CTIA: Cable industry engaged in 'spectrum-squatting' in heated LTE-U battle

The wireless industry and the cable industry are in the midst of a major battle over LTE-U technology and the future of Wi-Fi, and the rhetoric on each side is rapidly escalating. In the latest skirmish between the two, the wireless industry's trade group, CTIA, accused the cable industry's trade group of "unlicensed spectrum-squatting" and "preserving their own perceived incumbent status at the expense of consumers and innovation in the unlicensed ecosystem."

CTIA's comments, in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission, are in response to a proposal from the cable industry's trade group, the NCTA, that any new LTE-U technology first receive a review by the FCC before being commercially implemented. The issue is critical to both sides: Wireless carriers want to deploy LTE-U technology in order to provide faster service to customers without purchasing more expensive licensed spectrum. The cable industry, meanwhile, wants to continue to deploy public Wi-Fi hotspots across the country -- likely as a precursor to broadly available mobile services that would compete with similar services from wireless carriers.