States will receive billions to improve broadband access from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), but have limited experience administering broadband grant programs. Here are important priorities to consider to effectively use the money:
T-Mobile added 2.9 million phone subscribers in 2021 and forecast its midband 5G network would reach 300 million people by 2023. In three months ending December 31, T-Mobile added 844,000 postpaid customers, a subscriber category prized by carriers for long-term revenue and overall success. It also added 224,000 net customers of its high-speed internet service.
T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz spectrum is not as locked down as most people might think it is. It turns out T-Mobile leases, but does not own, much of its 2.5 GHz spectrum. And at least one private investment firm is reaching out to the owners of the spectrum and making offers to buy it. T-Mobile is always bragging about its “layer-cake” spectrum position with a good combination of low-band, mid-band and high-band spectrum. It’s particularly prone to boast about its mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum, which it inherited from Sprint.
A new generation of high-speed radio frequencies is allowing phone companies to grab a larger share of home internet subscriptions from cable TV operators. Of the 3.7 million new broadband customers signed up by the five biggest cable and telephone companies last year, 22 percent went to wireless connections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. T-Mobile and Verizon grabbed 819,000 subscribers, a significant bite out of the broadband market. Their weapon, new fixed wireless connections to the home using 5G frequencies.
US safety regulators have received more than 100 pilot reports of possible interference from 5G wireless signals -- including three near Chicago O’Hare International Airport -- since the new mobile phone service began less than two weeks ago. The reports of anomalies on aircraft devices known as radar altimeters are being reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Interference from the new 5G service has been ruled out in many of the cases, and it remains unclear whether the others indicate a safety hazard or just pilots being overly cautious.
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