July 2018

Some city light poles around Oahu (HI) are being equipped to produce more than street lighting. A contractor representing mobile phone service provider Sprint is installing data transmission equipment on 67 poles largely concentrated in Honolulu’s urban core but also in Central Oahu, Leeward Oahu and Laie. The equipment turns the light poles into miniature cell antenna towers that eliminate service coverage dead spots and increase data transmission capacity as more phone users consume more data, largely by watching videos.

CTIA’s Annual Wireless Industry Survey finds the industry beginning the transition from 4G to 5G wireless networks with significant growth in cell sites and data-only devices. That growth and continued demand for everything wireless contributed to Americans using an unprecedented amount of mobile data in 2017. The key wireless trends in this year's survey:

[Speech] The Federal Communications Commission has launched an across-the-board review to identify regulations that need to be revised or repealed altogether. Beyond cutting rules that slow network buildout, we’re promoting investment in next-generation networks with a smarter regulatory approach. I often say that dumb pipes won’t deliver smart cities. That’s why we reversed the previous Administration’s decision to impose 20th century utility-style regulations on our 21st century networks.