Wireless Telecommunications

Ensuring that we have the skilled workforce in place to deploy, maintain, and upgrade our nation’s communications infrastructure is one of the keys to ensuring that all Americans have access to advanced broadband networks. Importantly, the shift to 5G will require an enormous investment in both wired and wireless infrastructure. In fact, this transition could result in $275 billion in network investment, three million new jobs, and half a trillion dollars added to the GDP.  

The stakeholders the US Government Accountability Office spoke with identified two primary spectrum-related challenges for the internet of things (IoT)—the availability of spectrum and managing interference. Although not considered an immediate concern, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff and some stakeholders noted that rapid increases in IoT devices that use large amounts of spectrum—called high-bandwidth devices—could quickly overwhelm networks, as happened with smart phones.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 14, 2017.

Rounding out our December meeting will be two matters that were previewed yesterday.

First, the Federal Communications Commission will consider an order that would restore Internet freedom and return to the bipartisan, light-touch framework that helped America's Internet economy become the envy of the world. And unlike the previous Administration, which pushed through its Internet regulations without letting the public see what was being proposed, anyone can read my plan. It's on the Commission's website —more than three weeks before our scheduled vote.

While the claws are coming out, both pro and con, over network neutrality once again, one analyst says the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed order to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order will be a catalyst for 5G. Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research and a FierceWireless contributor, says the proposal put forth by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will hasten the deployment of 5G network technologies and catalyze wireless network innovations. The proposal will be considered by the full commission at its Dec. 14 open meeting.

Google is ending a practice in which certain Android cellphone location information was captured, following an online investigation that raised questions about how the information might impact your privacy.  The report states that software on Android phones gathers location data and sends it back to Google, even if you’ve actively turned off location settings on your phone, haven’t used any apps, or even if you haven’t inserted a SIM card from your carrier.

The Federal Communications Commission is focused on streamlining the deployment of infrastructure needed to deliver next-generation wireless services. Last week, for instance, the Commission adopted an Order that eliminates the need for historic preservation review when providers replace utility poles for the purpose of adding antennas or other wireless equipment. Today, I can announce the Commission’s next step in our broader effort to promote and accelerate the deployment of wireless infrastructure.

Many people realize that smartphones track their locations. But what if you actively turn off location services, haven’t used any apps, and haven’t even inserted a carrier SIM card? Even if you take all of those precautions, phones running Android software gather data about your location and send it back to Google when they’re connected to the internet. Since the beginning of 2017, Android phones have been collecting the addresses of nearby cellular towers—even when location services are disabled—and sending that data back to Google.

The broadband industry is in the midst of figuring out the impact and implications of the next evolution of wireless, 5G. And the hype machine is in full swing. Some might argue it’s off the charts, especially in comparison to the roll out of previous generations, including 3G and 4G. At last week’s Huawei Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF), held in London, 5G was put into better context, at least for me. MBBF attracts one of the best global carrier speaker contingents of any wireless event.