Spectrum

The role of spectrum has evolved with each wireless generation, and the growing demand for it is expected to continue in the coming years. Meeting this rising demand requires making a substantial amount of mid-band available in a way that balances various interests with broader economic and societal benefit. Spectrum harmonization is one such strategic approach, which involves aligning spectrum regulation and commercial allocations with other countries.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it's going to more carefully look at the "competitive effects" of T-Mobile's plan to purchase more 2.5GHz spectrum for its 5G network.

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez, who joined the agency in September 2023, said that her top priorities for the FCC include setting the stage for vibrant competition and promoting connectivity for every consumer. Key to that connectivity is making spectrum available, which the Commissioner said is an area of top importance.

There’s a lot of talk in the financial world, speculating that Dish Network will file for bankruptcy. The talk seems to be stemming from the fact that Dish has made some complicated corporate and financial maneuvers in the last few months. In late 2023, EchoStar Corporation acquired Dish Network.

T-Mobile has yet to take possession of the 2.5 GHz spectrum that it acquired via auction in 2022 to fill holes in rural territories across the US, but it’s ready to roll when the spectrum does become available. Congress passed legislation requiring the Federal Communications Commission to release the 2.5 GHz spectrum from Auction 108 and President Joe Biden signed the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement (SALE) Act into law in December 2023.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted updates to its rules for the 70, 80, and 90 GHz spectrum bands to facilitate broadband access on ships and aircrafts, in addition to backhaul service for 5G.  This action will promote the efficient use of spectrum and will provide opportunities for the development of new broadband service options. The Report and Order establishes new rules and updates existing rules for the 7176 GHz, 81–86 GHz, 92–94 GHz, and 94.1–95 GHz bands.

On January 25, the Commission will convene its first open meeting of the new year. We already have plans to build on this forward momentum for 2024. Here’s what’s on the agenda for our February open meeting.

The United States’ leadership in spectrum policy, 5G and reaping the economic benefits of the most advanced mobile networks are in jeopardy and have to get back on track, CTIA’s president and CEO says in a strongly worded new blog post. The biggest symptom of the problem?

Over the past year America’s spectrum policy faced an unprecedented set of challenges that jeopardize America’s 5G leadership and Americans’ ability to reap all of the economic and geopolitical benefits of a dynamic mobile broadband network and the ecosystems it supports. To overcome those challenges, 2024 must be a year of action for US policymakers if we are to maintain our global competitiveness, meet rapidly increasing consumer demand, and drive the innovation and growth we all want in the United States. Specifically, America’s wireless future hinges on:

Radio spectrum is critically important to the functioning of modern society but is a scarce resource in great demand. Ideally, it should be allocated to the most valuable uses in a country and used as intensively as possible. Yet, we are far from this, with spectrum use entrenched for decades and much of spectrum unused for much of the time.