Wireless Telecommunications

AT&T raised the price of one unlimited smartphone data plan by $5 a month and lowered the price of another by $10, for single-line users. Instead of the entry-level unlimited plan costing $60 and the better plan costing $90, the single-line prices are now $65 and $80 a month (plus monthly taxes and fees and a one-time $30 activation fee for each line). AT&T raised the family plan prices by $5 a month for both of these unlimited plans. For example, four-line plans that used to cost $155 or $185 a month now cost $160 or $190.

[Press release] I want the United States to win the 5G race. I outlined the Federal Communications Commission’s strategy for 5G leadership and delivering next-generation wireless connectivity to American consumers using a three-part approach: forward-thinking spectrum policy, modernized rules for infrastructure deployment, and light-touch network regulation.Today, I’m unveiling a lineup for the FCC’s March 22 open meeting that builds on this momentum.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday March 22, 2018:

The Federal Communications Commission has released a detailed map of eligibility for its Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) auction, designed to help bring 4G LTE service to rural areas. The map indicates which areas of the country are “presumed eligible” for the MF-II auction. Most of the eligibility is dispersed throughout the western half of the US. States with the most coverage -- indicating areas with less access to 4G LTE -- include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that Straight Path Communications and Verizon Communications have paid a civil penalty of over $600 million dollars to the US Treasury in connection with a January 2017 settlement that Straight Path entered into with the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau—prior to the sale and transfer of its licenses to Verizon.

Commissioner Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission announced a new plan to advance 5G deployment in the U.S. A key obstacle is our country’s outdated infrastructure regulations, which were written for previous generations of wireless technology. To ensure the U.S. is 5G Ready, he announced that the FCC will vote at its March 22 Open Meeting on a plan to streamline the federal historic and environmental review procedures that apply to wireless infrastructure deployments. 

The Plan

AT&T and Verizon, conceding that phones won’t be available in time for the launch of fifth-generation mobile service in 2018, plan instead to offer 5G through portable hotspots called pucks.  “I would expect that there are a range of handsets available in 2019 and some of those will be in the first half of 2019,” said Verizon’s wireless chief, Ronan Dunne. “If there’s anything available in 2018, it’s more likely to be a hotspot.” In a race to be first with technology that will let cars drive themselves and robots perform surgery, the wireless service providers, including No.

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said that he doesn’t see anything wrong with charging customers more money in order for them to obtain faster service. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong for you to eventually charge a higher price for a faster access to your network,” Claure said.  “You have this anyway. In the United States in many roads you drive, you have a faster road and you pay more. There’s nothing wrong with that.

To seize the potential of next generation wireless, I want to focus on three things that require our attention: new bands, new models and new business cases.

First, to power 5G networks we need new spectrum bands.  We have open dockets proposing new possibilities in the 3.5 GHz, 3.7-4.2 GHz, 6 GHz, 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 32 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, 42 GHz, 47 GHz, 50 GHz, 70 GHz, 80 GHz, and above 95 GHz bands, among others.

Second, to power 5G networks we need new models for spectrum access. We need innovative ways to make more room on the road.

A federal appeals court ruled the Federal Trade Commission can move forward with its lawsuit alleging AT&T misled wireless subscribers by reducing data speeds for several million customers who thought they had purchased unlimited plans. The ruling by the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals is a notable win for the FTC because it restores the agency’s regulatory authority over large internet service providers.