Wireless Telecommunications

Communication at a distance, especially the electronic transmission of signals via cell phones

T-Mobile eyes auction for 800 MHz spectrum that Dish can’t buy

Now that Dish Network has said it will not be buying the 13.5 MHz chunk of nationwide 800 MHz spectrum from T-Mobile that it was entitled to for $3.59 billion, all eyes are on the upcoming auction. Technically, Dish has until April 1 to exercise its option to buy the 800 MHz spectrum. Should April 1 come and go without Dish exercising its option, T-Mobile is obligated to take the spectrum to auction with a floor price of just under $3.6 billion. “We haven't commenced that auction yet, but should they choose not to exercise it, that'll be the next step for us,” he said.

Rural Commenters Claim Flaws in FWA Providers’ Broadband Data; WISPA Responds

The broadband availability data that mobile and fixed wireless providers report to the Federal Communications Commission is flawed, according to several rural broadband organizations.

Cable and wireless lobbyists clash over the future of FWA

Lobbyists backed by the cable industry are working to prevent 5G providers from obtaining more spectrum in the lower 3GHz band.

NTIA Asks the FCC to Remove Norfolk “CPA” from the 3.45 GHz Coordination Rules

The Department of Defense (DoD) recommends a modification to the coordination rules for the 3450-3550 MHz (3.45 GHz) band. Specifically, DoD recommends deleting the Norfolk (VA) Cooperative Planning Area (CPA). The Newport News, VA, Cooperative Planning Area/Periodic Use Area (CPA/PUA) geographically encompasses the entire area of the Norfolk CPA. The larger Newport News CPA/PUA commands the requisite coordination to protect DoD missions operating in the band, to include episodic DoD operations. The DoD therefore deems the Norfolk CPA redundant and unnecessary.

Wireless Carrier Aggregation

T-Mobile recently announced that it was able to aggregate six channels of spectrum into one bandwidth signal to a customer. The ability to wed channels together was one of the promises of the original 5G specification. The test combined two channels of 2.5 GHz, two channels of PCS spectrum, and two channels of AWS spectrum, creating an effective 245 MHz of aggregated channels. T-Mobile worked with Ericsson and Qualcomm to make this work and was able to create a single 3.6 Gbps connection from a cell tower.

FCC Grants Auction 108 Licenses

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) announced the grant of two long-form applications and issuance of nine licenses for Auction 108. WTB finds the applications for the licenses to be complete and in conformance with the FCC's rules. Granting the applications for the licenses serves the public interest, convenience, and necessity.  Furthermore, the FCC has received full payment for the licenses.

Update on February 22 Network Outage

On February 22, 2024, our network partner, AT&T, experienced a broad outage that impacted public safety users of FirstNet. Based on initial reviews, the network outage occurred in the early hours of the morning on Thursday. The FirstNet network was restored by around 5:00 a.m. CST — about 3 hours since service was initially affected for some FirstNet subscribers across the country. AT&T says the outage was due to the application and execution of an incorrect process used while expanding its network; AT&T stated it was not the result of a cyberattack.

AI brings us a new kind of bug

Generative AI is raising the curtain on a new era of software breakdowns rooted in the same creative capabilities that make it powerful. Every novel tec

Buckle up, cable—AT&T just gave FWA fresh legs

First, cable and fiber companies dismissed fixed wireless access (FWA) completely. Then, they passed it off as a temporary fad. Subscribers, they said, will return to their wireline providers when wireless bandwidth inevitably runs out.

Joint Statement Endorsing Principles for 6G: Secure, Open, and Resilient by Design

The Governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom concur on these shared principles for the research and development of 6G wireless communication systems; and recognize that by working together we can support open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, resilient, and secure connectivity. We believe this to be an indispensable contribution towards building a more inclusive, sustainable, secure, and peaceful future for all, and call upon other governments, organizations, and stakeholders