Wireless Telecommunications

The Federal Communications Commission is considering putting new restrictions on wireless use of C-Band spectrum, including a nationwide power reduction, as the Biden Administration works on how best to free up that spectrum for 5G without risking interference to critical aviation communications. Wireless deployments in the band were delayed from fall 2021 given concerns by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but are now scheduled to launch January 5, 2022.

Internet service provider EarthLink has joined a growing number of companies offering fixed wireless service. The company’s offering, dubbed EarthLink Wireless Home Internet, uses LTE or 5G for connectivity to the internet and can support up to 64 devices, in comparison with 10 devices for a mobile hotspot. A typical household has 11 connected devices, EarthLink notes on its website.

T-Mobile plans to make its Ultra Capacity 5G service available to 100 million more Americans in 2022, and as the company’s President of Technology Neville Ray told investors, it will have to expand its geographic coverage five-fold to achieve that goal, reaching many rural areas. Ultra Capacity 5G is the name that T-Mobile uses for 5G deployed in mid-band spectrum, which is widely viewed as supporting the optimum mixture of range and speed.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed revisions to its rules for spectrum sharing among non-geostationary satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) systems. The proposed revisions would seek to facilitate the deployment of the new generation of low-Earth orbit satellite systems, promote competition, and make it easier for new competitors to enter the market.

The internet has become necessary infrastructure during the pandemic, but ubiquitous 5G service has been slow to fully develop in the US. Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) said it will invest $100 million to both acquire wireless infrastructure company Dense Air and use its small cell technology to build a "borderless classroom." SIP, which was spun out of Google-parent Alphabet, intends to work with an as-yet unnamed city to build a private wireless network for a school district so students can connect to the same network whether they're in the classroom, on the school bus or at home,

Former White House National Security Council official Gen Robert Spalding wrote a 

Verizon announced the company has exceeded its year-end target of 14,000 new 5G Ultra Wideband cells sites, providing phone service to parts of 87 US cities, 5G Home to parts of 65 cities and 5G Business Internet to parts of 62 cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and, launching December 9, Athens (GA), Knoxville (TN) and Tacoma (WA).

Boost Mobile said it’s going after the big three carriers head-on with a new annual unlimited plan that costs $25 per month. It’s the latest in what the Dish-owned prepaid brand is calling “Carrier Crusher” plans. The first launched in November 2021 offering wireless service with talk text and 1GB of data for an annual price of $100. That targeted customers who use less than 10GB of data per month, while the new focus is on unlimited. Both new and existing customers can get the latest no-frills unlimited plan that includes talk, text and data.

AT&T CEO John Stankey forecast a banner year for infrastructure investment in 2022 and told investors he expects the operator to complete planned asset sales despite protestations by some US politicians. Stankey predicted the wireless industry will invest heavily in infrastructure in 2022 due to the availability of C-Band spectrum and new air interfaces. “This is going to be a phenomenal year in terms of reinvestment back into infrastructure in the US on behalf of the industry in total”, Stankey projected.