Joan Engebretson

What is Standalone 5G? While non-standalone 5G shares existing core network infrastructure with 4G, the standalone version uses a new, cloud-native approach to the network core. Standalone 5G is designed to boost 5G performance in two important ways. First, it will provide lower latency in comparison with the non-standalone approach, which should enable it to support real-time and near-real-time applications such as autonomous vehicles and augmented and virtual reality.

The Federal Communications Commission released the winners in Auction 103 of 5G millimeter wave spectrum in the 37 GHz, 39 GHz and 47 GHz bands, and it looks like the nation’s largest mobile carriers won the vast majority of the spectrum. The auction raised a total of more than $7.5 billion. The largest winner was Straight Path Spectrum LLC, which won 4,940 out of 14,142 licenses won and which appears to be a bidding name for Verizon. The second largest winner was Fiber Tower Spectrum Holdings, LLC, which won 3,267 licenses and which appears to be a bidding name for AT&T.

Broadband availability data should improve with the March 10 passage of the Broadband DATA Act. The legislation now just awaits President Donald Trump’s signature before becoming law. Key provisions of the bill include:

Georgia utility companies have been pursuing opportunities to deliver broadband since the state passed legislation in April 2019 to encourage utility companies to provide broadband services. The latest example comes from Diverse Power Inc. and its internet affiliate Kudzu Networks, who have filed documents with the state public utilities commission regarding the purchase of fixed wireless broadband provider South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority (SGRITA). Diverse/Kudzu and SGRITA operate in rural areas of the state and serve some of the same counties.

A new US Department of Agriculture initiative, the Agriculture Innovation Agenda, aims to align resources, programs and research to position American agriculture to better meet future global demands. Although the USDA doesn’t specifically reference broadband as one of those resources, it would seem highly likely that the initiative – if successful — could fuel broadband usage and deployment.

Facebook Terragraph gigabit wireless technology is gaining some traction with the news that Puerto Rican competitive carrier AeroNet will pilot the technology in Old San Juan (PR). The development follows other Terragraph deployments in Alameda (CA) and in Hungary. Terragraph works over 60 GHz spectrum, which is available for unlicensed use. It is even higher-frequency spectrum than the millimeter wave spectrum that AT&T and Verizon used for initial 5G deployments – which means it potentially could support higher speeds but over shorter distances.

Areas that receive broadband funding through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect program or a state broadband program will not be eligible to receive funding through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). In the RDOF Report and Order, adopted Jan 30 and released publicly on Feb 7, the Federal Communications Commission justified the decision by noting that it was “consistent with our overarching goal of ensuring that finite universal service support is awarded in an efficient and cost-effective manner and does not go toward overbuilding areas that already have service.”

The percentage of end-user phone bills that go toward the Universal Service Fund (USF) has been climbing and there are serious questions about the sustainability of that funding mechanism, despite a relatively stable USF budget. The money for USF comes from companies that offer interstate and international long-distance telecom services (i.e., voice services). At one time most of the money went toward voice services but over the years, more and more of it has gone towards broadband.

Rural Solutions, which does business as Progressive Broadband, is a wireless Internet service provider (WISP) with ambitious goals. The company, based in rural Tennessee, has big plans for Cumberland county and beyond, including deploying fiber-to-the-home. The company also has made infrastructure choices that are more forward-looking than those that some WISPs initially make, explained Progress Broadband President David Williams.

Sixty-one percent of the US population had low-priced wired broadband available to them in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to new broadband affordability research from BroadbandNow. Researchers defined low-priced service to include offerings priced at $60 or less. This was a substantial increase from the third quarter of 2019, when 52% of the US population had low-priced service available.