A recent report suggests that Low Power Wide Area Networks remain an uncertain proposition despite the staggering increase in devices and systems connected to the Internet of Things. The analysis from GlobalData noted that LPWANs were supposed to enable enough IoT connections to effectively offset the low average cost-per-user of those connections. Although those…
FirstNews Briefs: Ericsson Deploys Massive MIMO in World Cup Cities
Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson and Russian carrier MTS are deploying Massive MIMO technology to accommodate the demands of fans attending the World Cup, which kicks off Thursday in Moscow. Officials said the MIMO deployment is the largest to date in Europe and would provide improved speeds in seven of the tournament’s 11 host cities.…
Proposed Legislation Could Add Billions to Spectrum Relocation Fund
Bipartisan members of Congress last week introduced legislation to make more funding available for federal agencies to evaluate their use of spectrum. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who lead the Senate’s communication subcommittee, unveiled the SPECTRUM NOW Act in that chamber, while Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chairs Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Doris…
Tuesdays with Roger: The First Days of GDPR
This week, Roger Entner discusses the rollout of Europe’s new data privacy law, plus a fixed wireless project from Qualcomm and Facebook. Follow Roger on Twitter at @RogerEntner for more insights throughout the week, and stay up to date on the latest industry news by following Wireless Week at @WirelessWeek. You can also keep pace with Wireless Week on Facebook or LinkedIn.
AT&T, Nokia Announce IoT Partnership
AT&T announced an agreement with Nokia to give its business customers around the world access to the Finnish telecom equipment giant’s global Internet of Things network. The companies will also partner to develop next-generation IoT services and pave the way to global 5G networks, officials said in a statement. “This collaboration proves our commitment to…
Tuesdays with Roger: The FCC’s Efforts on Mid-Band Spectrum, Local Regulations
Roger Entner of Recon Analytics on the FCC’s steps to free up spectrum between 3.5 GHz and 4.2 GHz, along with how the commission could address state and local wireless infrastructure regulations. Follow Roger on Twitter at @RogerEntner for more insights throughout the week, and stay up to date on the latest industry news by following Wireless Week at @WirelessWeek.…
Sprint Awarded $26.9M in Lawsuit Against Secondary Device Seller
Sprint said Monday it won nearly $27 million in damages in one of the many lawsuits it has filed against sellers on the secondary cell phone market in recent years. The carrier said Baltimore-area company Wireless Buybacks was found liable for “tortious interference stemming from a large handset trafficking scheme” in Maryland federal district court.…
Report: US Could Seek $1.7B Penalty from ZTE
Federal officials are reportedly outlining a path that would restore ZTE’s access to the U.S. export market — including a penalty of up to $1.7 billion. Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, also reported that the Commerce Department wants access to the Chinese device maker’s facilities in order to verify the company’s claims. Other…
White House Nominates FCC Enforcement Official to Replace Clyburn
President Trump will nominate Geoffrey Starks to succeed Mignon Clyburn as one of the two Democratic commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission. Starks, an assistant bureau chief at the agency’s Enforcement Bureau, was previously recommended by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, according to earlier reports. If confirmed by the Senate, he would serve a five-year…
FCC Enforcement Official Expected to Succeed Clyburn as Commissioner
Geoffrey Starks, an assistant bureau chief at the Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau, will be nominated to succeed Mignon Clyburn as one of the FCC’s Democratic commissioners. Reports previously indicated that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer had recommended Starks as Clyburn’s replacement. “I congratulate Geoffrey Starks on his forthcoming nomination to serve as a commissioner…
Report: AT&T Talking with Regulators About Resolving Unlimited Data Spat
AT&T will attempt to resolve a years-long dispute over its throttling of mobile data traffic through negotiations with federal regulators, company officials said Thursday. “We have decided not to seek review by the Supreme Court, to focus instead on negotiating a fair resolution of the case with the Federal Trade Commission,” said AT&T spokesman Mike…
CTIA Calls for FCC Vote on CBRS Band at July Meeting
Wireless industry group CTIA on Thursday urged the FCC to finalize rules for 3.5 GHz spectrum this summer. Meredith Attwell Baker, the group’s president and CEO, wrote in a letter to the commission that the FCC meeting in July should also include a proposal to auction 70 MHz of that spectrum — known as the…
Federated Wireless, BLiNQ Outline Fixed Wireless Potential in CBRS Band
Canadian networking software company BLiNQ Networks said it will be able to offer a solution for shared spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band under a recent agreement with Federated Wireless. “We see the tremendous potential that shared spectrum holds for WISPs and MSOs to cost-effectively expand their wireless coverage,” BLiNQ Business Development and Product Management…
FirstNews Briefs: Senate Committee Passes Wireless Standards Bill
Legislation aimed at bolstering wireless coverage in rural areas advanced in the U.S. Senate last week. The Senate Commerce Committee passed the Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act, which would stipulate that rural networks must meet or exceed the strength and speed of networks in major urban areas. “While we have made progress in…
Qualcomm, Facebook Announce Fixed Wireless Broadband Collaboration
Qualcomm and Facebook this month announced an effort to deliver high-speed internet to urban areas around the world over unlicensed, high-band spectrum. The chip maker and social media giant said Qualcomm’s chipsets would be integrated with Facebook’s Terragraph technology, which uses millimeter wave wireless backhaul to establish efficient outdoor broadband connectivity in the unlicensed 60…
Tuesdays with Roger: The ZTE Controversy and AT&T’s Video Ambitions
Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner on the fight over Chinese device maker ZTE, more details of AT&T’s video strategy and a Senate vote on internet regulations. Follow Roger on Twitter at @RogerEntner for more insights throughout the week, and stay up to date on the latest industry news by following Wireless Week at @WirelessWeek. You can also keep pace with Wireless Week on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Pai Says FCC Will Vote on C-Band Spectrum in July, Seeks ‘Balance’ On Local Infrastructure Regulations
The Federal Communications Commission will vote this summer to consider making more mid-band spectrum available to commercial wireless providers, Chairman Ajit Pai announced Wednesday. Pai, who spoke at the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Connectivity Expo in Charlotte, N.C., said he intends to offer a proposal for spectrum between 3.7 GHz and 4.2 GHz, or the C-Band,…
O’Rielly: FCC Needs to Streamline Regulations for ‘Bad Actor’ Communities
FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly on Tuesday suggested the agency is preparing to crack down on states and local governments with onerous regulations governing wireless infrastructure. “We’ve tried the nice route,” O’Rielly said during a question-and-answer session at the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s Connectivity Expo in Charlotte, N.C. “I think now we’re going to have to try…
Report Warns that Carriers Are Undervaluing Their Spectrum
A recent analysis suggests wireless carriers should overhaul how they value their spectrum holdings. The report from Deloitte said although rapidly rising demand for data in recent years prompted a sharp increase in the value of spectrum, companies continue to value it at its original purchase price — even if it was acquired years or…
Study: Offloading Some Video Traffic Could Save US Carriers More than $500M
Technology that routes mobile video traffic to the internet — instead of network cores — could save U.S. carriers $546 million over five years, a newly released report suggests. The analysis from Mavenir examined the impact of virtualized media breakout controllers, which send high-data traffic directly to the internet, and thereby extend the capabilities of…
Verizon Announces Successful 4G Test in CBRS Band
Verizon said Tuesday that a recent test represented the beginning of commercial deployment of 4G LTE service on the Citizens Broadband Radio Service band. The carrier, along with Ericsson, Qualcomm and Federated Wireless, conducted the test in Florida using Verizon’s licensed AWS and 700 MHz spectrum aggregated with 50 MHz of CBRS band 48 spectrum.…
Industry Groups Say FCC Should Add 37, 39, 47 GHz Spectrum to Upcoming Auction
Wireless industry groups CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association last week urged the Federal Communications Commission to auction off more millimeter wave spectrum this year to help accelerate the move to 5G networks. The FCC last month voted to begin developing processes for auctioning spectrum in the 28 GHz and 24 GHz bands starting in…
FCC Votes to Begin Overhauling 2.5 GHz Rules
The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a measure to begin the rule-making process for the 2.5 GHz band. Commissioners said establishing more flexibility in the band, known as the Educational Broadband Service, could enable increased use of vital spectrum that is largely restricted and goes unused in about half the country — especially in…
FirstNews Briefs: Samsung’s Leadership Structure; Nokia 5G Call in France
The world’s largest smartphone maker could fall under a new ownership structure if South Korea’s top antitrust official gets his way. Reuters reports that Korea Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo this week characterized Samsung Group’s current organization — which includes its flagship Samsung Electronics — as “not sustainable,” and that he has urged embattled…
CBRS Alliance Launches New Brand, Certification Program
The CBRS Alliance on Tuesday announced the debut of a new wireless connectivity brand name — OnGo — based on the sharing of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band. The group also rolled out a certification program to designate products with end-to-end interoperability and optimized performance in the band. “There’s strong pent-up demand for businesses…