RCR Wireless

At roughly the mid-point of the 5G cycle (assuming 10-year generational upgrade cycles), there’s seemingly widespread criticism that it hasn’t delivered on the promises it made. That’s largely related to the massive capital spend operators undertook to acquire new spectrum and put it into service, but without attendant major new lines of revenue based off of services only 5G could deliver. The fact of the matter is, though, that 5G is a technology that lacks the agency to do, or not do, anything.

Verizon is hiring 1,800 additional technicians to support its East Coast broadband expansion efforts in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Washington (DC). Many of the targeted markets are rural and traditionally underserved communities, and so they qualify for funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Since its launch several years ago, we expected 5G to be the next, big bang in wireless. Like with 3G and 4G, we expected it to sweep across the industry, changing our lives. Instead, it has disappointed users, so far at least. What is the problem with this new technology, and will it get any better before 6G comes knocking at the door? While 5G is incredibly important, it is simply not showing the immediate growth we expected. Some of the leaders in the wireless revolution are starting to make some changes in their marketing messages.

There is a persistent and well-known gap between rural and urban populations in terms of their internet usage.

Nokia announces a “network-in-a-box” fiber to the home (FTTH) kit aimed at rural broadband service providers. Nokia’s Broadband Relief Kit builds a town network of up to 1,000 homes, and the company said it’s set aside 25 of these kits for broadband providers.

In the past year, the growing demand to open America’s airwaves for 5G and next-generation connectivity has only increased, bringing national attention to spectrum’s role in closing the digital divide and solidifying global telecommunications leadership. Yet, as demand has increased, the availability of much-needed commercial spectrum has waned, putting more pressure on the nation’s spectrum experts at the Federal Communications Commission to identify and unleash different bands — like the 12 GHz spectrum band — for new uses.