Wireless Telecommunications

The Trump Administration’s swift-moving plan to promote 5G networks is running into resistance from the weather-forecasting community. The dispute centers around ultrahigh radio frequencies that the Federal Communications Commission recently auctioned off for use in the country’s next-generation wireless networks.

The report condemns the Federal Communications Commission for failing to adequately respond to the September 2017 hurricanes, which knocked out 95 percent of all cell sites, 97 percent of radio stations and all local television stations. The report calls out the agency’s failure to hold wired and wireless carriers to account for neglecting to build resilient networks or respond in a timely or sufficient fashion to restore communications to the islands’ residents.

Apparently, T-Mobile and Sprint, fighting to win regulatory clearance for their $26.5-billion merger, are considering possible concessions to salvage the deal. Among the top options being discussed is the separation and potential sale of their “prepaid” businesses.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging the FCC to redouble its efforts to make mid-band spectrum available for 5G. The Sens wrote, "Currently, the United States lags far behind our competitors in the availability of mid-band spectrum for 5G. While Citizens Band Radio Service will make 70 MHz of licensed spectrum available under a novel licensing scheme, much more is needed.

The Russian network RT America aired the segment, titled “A Dangerous ‘Experiment on Humanity,’” in covering what its guest experts call fifth generation’s (5G) dire health threats. US intelligence agencies identified the network as a principal meddler in the 2016 presidential election. Now, it is linking 5G signals to brain cancer, infertility, autism, heart tumors and Alzheimer’s disease — claims that lack scientific support.

David Redl, assistant secretary for communications and information in the Commerce Department, abruptly resigned, days after criticizing US 5G policy in a speech. Redl, who headed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, had clashed with Trump administration colleagues over a range of issues related to 5G rollout, including federal policy for allocating airwaves. The conflicts within the Administration occasionally had played out on Capitol Hill in recent weeks.

Hurricane Michael demonstrated starkly how some wireless providers in the Florida Panhandle were able to rebound from this devastating storm through foresight and appropriate planning, while others stalled in their efforts to restore full service. Some providers, working in the same area and facing the same challenges as others, were back in service considerably sooner than others. The poor level of service several days after landfall by some wireless providers cannot simply be attributed to unforeseeable circumstances specific to those providers.

The Federal Communications Commission denied China Mobile USA’s application to provide telecommunications services between the United States and foreign destinations. The action is the result of a careful review by the FCC and close consultation with Executive Branch agencies having expertise in national security and law enforcement. In the Memorandum Opinion and Order, the FCC finds that China Mobile USA has not demonstrated that its application for the authority to provide international telecommunications services is in the public interest.

This paper explains why most nations refused to endorse key United States 5G spectrum allocation proposals at the International Telecommunication Union’s 2015 World Radio Conference. US representatives underestimated the time needed for consensus building, despite increasing demand for wireless video and the evolving Internet of Things.