Wireless Telecommunications

Turns out the race to 5G can't run roughshod over the landscape, at least as the Federal Communications Commission has proposed it. In a partial defeat for the FCC and a victory for localities trying to retain their authority over cell tower placement and impact, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has ruled that the FCC did not justify its deregulation of small cell site reviews and has vacated that part of a larger wireless deployment deregulation order. 

Large tech companies including Apple and Facebook contend the airwaves in the 6 gigahertz range should be open for use by the next generation of lightning-fast wireless networks. Utilities say the new networks threaten to create interference that could make it harder to keep the lights on. "Opening the 6 GHz band to unlicensed users could cause interference with our signals and could jeopardize the reliability of our communications network,' said Mike Twomey, a senior vice president for federal policy and government affairs for Entergy in New Orleans.

Over the past few years, the major US mobile carriers have been in the spotlight over allegations that they have been selling their subscribers’ real-time geolocation data, including highly precise assisted GPS (A-GPS) information designed for use with “Enhanced 911” (E911).  Today, broadband providers that also provide telecommunications services are not subject to any comprehensive federal privacy law.

Broadband technologies are getting better and faster — but access to them is still concentrated in metro areas and suburbs, leaving vast swaths of the country with marginal service or nothing at all. Benefits of the broadband advances are mostly going to consumers who already have plenty of options for robust internet connections.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched to the International Space Station recently carried a tiny package that could eventually lead to the smartphone you have in your pocket getting cell service from space. If it works, the instrument could be a precursor to a giant constellation of thousands of mini-satellites that function as cell towers circulating all over the globe. The package is the product of a startup called UbiquitiLink, the latest company to propose putting a mega-constellation of satellites into low orbit above Earth.

In the race for tech supremacy, China is betting it can seize the lead by building the world’s biggest 5G wireless networks. To get there, the country is banking on the might of the one-party state, making sure its state-run carriers have access to cheap airwaves and fast, inexpensive approvals for putting up the hundreds of thousands of base stations the fastest wireless technology requires.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to help ensure that people who call 911 from multi-line telephone systems—which commonly serve hotels, office buildings, and campuses—can reach 911 and be quickly located by first responders. The new rules will also improve emergency response for people who call 911 from other calling platforms.

The fate of T-Mobile and Sprint's $26.5 billion merger may hinge on whether a federal judge sees satellite TV provider Dish Network as a viable fourth competitor in the US wireless market. But there isn't an easy answer -- especially when you balance its history of ignoring its obligations to build a wireless network with its newfound ambitions sparked by the mobile megamerger. Dish has been a major player in several past wireless auctions. And for years, the company sat on its assets without any plans for deployment.

The $26 billion T-Mobile–Sprint deal faces one last major hurdle as a group of state attorneys general look to block the telecommunications mega-merger in court. “The state attorney general lawsuit has a lot of legal and factual merit,” said Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a former state attorney general who has been critical of the T-Mobile–Sprint deal. “No one can predict what the outcome in courts is going to be, but they have a lot going for them,” he added. The group of 13 attorneys general, along with Washington (DC), are moving forward with their litigation to block the merger, which

Charlie Ergen has long tried to muscle his way into the US wireless business. When his rivals had no other choice, the billionaire behind Dish Network finally got his way. John Legere, the chief executive of T-Mobile US, called Ergen in late May after it became clear T-Mobile’s proposed takeover of Sprint  was in trouble. Ergen had been the most outspoken corporate critic of the proposed $26 billion deal—a merger that would leave the US with three giant cellular companies.