NextWave Spectrum and T-Mobile are exchanging fire in a dispute over alleged interference with NextWave's use of the 2.5 GHz band in New York and New Jersey. NextWave asked the FCC earlier this month to “take swift and decisive action to compel T-Mobile’s compliance” with commission rules and “cease its flagrant and unlawful encroachment into NextWave’s exclusively leased" service areas in those states.
Tarana Wireless CEO Basil Alwan and other company officials met with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington about the importance of the citizens broadband radio service band. “Tarana emphasized the critical role that CBRS plays in expanding broadband access -- particularly in underserved and rural communities -- by enabling flexible, affordable, and spectrum-efficient fixed wireless deployments,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-258. “Tarana’s technology, when paired with CBRS spectrum, provides fiber-class performance without the need for trenching or costly infrastructure, significantly accelerating deployment timelines.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce appeared to oppose NextNav’s proposal to use the lower 900 MHz band to provide positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) as a GPS alternative. The commission “should focus on solutions that have been established [to] not adversely impact existing spectrum users,” the chamber said in comments posted Monday in docket 25-110. It cited concerns raised by the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association (see 2504290042).
UScellular filed additional data at the FCC in its proposed deal with T-Mobile, but all the information was redacted. T-Mobile hopes to buy wireless assets, including spectrum, from the smaller carrier in a $4.3 billion deal announced a year ago (see 2405280047). The filing was posted Friday in docket 24-286.
The global optical transceiver market size is expected to grow from $11.54 billion this year to $47.64 billion by 2035, a compound annual growth rate of 13.75%, ResearchAndMarkets.com said Friday. The sector “is witnessing substantial growth, propelled by the rising need for high-speed internet, data centers and the emergence of 5G technology,” the report said. “Widespread adoption of smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices has resulted in a dramatic surge in data traffic, necessitating a more dependable network infrastructure.”
EchoStar has met its next FCC deadlines for its 5G network buildout ahead of schedule, Chief Operating Officer John Swieringa said. Speaking to analysts Thursday after the market's close as EchoStar announced quarterly earnings, Swieringa said the company's final construction deadline next year would likely be pushed to 2028 due to meeting the 2025 deadlines. The company had a June 14 deadline for its network to be compliant with 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17 standards. It had also committed to having at least 24,000 towers deployed by then. That deadline was set in exchange for additional time the FCC granted EchoStar last year to meet construction milestones attached to some of its wireless licenses (see 2409200049). The company didn't say how many towers were deployed.
Spectrum for the Future went on the attack Thursday against new CTIA President Ajit Pai over his calls for more spectrum for high-power licensed use. Pai has had a big week, contributing an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal (see 2505050033) and hosting CTIA’s 5G Summit (see 2505060036). Spectrum for the Future is funded by cable companies and other sharing advocates. CTIA didn't comment Thursday.
The 50 MHz guard band between 28.35 and 28.4 GHz to protect upper microwave flexible use service (UMFUS) receivers from non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) earth stations in motion (ESIM) interference is wasteful and unnecessary, satellite interests said. In a docket 17-95 posting Thursday, the Satellite Industry Association recapped a meeting with FCC staff at which it and satellite company representatives argued that the 28 GHz UMFUS band is underused. SIA said the potential interference from NGSO ESIMs is no different from the potential interference from NGSO fixed terminals or from geostationary orbit fixed terminals or ESIMs, which can operate in the 28.35-28.4 GHz band. Satellite operators have demonstrated the interference risk is minuscule, the group said. A nationwide guard band to safeguard localized, limited UMFUS deployments that are already protected unduly limits NGSO ESIM services. Meeting with the FCC Space and Wireline Bureau staffers were representatives of Amazon, SES and Telesat.
At the end of 2024, just over 651,000 structures supported wireless infrastructure across the U.S., the Wireless Infrastructure Association said in a report Wednesday. WIA said that last year, the wireless industry spent more than $10.8 billion “expanding network capacity and coverage, excluding expenditures on spectrum.” Total wireless infrastructure investments, “including construction, maintenance and operations,” were more than $63 billion. The report said 368,750 workers were employed in the U.S. wireless infrastructure sector at the end of 2024.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau agreed to give UL Solutions the extra time it asked for to complete its initial work as lead administrator in the agency’s voluntary cyber trust mark program, extending the deadline 41 days to June 13 (see 2505050040). “We find an additional extension of time to be reasonable given the highly technical and complex issues being considered, the significant industry coordination involved, and the public interest benefits of ensuring the Commission receives complete and thorough recommendations,” the bureau said in an order Tuesday (docket 23-239).