Wireless Internet

[Editorial] The Benton Foundation has joined literally hundreds of organizations that are asking the Federal Communications Commission to ensure Lifeline voice and broadband service for low-income households, with minimal disruption to the people who depend on the program for a consistent connection to the world via their telephone or internet connection. We're asking that the FCC:

The Federal Communications Commission should create more incentives for companies to deploy service over fixed and mobile wireless networks to undercapitalized communities. One way we can do this, is by making wireless spectrum available through auctions. 

[Commentary]  Companies across the gamut are investing in new fixed wireless services. And government money aimed at bridging the digital divide could help fund further fixed wireless deployments. Perhaps more importantly, a surprisingly large number of new and existing vendors are selling increasingly inexpensive equipment for fixed wireless services. But the most interesting element in fixed wireless is that it appears to be a breeding ground for new wireless technologies.

New Street Research managing partner Jonathan Chaplin said the cable business is going to look vastly different in the next five years. “Today the wireless and cable industries have completely separate networks. In five years, those networks will be as one.

AT&T is embarking on an interesting expansion strategy by launching AT&T Gfast based broadband service to multiple dwelling units (MDUs or apartment buildings to you and me) outside of their traditional service territory. The latest example is Boston, where AT&T announced the availability of Gfast delivered broadband services to select apartment complexes. AT&T Gfast can deliver up to 500 Mbps broadband, using existing building wiring, coax wiring in this case. AT&T is also bundling satellite-based Directv service, where available.

Google stunned the internet world in 2016 by investing in wireless internet technology and scaling back on its plans to connect customers with fiber optic lines. Wireless advocates like Terry Nelson, Woodstock (MN) Communications' vice president and general manager, say Minnesota should do the same. "We see this as the solution," he said.

[Commentary]  As communities across the United States wait to learn how high-speed mobile networks will figure in a long-promised infrastructure plan, some cities are already attracting private investment in next-generation 5G networks. They are doing so by finding new ways to collaborate with network and equipment providers, creating a set of “best practices” that other local governments can follow. Forward-thinking officials at the federal, state and local levels are hurrying to update their processes, looking for new approaches that maximize community value and minimize delay.

To accelerate the benefits of 5G, we need elected leaders at every level of government to adopt smart policies that support the deployment of new infrastructure. Fortunately, policymakers are already moving in the right direction. Leaders on both sides of the aisle and across the federal government have sent strong signals that it’s time to double down on America’s future in 5G, and time to start finding ways to accelerate deployment, remove regulatory barriers, connect local communities and close the digital divide.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 22, 2018.

As CenturyLink looks to continue its broadband expansion efforts in harder to build rural areas using a mix of wireline and wireless technologies, the service provider says the Federl Communications Commission should not alter the rules governing the Priority Access Licenses (PALs) that will be issued in the 3.5 GHz band. CenturyLink, which asked the FCC for permission last fall to test 3.4 GHz wireless spectrum in some of its rural markets, told the FCC that the “use of PEAs as the geographic license area for PALs will inhibit higher-speed broadband deployment in rural areas.”