Sue Marek

US fiber companies are furiously expanding their network footprints to accommodate growing demand from consumers and businesses for high-speed broadband.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will require both cargo and passenger airplanes in the US to install 5G C-band tolerant radio altimeters, or an approved radio frequency (RF) filter, by February 24, 2024.

Fixed wireless access (FWA) is a bright spot for UScellular’s wireless business. UScellular CEO LT Therivel said that the company’s FWA subscriber base is doubling every 18 months.

Executives from fixed wireless provider Starry said that the company is performing well despite the tough macro-economic environment. The reasons it’s immune to the today’s economic climate? It’s better, faster and cheaper, said Starry co-founder and CEO Chet Kanojia, adding that because the company’s fixed wireless access (FWA) service is positioned well is because it is prepaid and therefore has minimal bad debt exposure.

Unlike many of its cable peers, WideOpenWest (WOW!) isn’t seeing a lot of competition from fixed wireless access providers in its markets. The reason, according to WOW! CEO Teresa Elder, may be because fixed wireless providers are more focused on underserved broadband areas rather than markets where WOW! offers service. “We don’t see as much competition as our peers from fixed wireless,” she said, adding that WOW! is already bringing a lot of “competitive intensity” to its markets. WOW!

UScellular CEO LT Therival is reviving the concept of network sharing as a way to reduce costs and make 5G deployments feasible in rural America. Network sharing isn’t a new phenomenon but traditionally US operators have been opposed to any network sharing arrangements, other than sharing space on cell towers. This attitude is quite different from other regions of the world where network sharing is more commonplace. Therival has reiterated his belief that it doesn’t make sense to build four or five duplicative 5G networks in rural America.

When asked where AT&T intends to increase its fixed wireless access (FWA) buildout in response to pressures from competitors T-Mobile and Verizon, McElfresh said that the company continues to see FWA as a stopgap measure that AT&T will use in areas where it doesn’t plan to deploy fiber.

The Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming 2.5 GHz spectrum auction is generating some excitement among smaller rural US operators because of the FCC’s decision to offer flexible-use, county-based overlay licenses. The auction, which will start July 29, will be for licenses in the 2.5 GHz band where no one currently owns the spectrum. Top executives at several smaller operators have said that they were encouraged by the FCC’s format for Auction 108 because it will be amenable to rural operators.

There’s a lot of money flowing to 5G network buildouts right now as US wireless operators race to expand their 5G coverage. In fact, it’s likely that 2022 to be the peak year for 5G spending by US wireless operators. Stefan Pongratz, vice president at Dell’Oro Group, said that the company expects US wireless capital expenditures to grow at a double-digit rate in 2022 and then taper off in 2023 and 2024. One reason behind this is that both AT&T and Verizon are ramping up their mid-band 5G deployments in the C-band and the 3.45 GHz spectrum bands.

TDS Telecom added 35,000 new fiber-enabled locations in the fourth quarter of 2021, bringing its total fiber-enabled addresses to 400,000 at year-end. That is up significantly from the 20,000 new fiber locations the company added in the third quarter. The company added 86,000 new fiber addresses in 2021, which is lower than its target of adding 150,000 new addresses in the year. However, TDS Telecom SVP and CFO Vicki Villacrez warned investors that the company would miss that target because of permitting problems and contractor delays.