More spectrum will be necessary to expand 5G wireless networks in the U.S., according to experts at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. “We need to not only open up more spectrum bands, we need to use them as efficiently as possible,” said consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge President/CEO Chris Lewis.
Lewis cited as a step in the right direction, the administration’s National Spectrum Strategy. Inside Towers reported the plan involves studying nearly 2,800 MHz of government spectrum for potential repurposing and/or sharing with commercial users.
Bolstering the FCC’s spectrum pipeline, as well as promoting unlicensed use and dynamic spectrum sharing, should be positive for 5G adoption going forward, according to Lewis. The plan “set down the right principles to move forward,” he explained, reported Broadband Breakfast.
The FCC needs to have its auction authority restored for that plan to work. Congress let the authority lapse in March 2023. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and her colleagues have been reiterating the need to have it restored to lawmakers, Inside Towers reported.
Congress passed and the President signed a bill in December to temporarily restore that auction authority for 90 days. It will enable the agency to distribute 2.5 GHz licenses auctioned last summer, mostly to T-Mobile.
Chris Emmons, vice president of devices and accessories at Verizon, said freeing up more spectrum would allow the carrier to continue expanding home broadband on its 5G networks. Some states have concerns about the capacity on those networks, as cell traffic is prioritized during congestion, but Emmons said fixed wireless broadband is more adequate on 5G networks than on previous standards, according to Broadband Breakfast.
“Fixed wireless access for consumers has been a dream for a long time,” Emmons said. “There were 3G attempts, there were 4G attempts… There have been a lot of things that people have tried over the years, but we’ve actually seen a fixed wireless solution now that scales successfully. As long as we continue to get the spectrum we need, we will engineer that properly and provide for all these use cases,” Emmons said.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions