Wireless Telecommunications

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced the tentative agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 27, 2025:

Overall wireless customer care satisfaction has decreased for the first time in two years, according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Wireless Customer Care Study. Highlights from the study include:

• T-Mobile ranks highest in the mobile network operators segment for a 15th consecutive volume, with a score of 837. The segment average is 819.

• Spectrum Mobile ranks highest in the full-service mobile virtual network operators segment with a score of 845. Metro by T-Mobile (836) ranks second and Cricket (832) ranks third.

What’s the likelihood of the wireless industry getting a piece of the lower 3 GHz band, currently occupied by the Department of Defense (DoD)? The prospects look a lot better since President Donald Trump took residence at the White House, as well as Sen Ted Cruz seizing (R-TX) control as chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Wireless industry evangelists are downright giddy over the prospects of lower 3 GHz spectrum being made available for wireless operators.

Bad broadband beats just keep on coming for Comcast due to pressure from fiber and other wireline competitors. Something has to change to salvage the business, and the company thinks doubling down on convergence just might be the answer. Comcast in 2025 intends to lean more into the wireless segment “than ever before,” stated President Mike Cavanaugh on the Q4 earnings call.

Investment analysts expect President Donald Trump’s changes in U.S. immigration policy will have a profound effect on wireless carriers’ subscriber counts in 2025 and beyond, but the carriers themselves are reluctant to own up to any near-term impact. That’s in part because it’s a sensitive political subject—and it’s too early to tell. But there’s no denying that a crackdown in U.S. immigration will lead to a lower U.S. population, resulting in a smaller pool of customers for the wireless industry that already serves nearly everybody old enough to hold a cell phone.

AT&T reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year results that showcased solid momentum in gaining and retaining profitable 5G and fiber subscribers. Highlights include:

• 482,000 postpaid phone net adds with an expected industry-leading postpaid phone churn of 0.85 percent
• Mobility service revenues of $16.6 billion, up 3.3 percent year over year
• 307,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; 200,000, or more, net adds for 20 consecutive quarters
• Consumer broadband revenues of $2.9 billion, up 7.8 percent year over year

T-Mobile reported fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results. Highlights include:

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr ended the FCC’s consideration of a rulemaking proposal that would have subjected tower builds to environmental reviews. That proposed rulemaking plan had been under consideration at the FCC since 2022. He said, “It is time for America to build. It is time to unleash the growth and opportunity that has been stifled by misguided and outdated infrastructure policies. Just look back at the last four years.

People usually think of fixed wireless access (FWA) as another way to connect sparse rural areas. Startup Kwikbit however is geared towards a different, yet still very much underserved, market—manufactured home communities (MHCs). The idea to connect MHCs didn’t happen right off the bat. Kwikbit first eyed deploying fixed wireless to the usual rural markets as well as urban areas where “there’s tons of fiber but it doesn’t go to people’s houses.” However, it anticipated major permitting headaches—a problem many operators are familiar with.

This third Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will invest in software solutions for industry verticals and integration automation to further drive Open Radio access Network (Open RAN) adoption. It is comprised of two specific research focus areas: