Can Unlicensed Wireless Solve the Rural Digital Divide?

There are a variety of landline or wireless technologies that can deliver broadband. In most instances, wireless solutions have an advantage with respect to mobility and transferability (the ability to move broadband investment from one subscriber location to another). However, this advantage often disappears (and sometimes flips) when considering the increased operational expenses of wireless and the ongoing capital investment required. Licensed spectrum is not considered because it is a limited valuable commodity that should be reserved for mobility applications, and in fact, we should discourage the deployment of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funded networks using licensed spectrum for that reason. Much of the BEAD funding will be focused on rural areas. Rural wireless solutions that are practical for rural broadband are left only with mid-band (1-6 GHz range) or low-band (less than 1 GHz). The only spectrum available for use by most broadband providers in these bands are in an unlicensed band or lightly licensed band. As broadband demands continue to increase, it will become increasingly difficult for wireless providers (especially those relying on unlicensed spectrum) to meet the fixed broadband needs of their customers – largely due to the scarcity of spectrum that is suitable for rural broadband applications. Mid-band spectrum may be reasonably well-suited for use for long distances in rural areas, but there is not enough of it to provide future broadband speed demands.