Wireless Telecommunications

As military and civilian agencies eye the use of fifth-generation wireless tech, officials representing both agree that a key to success is ensuring interoperability between networks and devices through open standards. So far, the Department of Defense (DOD) has led the government’s effort to trial 5G by offering its bases to telecommunications companies as testing grounds for the technology.

The Federal Communications Commission released a roster of applicants for participation in the next US mid-band spectrum auction. Auction 110, set to start October 5, is offering up to 4,060 flexible-use licenses with 100-megahertz in the 3.45-3.55 GHz range across the contiguous US. No bidder can win more than 40-megahertz of spectrum. According to the FCC's application list, 26 applications are completed and 16 remain incomplete, for a total of 42 potential bidders.

Federal Communications Commission attorneys have told a US district court that the agency does not think individuals can sue over alleged violations of various FCC rules regarding wireless transmissions or infrastructure. This comes as the FCC is working to promote the buildout of 5G, which has been a national priority under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The US District Court for the District of Hawaii asked the FCC for input on the issue of private rights of action and whether, in the case of alleged violations of RF emission regulations and ones regarding antenna height

Would the sprawling infrastructure deal's $65 billion for broadband expansions keep fiber flowing throughout the country, or worsen the supply chain logjam? Analysts at Morgan Stanley point to AT&T’s announcement that it expects to fall short of its 2021 fiber deployment target due to supply chain issues. Other fiber players, including Frontier Communications, Lumen Technologies and Windstream,

The technology that's powering our newest phones and enabling our latest gadgets also wants to tackle our home broadband needs.

This report discusses issues that arise when service providers place network equipment on publicly owned lands in the United States. Based on land use policy at the Federal Communications Commission, this paper theorizes that the use of public lands for 5G network development will create a moral hazard, as service providers may be tempted to take risks in the way they use public lands. Providers could behave recklessly when knowing that the costs will be borne by someone else – in this case, local citizens. This is an example of the moral hazard problem in economics.

Leichtman Research Group found that the largest cable and wireline phone providers in the US – representing about 96 percent of the market – acquired about 890,000 net additional broadband Internet subscribers in Q2 2021, compared to a gain of about 1,260,000 subscribers in Q2 2020. These top broadband providers now account for about 107.4 million subscribers, with top cable companies having about 74.7 million broadband subscribers and top wireline phone companies having about 32.7 million. Overall, broadband additions in Q2 2021 were 71 percent of those in Q2 2020.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a summary of conclusions from its two 5G industry listening sessions, conducted to identify incentives and policy options to ensure the US has adequate sources of secure, effective, and reliable 5th and future generation wireless communications systems and infrastructure. Top conclusions from major areas of discussion are:

The House should waste no time in passing the badly needed infrastructure bill while expanding its scope to include support for all viable broadband technologies demanded today by consumers. Fixed wireless is an efficient, competitive and popular high-speed alternative to fiber, particularly in more remote areas. With the massive investments going into the deployment of 5G wireless technologies by both national and local broadband internet service providers, fixed wireless capability is only getting better.

While the bipartisan infrastructure package may help the nation’s most remote communities get connected to the Internet through fiber-optic cables, rural telecommunications companies say even fiber links won’t fix another big communications problem in their communities — a lack of cellphone towers that leaves many residents and first-responders with extremely poor mobile service. Their concerns underscore the complexity of modern communications networks, which require steep spending to dig the ditches, lay the cable and build the cellular towers to connect far-flung communiti