WISPA claps back at fixed-wireless critics in RDOF dispute

The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) doesn’t appreciate all the scorn being heaped on fixed wireless access (FWA) technology, which is coming from some groups that didn’t win as many Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) awards as they had hoped. In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, WISPA specifically takes exception to a filing made by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, which implies that FWA networks cannot deliver gigabit speeds. WISPA says that while the possible speed of a wireless link depends on many factors, especially the quality of the path, the recent availability of millimeter-wave systems and equipment, especially on the unlicensed 60 GHz band, and the pending availability of standard-power devices on the 6 GHz band, make gigabit download wireless speeds a realistic option in many places.