Wireless Telecommunications

An unexpected perfect storm of public policy variables is gathering and it could cause America’s 5G spectrum pipeline to run dry by year’s end. Under the leadership of newly-confirmed Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, our former agency, the Federal Communications Commission, is currently winding down a spectrum auction that will supply lifeblood to America’s emerging 5G ecosystem while generating nearly $22 billion in federal revenue. Unfortunately, this is the last scheduled auction of its kind.

Verizon and AT&T are hoping new swaths of C-band cellular radio spectrum will help make the 5G hype closer to reality, but the big mid-band 5G rollout may have a side effect.

Comcast has touted all the network upgrades it is doing as it pushes toward DOCSIS 4.0, but it appears to be planning one more key move: rolling out new Wi-Fi routers that can handle the speeds it’s aiming to deliver. Comcast Cable CEO David Watson said the company views Wi-Fi as a key element of its broadband package.

Despite Americans using significantly more data over fixed networks than mobile, a new Mobile Experts report quantifies how consumers put a premium on the value they ascribe to mobile service. "Fixed Mobile Convergence 2021," the report from Mobile Experts, puts figures to the idea of this so-called “mobility premium” and forecasts the trend of fixed mobile convergence. It found that the average US household consumes over 11 times more data over fixed networks versus mobile access.

There was once a time when the words “fixed line” turned investors cold — as the extraordinary growth of wireless telecoms and mobile data made cabling seem antiquated. Yet, in the age of full-fibre broadband, those tables have turned.  Investors are backing a new generation of smaller, alternative cabled networks — dubbed “alt-nets” — forcing larger incumbents to increase their investment in broadband.

To help recognize National Veterans and Military Families Month, Comcast announced it would install free WiFi in up to 100 veteran-focused facilities as part of its expanding Lift Zones program. Lift Zones provide free WiFi access outside the home in neighborhood community centers. They complement Comcast’s Internet Essentials program, which provides low-cost broadband to eligible consumers, including veterans, inside the home. Both efforts are part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive, ten year, $1 billion commitment to help build a future of unlimited possibilities.

AT&T and Verizon said they will limit some of their fifth-generation wireless services for six months while federal regulators review the signals’ effect on aircraft sensors, an effort to defuse a conflict that has roiled both industries.

Public safety officials fear the nation's 911 centers will continue to languish in the analog era, after Democrats slashed proposed funding for a digital makeover in their social spending bill.

Verizon Communications closed its $6.25 billion purchase of prepaid cellular-service provider TracFone Wireless, cementing its lead in a market split among three major mobile-phone networks. Verizon previously agreed to buy the company from América Móvil SAB of Mexico for a combination of cash and stock.