Network management

While much of the attention on Samsung’s latest device focuses on its features and functions—display, camera, speakers and that kind of thing—just as important to the nation’s network operators is what kind of network technology is in the S9. That’s because Samsung often leads the way in terms of implementing new wireless network technology. Samsung often builds iterations of its gadgets specific to individual operators in order to accommodate their specific technologies and spectrum bands.

[Speech] What is America’s strategy for seizing the 5G future? Make no mistake about it: I want the United States to be the best country for innovating and investing in 5G networks. I want American entrepreneurs to push the boundaries of the possible and American consumers to benefit from next-generation technologies. To accomplish this—and consistent with our market-based philosophy—the Federal Communications Commission is pursuing a wireless strategy built on three pillars: (1) spectrum, (2) infrastructure, and (3) light-touch network regulation.

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure paid a visit to the office of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and others to talk about eliminating barriers to Sprint’s 4G and 5G deployments, among other topics. Sprint referenced barriers that Sprint and others in the industry face as part of their efforts to deploy 4G and 5G services. Sprint urged the commission to quickly address the regulatory obstacles that make the densification of wireless networks so difficult.

[Commentary]  As communities across the United States wait to learn how high-speed mobile networks will figure in a long-promised infrastructure plan, some cities are already attracting private investment in next-generation 5G networks. They are doing so by finding new ways to collaborate with network and equipment providers, creating a set of “best practices” that other local governments can follow. Forward-thinking officials at the federal, state and local levels are hurrying to update their processes, looking for new approaches that maximize community value and minimize delay.

Allow me to highlight where the current Federal Communications Commission’s competition policy needs a makeover, and round things out with a couple of bright spots that are ripe for addressing in a bipartisan way. This Administration seems to only pay lip service, when it comes to ensuring competition, and, what is worse, it has a particularly creative view of what kind of services actually “count” as competitive. But I always seek out a silver lining no matter how gray or thick the cloud formation. First, we can take action to unleash competition in multiple-tenant environments. Second, re

To accelerate the benefits of 5G, we need elected leaders at every level of government to adopt smart policies that support the deployment of new infrastructure. Fortunately, policymakers are already moving in the right direction. Leaders on both sides of the aisle and across the federal government have sent strong signals that it’s time to double down on America’s future in 5G, and time to start finding ways to accelerate deployment, remove regulatory barriers, connect local communities and close the digital divide.

The Federal Communication Commission's controversial repeal of network neutrality in 2017 has yet to go into effect, but a researcher at Northeastern University has built an app that detects when mobile carriers may be throttling traffic to apps like Netflix and YouTube. Dave Choffnes and his Ph.D. students built the app, called WeHe, in 2017 and now it's available for anyone to download.

Wanting to lead in 5G is not enough to get the transition across the finish line. The key is to update our regulatory structures so that they are what I call “5G Ready.” This means taking concrete steps to reform our regulations and ensure that they incentivize the massive private sector investments necessary to build the networks of the future. I want to highlight three steps that I think regulators must take to get 5G Ready.

The Trump administration labored to clarify on Jan 29 that it currently has no plans to build its own ultra-fast 5G wireless network, despite publication of a memo that suggested the idea was under consideration. At issue is a proposal put forth by an unnamed official at the National Security Council, a White House-based body that advises the president on critical U.S. and foreign policy matters. The document called for the U.S. government to effectively nationalize a portion of the telecom sector — a radical departure from current policy — in a bid to combat Chinese influence.

Once the photographer Rian Dundon began seeking out cell-phone towers and transmission boxes, he started seeing them everywhere. Dundon’s resulting series of photographs, taken around the Bay Area, are scant on people, but instead highlight the telecommunications infrastructure–from tall, tree-like towers to clusters of boxes and cables–that have slowly taken over our cities and landscapes. The infrastructure, Dundon says, serves as a way to think about ideas and concepts that are largely invisible, namely, our creeping dependence on constant communication and data usage.