Wireless Internet

The growth in mobile data traffic makes our world better informed, more fulfilled, and of course, better connected. It means consumers are taking advantage of the powerful service our networks are delivering. But it also means those networks are being tested like never before. As we know, this network strain will only continue as IoT devices, intelligent infrastructure, and AI-enabled applications proliferate.

In an interesting lawsuit, VoIP-Pal, a patent holding company brought suit against AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Deutsche Telekom for now allow customers an option to use WiFi calling and WiFi texting. Of course, anybody with a smartphone can make a WiFi call across their phone’s data connection, and the lawsuit is really a complaint that the cellular companies are forcing customers to pay for a traditional voice and texting plan when customers only want to buy a bare broadband connection.

SpaceX has used its position as the world’s primary rocket launcher to push rival satellite operators to share wireless airwaves, showing how the company can flex its power in one area to benefit another part of its business.

U.S. District Judge James Donato ordered Google to make it easier for developers of mobile-app stores to compete on phones and tablets that use the company’s Android software. The injunction is the result of Google losing an antitrust case—brought by “Fortnite” developer Epic Games—during a jury trial in December 2023.

We at Mobile Experts have been tracking the fixed wireless access (FWA) market for many years. In 2017, we predicted that 5G FWA would be a success.

Charter Communications, SpaceX’s Starlink, and Verizon announced how they are providing free internet and wireless phone communications—and financial and other resources—to residents in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. Charter announced that last week it had opened close to 90,000 Spectrum out-of-home Wi-Fi access points in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and bordering areas.

The best approach to the future of W-Fi is better use of existing spectrum, not adding more unlicensed spectrum, according to Richard Bennett, a network engineer who contributed to the original Wi-Fi specification, 802.11n, and ultra-wideband standards. Bennett’s study, “Lessons from the History of Wi-Fi,” found that larger channels offer only “incremental improvements only at very close range”. Newer versions of Wi-Fi using existing unlicensed spectrum near the router are capable of avoiding bottlenecks in the home.

The Federal Communications Commission concluded in 2009 that AM radio was dying: Listeners under 35 were “almost non-existent.” Responding to lagging consumer interest, vehicle manufacturers began leaving AM tuners out of cars—especially in electric vehicles, where the tuners are subject to electromagnetic interference. So why, weeks ago, did the House Commerce Committee overwhelmingly pass a measure requiring manufacturers to include AM radios in all new vehicles?

The Adaptive Network Planner—announced by Federated Wireless—aims to help fixed wireless access (FWA) and private networks efficiently and effectively leverage Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) projects. Federated Wireless says that the CBRS is better suited for BEAD deployments than 5 GHz, 6 GHz or satellite approaches. However, its use requires advanced dynamic planning and related capabilities.

More than a million residents in the southeastern U.S. started the week without fixed broadband and plenty more without cell phone service after Hurricane Helene brought never-before-seen levels of flooding to the valleys of Appalachia. Some operators on the extent of the damage and anticipated timelines for recovery: