Wireless Internet

Nokia is using the unlicensed portion of the CBRS 3.5 GHz spectrum band to supply a private LTE network for a school district in San Joaquin Valley (CA). Nokia announced that it completed the first of two phases for the deployment. It’s working with AggreGateway, a small wireless engineering firm based in San Diego (CA). The network serves students in the Dos Palos Oro Loma (DPOL) school district of California. Located in the predominantly rural San Joaquin Valley, the district comprises five campuses and serves a population of 5,000 residents.

Fresh off the heels of a partnership announcement, Samsung and Amdocs disclosed the deployment of a private CBRS network for Howard University in Washington (DC). The installation is providing connectivity for more than 6,000 students on campus. It marks the first deployment highlighting Samsung and Amdocs' new collaboration for private 4G/5G networks, including for CBRS and fixed wireless applications.

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert commented how it was regrettable that “this has been so widely reported as a 5G issue,” when asked about C-band spectrum and the concerns of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) about possible interference. He’s not alone. A lot of folks regret that the entire 5G market is getting a bad name from C-band. It’s one of the spectrum bands that carriers are using to deliver 5G services –  but one of many. Granted, it’s one of the most valued – companies spent more than $80 billion for the rights to use it in the Federal Communications Commission’s auction in 2021.

In what’s described as a “proposed decision,” California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer has denied a petition by Dish Network that seeks more time in migrating CDMA customers off T-Mobile’s network. In a filing in early February 2022, the CPUC said the decision by ALJ Bemesderfer has no legal effect “until and unless” the commission hears the item and votes to approve it. The item may be heard, at the earliest, at the California commission’s March 17 meeting. But it essentially signals defeat for Dish at the CPUC level on this item.

In the past year, the growing demand to open America’s airwaves for 5G and next-generation connectivity has only increased, bringing national attention to spectrum’s role in closing the digital divide and solidifying global telecommunications leadership. Yet, as demand has increased, the availability of much-needed commercial spectrum has waned, putting more pressure on the nation’s spectrum experts at the Federal Communications Commission to identify and unleash different bands — like the 12 GHz spectrum band — for new uses.

Both T-Mobile and Verizon have made quite a big deal about their new fixed wireless access (FWA) offerings. They’re tapping unused capacity on their nationwide wireless networks to offer FWA for home broadband. These offerings will help to provide broadband in underserved areas, and they also give T-Mobile and Verizon a means to steal share from wired telco and cable providers.

T-Mobile added 2.9 million phone subscribers in 2021 and forecast its midband 5G network would reach 300 million people by 2023. In three months ending December 31, T-Mobile added 844,000 postpaid customers, a subscriber category prized by carriers for long-term revenue and overall success. It also added 224,000 net customers of its high-speed internet service.

T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz spectrum is not as locked down as most people might think it is. It turns out T-Mobile leases, but does not own, much of its 2.5 GHz spectrum. And at least one private investment firm is reaching out to the owners of the spectrum and making offers to buy it. T-Mobile is always bragging about its “layer-cake” spectrum position with a good combination of low-band, mid-band and high-band spectrum. It’s particularly prone to boast about its mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum, which it inherited from Sprint.

A new generation of high-speed radio frequencies is allowing phone companies to grab a larger share of home internet subscriptions from cable TV operators. Of the 3.7 million new broadband customers signed up by the five biggest cable and telephone companies last year, 22 percent went to wireless connections, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. T-Mobile and Verizon grabbed 819,000 subscribers, a significant bite out of the broadband market. Their weapon, new fixed wireless connections to the home using 5G frequencies.