Wireless Internet

The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) Project Office announces $2.8 million in new funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) as it continues its mission to accelerate wireless innovation through the shared resource of advanced network testbeds. The new funding aligns with rising global interest in wireless research facilities and underscores the value of programs that expand researcher access to sophisticated and adaptive network testing environments.

The Federal Communications Commission granted the application of Space Exploration Holdings to construct, deploy, and operate a constellation of 29,988 non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites, to be known as its “secondgeneration” Starlink constellation (Gen2 Starlink), using Ku-, Ka-, and E-band frequencies to provide fixed-satellite service (FSS). Specifically, the FCC granted SpaceX authority to construct, deploy, and operate up to 7,500 satellites operating at altitudes of 525, 530, and 535 km and inclinations of 53, 43, and 33 degrees, respectively, using frequencies in the Ku- and K

Verizon is telling customers that if they’re still using a 3G CDMA or 4G (non-VoLTE) phone that does not support its newer network technologies, “your line will be suspended without billing and will lose the ability to call, text, or use data.” Verizon is the last of the Big 3 wireless carriers in the US to shut down a 3G network and repurpose the spectrum for newer technology. Verizon has been working with customers – both consumers and businesses – since 2016 to ensure customers have “every opportunity” to get a device that uses either 4G or 5G, including direct outreach to customers and

Elon Musk’s satellite Starlink technology is to be part of a UK government trial to get better internet connectivity to remote parts of the country. Starlink will initially be trialled at three remote locations—Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire Moors national park, Wasdale Head in the Lake District, and two sites within Snowdonia national park. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it was continuing to look at the capability of the system, as well as looking at other solutions and services with different suppliers.

Approximately 400,000 households now subscribe to Starlink worldwide. Perhaps a victim of their own success, Starlink download speeds dropped once again in Canada (at least 14%) and the US (at least 17%) from Q2 to Q3 2022, while speeds remained roughly the same in Chile quarter over quarter.

The list prices of Starlink communications devices have nearly doubled in Ukraine, as mobile networks have started failing under Russia’s assault on the country’s electricity grid and increased demand for the SpaceX-manufactured satellite communication device. Starlink terminals, which are made by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, will increase in price to $700 for new Ukrainian consumers, according to the company’s website.

For stock investors, a new risk is orbiting the satellite market: By trying to preserve competition, antitrust regulators could end up placing even more power in the hands of a privately-owned behemoth—Elon Musk‘s Starlink. California’s Viasat announced a $7.3 billion takeover of British satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat in late 2021, making it a centerpiece in the long-awaited consolidation of the satellite market. Yet, despite the deal being cleared by the U.K.

In a November 21 letter signed by Commerce Secretary Raimondo and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar, Reps Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) warn the Federal Communications Commission about disruptions to climate data collection in the 1675-1680 MHz band due to spectrum use by wireless providers. "We write to urge you and the Commission to stop consideration of the proposal for sharing the 1675-1680 MHz band for commercial wireless carriers operating in the downlink mode," the lawmakers wrote.

Public Knowledge wrote to the Federal Communications Commission urging them to reconsider calls by the aviation community for rule changes related to C-band deployments. The November 22 letter states that as a consequence of systemic discrimination and historic patterns of red-lining, many of the neighborhoods closest to airports (and therefore within the “buffer zones” around the airports subject to potential mitigation measures) are low-income and/or majority non-white communities.

Seven US senators sent a letter to Alan Davidson, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, urging NTIA to revise its definition of reliable broadband for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. In establishing rules for the program, NTIA omitted fixed wireless service that relies totally on unlicensed spectrum for last mile connectivity from its definition of reliable service – a decision that impacts the BEAD program in two ways.