over-utilize their spectrum for FWA
By Catherine Sbeglia Nin, 1/15/2026
RCR Wireless
· Disciplined expansion – Operators are carefully managing spectrum and capacity to protect mobile performance, limiting how aggressively Fixed Wireless Access can scale.
· Bundling and competition – Lower-cost bundles remain attractive to consumers, but cable competition and churn between FWA providers could temper subscriber gains.
This week, Dell’Oro Group released a report finding that Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) continues to gain momentum, with total FWA revenues — including RAN equipment, residential CPE, and enterprise routers and gateways — on track to grow by roughly 10% in 2025. RCR Wireless News followed up with Dell’Oro Group Vice President Jeff Heynen for a deeper dive into the findings. [Full article]
How Charter and Comcast are building their way out of Verizon dependency
By selective buildouts using small cells and CBRS, cable operators are moving quickly to transform the wireless industry.
By Roger Entner, 1/12/2026
Light Reading
The cable operators are transforming the wireless industry. Not through clever marketing or promotional pricing, but through network jiu-jitsu that turns their existing cable plant into a weapon against the carriers who once held all the leverage. Charter Communications and Comcast have deployed $922 million in CBRS spectrum and are now converting it into strand-mounted small cells, fundamentally changing the economics of their wireless businesses.
The logic is simple enough that executives from both companies have publicly stated it. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts explained that 3% of Comcast’s geography generates 60% of its mobile macro network traffic. Think about what that means. The overwhelming majority of cellular usage happens in a tiny fraction of the geographic footprint. Traditional carriers must build networks that cover nearly 100% of the geography where people live to capture that traffic. Cable operators can target just the 3% where traffic actually occurs, leverage their existing cable infrastructure and let Verizon handle the unprofitable long tail. [Full article]
Wireline
AT&T’s copper shutdown project takes ‘wireless-first’ approach
Amid more FCC approvals for its copper shutdown plan, AT&T is initially targeting customer service migrations with wireless connections ahead of future fiber builds, says AT&T’s Susan Johnson.
By Jeff Baumgartner, 1/27/2026
Light Reading
AT&T’s home broadband strategy remains distinctly fiber-first, even as it relies more heavily on its Internet Air fixed wireless access (FWA) product to “catch” DSL customers and to deliver an improved set of products ahead of future fiber network builds. However, AT&T’s ambitious copper network shutdown project is taking on a wireless-first approach, according to Susan Johnson, AT&T’s senior EVP, transformation and global supply chain.
“We have a bit of a two-part strategy going on,” Johnson said on the Signal Strength Podcast. “We are scaling the discontinuance filings in areas of the country where we’re calling ‘wireless-first,’ where we will be using our fixed wireless and APA [AT&T Phone-Advanced, the company’s service replacement that can run on wireless or fiber] products as the upgrade for the customers we’re moving off of copper.” [Full article]
Fiber Deployment Cost Annual Report, 2025
Fiber Broadband Association, 1/22/2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Fiber Broadband Association partnered with Cartesian to research the cost of deploying fiber in communities and environments in the United States.
In preparing the third edition of the Fiber Deployment Cost Report, Cartesian gathered input from a wide variety of firms building fiber networks across the nation. Research was conducted via phone interviews and online surveys in September and October 2025. Participants included network operators and contractors, with projects distributed across 38 individual states. We also reviewed FCC data, company announcements, and other literature to provide context for the scale and pace of deployment. [Full report]
The Buildout: Ziply marches on in Oregon
This week in broadband builds: Ziply Fiber locations live in Cottage Grove, Oregon; more North Carolinians get Spectrum; Comcast expands in Mississippi; Swyft Fiber completes construction in Louisiana’s Allen Parish – and more.
By Nicole Ferraro, 1/16/2026
Light Reading
Ziply ready for service in Cottage Grove, Oregon
Ziply Fiber’s network is now available for more than 2,100 addresses in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Construction is still underway, with the network to ultimately connect more than 2,500 homes and businesses as work continues “over the next several weeks.” The Cottage Grove news follows last month’s announcement that Ziply Fiber’s network is now available for 2,100 homes and businesses in Lebanon, Oregon, with construction ongoing to connect more than 10,000 locations. Ziply Fiber was officially acquired by Bell Canada (BCE) in August 2025.
More North Carolinians get Spectrum
Charter’s Spectrum continued with service launches in North Carolina this week, following a flurry of recent service announcements across the state. The latest: Spectrum’s broadband services went live for more than 3,100 homes and businesses in Orange County; as well as 630 homes and businesses in Davidson County. The regions are part of Spectrum’s multi-year rural construction initiative, supported in part via the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). [Full article]
Altice’s telecom assets remain in the balance amid debt shake-up
The future of SFR and XPFibre is still up in the air as Altice founder Patrick Drahi plows on with at times controversial debt restructuring and refinancing efforts.
By Anne Morris, 1/15/2026
Light Reading
Patrick Drahi has spent years building up his Altice empire with more than $60 billion of debt. Now, this empire is gradually unravelling, raising questions over the future of telecom assets spread around the world, and the role that Drahi himself will continue to play in this sector.
The financial press has certainly been watching open-mouthed as Drahi has attempted one daring maneuver after another. Indeed, recent machinations at Altice International and Altice USA (now renamed Optimum Communications) have been covered in some depth by the likes of Bloomberg and the Financial Times. [Full article]
Verizon Gets Final California Approval to Secure $9.6 Billion Frontier Deal
Telecoms company navigates conflicting demands from federal and state officials to close the acquisition
By Patience Haggin, 1/15/2026
Wall Street Journal
Verizon Communications has received the final approvals needed to buy fiber-optic broadband provider Frontier Communications after agreeing to some concessions to California regulators, including a small-business spending commitment.
Verizon agreed to acquire Frontier for $9.6 billion in September 2024, but the path to completing the deal has been fraught. Last year it won Federal Communications Commission approval after pledging to roll back some diversity policies. But California, one of its core markets and the last state holdout to give approval, had concerns about how those changes would align with its own rules on issues including supplier diversity. [Full article]
AT&T Approved to Discontinue Service at More Than 30% of Copper Footprint This Year
The company wants to decommission much of its copper by the end of 2029.
By Jake Neenan, 1/13/2026
Broadband Breakfast
AT&T has federal approval to start retiring more than 30 percent of its copper footprint, excluding California, the company said Monday.
On Dec. 1, 2025, the carrier submitted to the Federal Communications Commission an application to discontinue service at wire centers currently serving about 90,000 customers across 18 states. The application was eligible for streamlined treatment and thus was automatically granted Monday, 31 days after the FCC public notice on the application was published. [Full article]
Other Corporate Developments
Tech Workers Speak Out Against ICE After Minneapolis Killings
By Andrew R. Chow, 1/27/2026
TIME
While many tech workers protested President Donald Trump’s policies during his first term, Silicon Valley’s rank and file has been quieter over the past year as their bosses genuflect to his administration. But that may be changing following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Last week, following the killing of Good, more than 200 Silicon Valley staffers published a letter urging tech leaders to use their platforms to call for ICE’s removal from U.S. cities. As of Tuesday, following the killing of Pretti, the letter has more than 450 signatories, including employees from Google, Amazon and TikTok. [Full article]
SpaceX Seeks Exemption from Certain BEAD Requirements
By Drew Garner, 1/27/2026
Benton Institute
In a letter to state broadband offices, Elon Musk’s SpaceX suggested that it may be “untenable” for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet providers, such as Starlink, to participate in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program unless they receive exemptions from certain contract requirements. Those exemptions, which are specified in a “contract rider” attached to the letter, would limit Starlink’s performance obligations, payment schedules, non-compliance penalties, reporting expectations, and labor and insurance standards.
SpaceX’s request highlights issues with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) reliance on LEO providers. BEAD was designed primarily to deploy terrestrial networks, which are physically located in communities, built with traditional construction methods, and are relatively easy to monitor and inspect. But, on June 6, 2025, NTIA restructured BEAD in ways that greatly increased participation by LEO providers, exacerbating the challenge of applying BEAD’s terrestrial-focused rules to LEO’s extraterrestrial networks. [Full article]
Verizon-Frontier deal enters the show-me phase
Verizon’s acquisition of Frontier centers on promises of fiber expansion and convergence. But it’s not clear if that strategy remains as important as Verizon shifts its focus to fixing its postpaid business under new CEO Dan Schulman.
By Jeff Baumgartner, 1/21/2026
Light Reading
When Verizon announced its acquisition of Frontier Communications 16 months ago, the company was led by Hans Vestberg and the focus of the transaction was to bulk up Verizon’s fiber base and amp up its ability to offer a mobile-fiber broadband convergence bundle.
Today Verizon has a new CEO, Dan Schulman, and the company has a different set of priorities under the brand-building executive, including a bigger focus on fixing Verizon’s critically important postpaid business. [Full article]
BlackRock, Microsoft-Backed AI Venture Draws $12.5 Billion
AI infrastructure buildout continues to draw strong investor interest going into 2026.
By Giann Liguid, 1/16/2026
Investing News
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) has raised US$12.5 billion for an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure venture backed by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), deepening its push to support surging AI demand.
The capital raise advances a long-term fundraising target of US$30 billion, set when the partnership was unveiled in 2024. It positions the venture as one of the largest private efforts aimed at financing AI-related infrastructure globally. [Full article]
FCC is now in a bind with Supreme Court, Congress
By Masha Abarinova, 1/14/2026
Fierce Network
· The Supreme Court will rule on whether the FCC’s decision to fine AT&T and Verizon in 2024 was unconstitutional or not
· Such a ruling could give companies more negotiating power over the FCC, said NSR’s Blair Levin
· The FCC is also in the middle of a congressional oversight hearing
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now faces Supreme Court scrutiny over its power to issue fines, stemming from the agency’s decision to penalize the major carriers for location sharing.
In 2024, the FCC fined AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon nearly $200 million for illegally sharing access to customers’ location information without consent. All three carriers sought review from the U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing the FCC’s procedure violated their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. [Full article]