Latest / The Broadband Exchange / November 2, 2026: NTIA’s new BEAD guidance, Amazon Leo’s acquisition of Globalstar, and more

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November 2, 2026: NTIA’s new BEAD guidance, Amazon Leo’s acquisition of Globalstar, and more · The Broadband Exchange

• 0:04
  Hello and welcome. You're listening to the Broadband Exchange, the podcast from your friends at telecompetitor. I'm Ian Descher, Pivot's director of Media and Story and managing editor of telecompetitor. It's time to review this week's broadband News. Let's get into it. We'll start with Bead, where NTIA released additional guidance for the program's supplemental funding round. The agency updated its Frequently asked questions with 12 new answers about the second benefit of the bargain round, along with another answer addressing trials consent. The supplemental round is designed to reach locations that remain unserved after states assembled their original Bede plans. States must work through updated lists of eligible locations and an abbreviated challenge process.
• 0:45
  That process can remove locations already receiving qualifying service or that expect to receive it within a year, but it cannot be used to add new locations. There is no rebuttal round. The NTIA also clarified the funding calculation. A state's maximum supplemental allocation will be based on its approved average bead cost per location multiplied by the number of locations on its final supplemental list.
• 1:10
  Providers will have to bid on supplemental locations separately from their existing bead projects.
• 1:16
  After the NTIA approves a state supplemental plan, states and providers can agree to combine projects. New awardees will have six months from that approval to sign subgrantee agreements, and existing awardees will have the same window to amend theirs.
• 1:31
  One question remains open. The NTIA said further guidance on other uses for leftover bead funds, also known as the non deployment funds, is still forthcoming. Elsewhere in broadband funding, Kansas announced nearly $13 million in awards through the sixth round of its Broadband Acceleration Grant program.
• 1:50
  Providers and local partners are contributing another $14 million in matching funds, bringing the combined investment to roughly $27 million across 44 counties.
• 2:00
  The projects are intended to connect underserved homes and businesses, including agricultural operations. Ideatek received two awards, one for last mile connections and another to extend middle mile fiber. Kansas has now committed almost $44.6 million through the program, which launched in 2020 as a 10 year initiative. In Wisconsin, the USDA approved more than $14.5 million in financing for West Wisconsin Telcom Cooperative to expand fiber service.
• 2:30
  The project covers portions of seven counties in western Wisconsin, including rural communities, farms and schools. The support comes through USDA's Telecommunications Infrastructure Loans and Loan Guarantees program.
• 2:43
  The agency did not specify how many locations the project will pass or provide a construction completion date. West Wisconsin Telecom already operates a heavily fiber based network and this financing is intended to extend it now to financing. On the provider side. Gateway Fiber announced a total of $578 million in new financing after closing a $333 million asset backed securitization and a separate $245 million development financing facility. The securitization is backed by contract revenue from Gateway's Fiber, Fixed Wireless and E Rate customers. The collateral pool covers just over 49,000 customers in established markets, mainly in the Midwest, with Fiber to the premises generating nearly three quarters of the revenue. The additional development financing will help Gateway continue building its network. The transactions also provide money to refinance existing debt and strengthen liquidity.
• 3:38
  Asset backed securitization is relatively new to broadband still, but it allows providers to borrow against a defined pool of operating network assets and customer payments.
• 3:49
  And in Colorado Springs, G Fiber is set to replace Ting Internet as anchor tenant on the municipal fiber network operated by Colorado Springs Utilities. The utility will continue to own, construct and operate the underlying network. G Fiber will use it to provide Internet service to residential and business customers, with connections expected to begin in early 2027. Ting currently serves customers on the network and will continue doing so during the transition.
• 4:15
  Turning to satellite broadband, the FCC approved Amazon Leo's proposed acquisition of Globalstar. The commission said the deal should expand competition and connectivity, particularly in underserved and unserved communities.
• 4:28
  Globalstar brings satellite operations and infrastructure along with mobile satellite service spectrum authorizations to the table. Those assets will strengthen Amazon Leo's ability to offer satellite based connectivity as it builds out its low Earth orbit network. The FCC specifically pointed to the states that have selected Amazon Leo for bead supported projects.
• 4:48
  Another FCC announcement involved a rather different use of wireless technology.
• 4:53
  Chairman Brendan Carr said. The commission will vote in its Nov. 19 meeting on rules that would allow state and local PR jails to jam contraband cell phone signals. Corrections officials have argued that illegal phones let inmates coordinate criminal activity outside prison walls. Signal jamming has generally been prohibited because it can interfere with legitimate communications, including emergency calls. The proposal would make jamming an option for facilities but not a requirement. How the technology can be contained without affecting nearby users remains a central concern. The next two reports looked at network security, beginning with threats that small broadband providers face right now. A new Cybershare report developed with cybersecurity firm Conrad ranked the financially motivated group Scattered Spider as the highest priority threat. CyberShare is the information sharing and analysis center for small broadband providers. Powered by NTCA, the Rural Broadband Association.
• 5:49
  The researchers evaluated 330 threat actors, identifying 35 with a record of directly affecting telecommunications organizations.
• 5:57
  Scattered Spider has used tactics such as SIM swapping and impersonating employees when contacting IT help desks. Other high ranking threats included groups linked to Iranian intelligence and Chinese state actors. The report found widespread use of legitimate administrative tools to hide malicious activity. Nearly 7 in 10 of the assessed actors used valid credentials and the same share exploited vulnerabilities in Internet facing applications.
• 6:23
  It's clear from the report that smaller networks face many of the same sophisticated attackers as the biggest carriers. Protecting credentials, hardening exposed systems and preparing for incidents are all important, even when an operator serves a relatively small population.
• 6:37
  The second report from STL Partners warned that telecom operators should already be planning for quantum safe network security.
• 6:45
  It focused on the threat that future quantum computers could break widely used public key encryption, including methods that protect VPNs, vulnerable 5G authentication and business network services. There's also a present day risk in what researchers call HarvestNow decrypt later attacks. Adversaries capture encrypted traffic today in hopes of unlocking it with quantum computing later.
• 7:09
  STL Partners described post quantum cryptography, which can be introduced through software and firmware updates, and quantum key distribution, which typically requires specialized equipment. The firm said a full cryptographic migration can take five to ten years or more. The big takeaway is that waiting until quantum computers can break your systems will leave providers with too little time to adapt.
• 7:33
  On the wireless side, T Mobile introduced a new set of TMIX plans scheduled to launch in November. Subscribers will choose from a menu of perks, with more choices available at higher priced tiers. One perk is more interesting from a network perspective than another streaming subscription, and that's optimized video calling. T Mobile said it will use network slicing to prioritize video calls over its wireless network. The company has offered few technical details, but the feature gives consumers a practical example of how 5G network slicing can move beyond enterprise applications.
• 8:06
  The new plans start at $55, $75 and $95 a month for a single line before taxes and fees and with an autopay discount. Other optional perks include streaming services, satellite connectivity and device promotions.
• 8:19
  Meanwhile, Noble Mobile announced that it would acquire Smartless Mobile, the wireless brand created by the team behind the Smartless podcast. The price was not disclosed, and existing Smartless customers will keep their current plan pricing.
• 8:32
  Noble Mobile, founded by Andrew Yang, has an unusual pitch for a mobile carrier. It rewards customers for spending less time on their phones. The company offers up to $20 a month in cash back tied to reduced screen time, and it has introduced tools that score phone habits and track family progress. The Smartless deal follows Noble's earlier acquisition of Helium Mobile. It's an interesting approach in a business where the usual goal is to encourage more usage, not less.
• 8:59
  Finally, new research from Parks Associates offered another indication of how much sports viewing has changed. The Firm found that 39% of US Internet households watch live events or sports through on demand streaming services.
• 9:12
  A quarter watched live video through free ad supported streaming television services, while 21% said they don't watch live video at all.
• 9:20
  Nearly half reported watching live sports. As more live programming moves beyond traditional pay television, viewers have more choices, but also more confusion about where a particular game or event can be found.
• 9:31
  For broadband provider, the lesson, or maybe I should just say the reminder, is that customers want a simpler way to find what they came to watch, and anything you can do to help them will be appreciated.
• 9:42
  And that's it for our first podcast episode of November. Thank you for listening to the Broadband Exchange. You can read all the articles we talked about today@telecompetitor.com Feel free to drop us a line while you're there. Thanks again for joining us and we'll see you next time.