Unlicensed

The wireless industry is out with a new paper that claims, “The bias [towards fiber to the home] ‘could increase costs by upwards of $30 to $60 billion depending on the distribution of fiber deployment costs for the unserved locations.’” It also says “[excluding unlicensed fixed wireless] ‘unambiguously adds’ at least 1.9 million new locations calling for government-funded overbuilding with [Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment] BEAD funds”. As both my 

The federal government’s use of spectrum dates back to the beginning when radio frequencies were used to communicate—and so does the policy question of how to apportion spectrum access between government and private uses. The federal government has important missions that require the use of the electromagnetic spectrum. But federal spectrum lacks market discipline and profit motives, so it does not tend toward efficient use. Six proposals to improve upon this include the following:

The internet—and, more specifically, the ubiquitously connected society driven largely by next-generation wireless broadband—will be a crucial domain for both autocracies and market democracies in the twenty-first century. Remote and mobile connectivity is an increasingly essential component of a functioning modern society; if leveraged for dynamism and innovation rather than authoritarian command and control, fifth-generation (5G) wireless connectivity provides the foundation for solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Telecommunications regulatory governance is therefore a powe

For years, big consumer-tech companies like Meta, Apple and Google have been leaning on the government to free up little pieces of the wireless spectrum as “unlicensed” airwaves — meaning anyone can use those airwaves for free. What are they after, exactly? Their interest in the airwaves says a lot about where they think the future of human connection will be. And it’s partly inside your house. Bluetooth devices and home routers use “unlicensed” parts of the spectrum, which means that anyone can make devices that use those airwaves.

Time is running out for wireless internet service providers (WISPs) to change the government’s mind about unlicensed spectrum. With pressure mounting, Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) CEO David Zumwalt sent a fresh letter to the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) warning its current rules could lead to $8.6 billion in broadband subsidy money being spent on areas that are already covered by fixed wireless access services using unlicensed airwaves.

Alan Davidson, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, talked about the agency’s plan to advance open Radio Access Networks (open RAN).

GeoLinks took home $84.6 million of the $234.9 million it won in the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction for broadband projects in Arizona and Nevada. While its top priority is ramping up those fiber and fixed wireless builds, company President Ryan Adams said it's also keeping its eyes peeled for expansion opportunities from the Southwest to the East Coast which could help it scale over the next decade.

Soon after CTIA released its latest study supporting its argument for more licensed spectrum, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) shot a letter over to lawmakers asking for more shared spectrum, similar to the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) model. Signed by more than 200 companies in the WISP ecosystem, the letter urges lawmakers to support the 3.5 GHz CBRS model for future spectrum bands, such as 3.1-3.45 GHz.

When it comes to mid-band spectrum in the US, it looks as though it’s no longer a matter of spectrum stakeholders rolling up their sleeves for a national spectrum plan.

The Federal Communication Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology conditionally approved 13 proposed automated frequency coordination (AFC) database systems to finalize development for operations in the 6 GHz band and prepare for the testing phase. This automated frequency coordination (AFC) system manages spectrum access for 6 GHz band standard-power unlicensed devices. The FCC’s recent rule changes expanded unlicensed use in the 5.925-6.425 GHz and 6.525- 6.875 GHz portions of the 6 GHz band to allow standard-power devices under the control of an AFC.