Wireless Telecommunications

There is a lot of speculation that Starlink is positioned to get a lot more federal subsidy from the BEAD grant program. There are a few things that have to happen for that to come to pass, but that is not the only news about Starlink these days. Starlink announced in September that it reached four million customers worldwide. What is most impressive about that announcement is the rate of growth, with the company just hitting the three million customer mark in May of 2024.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a public workshop for December 10 at 3:00 EST to describe the process for challenging the FCC cellular data maps. The primary purpose is to discuss how local governments can submit bulk challenges to the FCC cellular data map. In September, the FCC announced a new $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America that will be used to bring cell towers to rural areas with poor coverage.

If T-Mobile is contemplating a bigger footprint in fiber, it’s not showing its cards, which would be dumb, right? Instead, it’s publicly digging in its heels right where it’s at, which, by the way, isn’t a bad place. At over $284 billion, its market cap recently set a record as the highest ever for a U.S. service provider, far exceeding AT&T and Verizon’s current valuations. It remains a darling of Wall Street.

The FirstNet network, operated by the FirstNet Authority as an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), enables the fire service, EMS, and law enforcement to do their jobs more safely and effectively, no matter where they are located. The network is exclusive to emergency services, giving responders the ability to access the resources they need in real time as they respond to incidents.

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) conditionally approved AXON Networks to operate an automated frequency coordination (AFC) system to manage access to 6 GHz band spectrum by standard-power unlicensed devices. Under this conditional approval, AXON Networks will not be permitted to begin commercial operation of its AFC system until it completes a rigorous testing process, which may begin immediately. This process will require that AXON Networks’ AFC system undergo both lab testing and a public trial.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed urgent action to safeguard the nation’s communications systems from real and present cybersecurity threats, including from state-sponsored cyber actors from the People’s Republic of China.

The Federal Communications Commission is taking steps to address vulnerabilities in US telecommunications networks following the Salt Typhoon cyberattack, a sophisticated intrusion linked to foreign state-sponsored actors. These measures aim to safeguard critical communications infrastructure and ensure national security, public safety, and economic resilience in the future:

An evaluation of a co-equal sharing framework to allow Federal and non-Federal users to deploy systems in the 37.0-37.6 GHz (Lower 37 GHz) band. The scope of this report is limited to sharing between Federal and non-Federal operations. The report assumes that the Federal Communications Commission will establish site-based authorizations for non-Federal licensees, but the report does not attempt to address how the FCC will regulate sharing between and among non-Federal systems.

The Federal Communications Commission's Space Bureau granted the application of Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) to construct, deploy, and operate a constellation of second generation non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) fixed-satellite service (FSS) satellites, known as its Gen2 Starlink constellation.

5G users report higher performance satisfaction than 4G users, but face issues in high-traffic locations, meaning that 4 in 10 users are no longer willing to accept best-effort 5G performance. Further, 35 percent of surveyed 5G users show a growing appetite for elevated connectivity beyond standard 5G performance, signaling a strong willingness to adopt and pay extra for differentiated connectivity. So, what can differentiated connectivity do for them?