Wireless Telecommunications

JMA Wireless, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Crown Castle launched a private LTE network for Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) using Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum. Plans for the project started in mid-2020, as CMU looked to upgrade cellular connectivity to support research at its Living Edge Lab on campus.

Opensignal conducted a comprehensive analysis of smartphone users' 5G mobile experience across the US. Major findings include:

Starry Internet is among the next generation of new wireless technologies that support high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity using millimeter-wave bands capable of sending large amounts of data over short distances. That sounds a lot like 5G, and I'd say it's definitely similar -- but Starry doesn't quite bill itself as a 5G home internet provider. Why not?

The radio spectrum that governments license to mobile operators is central to the development of mobile broadband services. However, there is significant variation around how much and when spectrum is assigned, as well as its costs. We assessed whether policies to assign spectrum had an impact on consumer welfare in 64 countries during the 2010–2017 period and found evidence that policies that reduce the amount of spectrum available to operators, delay the assignment of spectrum and increase the cost of spectrum all impacted two important consumer outcomes - network coverage and quality.

Dish Network’s Boost Mobile announced plans to acquire Gen Mobile, a Los Angeles (CA)-based prepaid mobile service provider specializing in serving “cost-conscious” consumers. Boost will be acquiring an undisclosed number of subscribers through the acquisition, but Stephen Stokols, who heads Boost and will oversee the Gen Mobile brand, said a key thing is the connection to bridging the digital divide. Dish is starting to move upmarket with Boost Mobile, but at the same time, “we don’t want to ignore the under-served market,” he said.

As Hurricane Ida pummeled New Orleans, officials told residents needing help to flag down a police officer or go to a fire station. The city’s 911 emergency calling service, served by AT&T, wasn’t working. The failure, rectified on August 30, is helping to fuel calls for Washington regulators to demand greater resiliency for mobile phone networks in the face of storms, fires and other natural disasters.

There is broad consensus that American leadership in the 5G economy depends in part on smart spectrum policy. This includes a sharp focus on building a strong and competitive ecosystem in mid-band allocations, where wide bands can be coupled with capabilities such as edge computing and network slicing to enable 5G to act as a catalyst for transforming industries and economies.

JD Power's new study finds 1 in 4 problems cited by car buyers in the first 90 days of ownership involves infotainment. For the first time in a decade, voice recognition is not the top problem; instead, it's Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, which worsened significantly, especially for those trying to connect wirelessly. About one-third of new cars now come with a built-in WiFi hub, which may or may not be compatible with a phone's operating system.

Public Knowledge, Access Humboldt, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the Center for Rural Strategies, and New America’s Open Technology Institute filed comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Notice seeking comment on a petition for emergency relief filed by the Alarm Industry Communications Committee.

The Gulf Coast region is just beginning to recover from Hurricane Ida, with a significant impact on cell towers in the state of Louisiana. According to the Federal Communications Commission, 52 percent of cell towers in the hurricane’s path in the state are out of service as of August 30. That equates to 1,437 towers, most of them down due to loss of power, and some localities are far worse than others. Terrebonne Parrish has 100 percent of its 81 towers out of service, while Lafourche Parrish has 97 percent down.