Small wireless carriers feel squeezed on multiple fronts

Small wireless carriers expressed dissatisfaction and concern about several aspects of their business at the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Annual Convention. They’re concerned that digital-divide money will all go toward fiber, that Universal Service Funds (USF) are drying up, that their spectrum needs are being ignored, and that they’ve missed the boat on private wireless. It would seem intuitive that small wireless carriers would reap some of the benefits of the coming federal funding bonanza to close the digital divide since they oftentimes serve rural markets, but the operators noted that much of the funding from the government is geared toward deploying fiber. CCA members also expressed frustration about the allocation of spectrum in the US. They have had opportunities to buy more spectrum lately through the CBRS and C-Band auctions, and there are some upcoming auctions of 2.5 GHz and 3.45 GHz as well, but carrier executives complained that the partial economic areas (PEAs) that the FCC often uses for spectrum auctions do not work for smaller operators. They can’t afford to buy geographically large PEAs, especially where big portions of the PEA aren't in their coverage area. When asked if they were launching any private wireless offerings, CEO of Nsight–Cellcom Mark Nazé said “a number of things have to intersect for there to be good opportunity” in private wireless where the capital investments align with customer demand in various industries.