D.C. Memo: Turmoil in Arkansas over Financial Strength of Top BEAD Grant Winner
Arkansas State Broadband Director Glen Howie Vowed to Keep a Close Eye on the Finances of Hometown Internet
▪️BREAKING: Verizon’s FWA Growth Keeps Slowing in Q3▪️Wolfe Research Raises Charter Broadband Losses▪️AT&T’s FWA a Big Threat with EchoStar Spectrum▪️NCTA: AI Depends on Robust Broadband Networks▪️Study: School Cell Phone Bans Work after Initial Student Resistance▪️In a first, U.K. Households Reducing Wireline Broadband▪️Frontier Added 133,000 Fiber Subs in Q3▪️ Viamedia’s Antitrust Case Against Comcast Going to Trial▪️ WOW! Shareholders to Vote Dec. 3 on Go-Private Takeover▪️ Trusty names Nellie Foosaner as Acting Legal Advisor.
BREAKING: Verizon today reported that it added 306,000 broadband subscribers in the third quarter of 2025, led by 261,000 Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) net additions that lifted its FWA base to nearly 5.4 million. Verizon reported 278,000 FWA net adds in the second quarter of 2025 and 363,000 in the third quarter of 2024, suggesting a slowdown in the segment. Fios Internet recorded 61,000 net additions, Verizon’s best quarterly result for the product in two years. Total broadband connections rose to more than 13.2 million at the end of the quarter, up 11.1% from a year earlier. On this morning’s third quarter earnings call at 8:30 a.m. ET, new CEO Dan Schulman will provide his vision to return Verizon to growth. “We are going to take bold and fiscally responsible action to redefine Verizon’s trajectory at this critical inflection point for our company. We will rapidly shift to a customer-first culture, one that thrives on delighting our customers,” said Schulman. “These will not be incremental changes. We will aggressively transform our culture, our cost structure, and the financial profile of Verizon in order to put our customers first, compete effectively, and deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders.”
BEAD: A proposed $88 million grant to Hometown Internet in Berryville, Ark., under the $42.45 billion BEAD program drew sharp criticism Monday at a Joint Performance Review Committee hearing, where a rival provider questioned the company’s finances and readiness to build high-speed Internet in six Arkansas counties.
Arkansas State Broadband Director Glen Howie, however, assured the state legislative body that his office would keep a close eye Hometown’s use of the BEAD program money, if it is finally awarded to that ISP, which for now is slated to receive the most funding among qualifying recipients, according to a report Tuesday in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Executives from Northern Arkansas Telephone Co. (NATCO) said Hometown was not adequately vetted and lacked the capital to complete what they estimate as a $114 million project. Denise Russell, NATCO’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, said the required 25% match is “horrendously huge” and warned NATCO’s longtime subscribers could be harmed if the project faltered. (More after paywall.)
