UPDATE The need for more spectrum was a common theme among panelists at WIA’s Digital Infrastructure and Investment Summit last Thursday. Citing the currently empty U.S. FCC spectrum auction pipeline, WIA President/CEO Patrick Halley asked Verizon SVP/Chief Engineer Lynn Cox why attaining more spectrum is necessary.
“No one leaves home without their devices. We see at least 20 connected devices in each home. For us to keep up with demand, it’s important to make sure we have enough spectrum in the pipeline,” Cox said.
“Consumer expectations continue to grow,” Cox added. “There was a time when you weren’t connected at a place and it was okay. It’s not okay anymore.”
Concerning spectrum, “We have to make sure the FCC’s auction authority is reauthorized,” and then get more frequencies in the pipeline, said AT&T EVP Federal Regulatory Relations Rhonda Johnson. It takes a while to identify usable spectrum and it’s important “that we create a pipeline that gets us to the future. Frankly, we are very anxious and we need that next step. We need to move forward and take action,” she said.
AT&T is deploying on its C-band licenses, she said, noting the company is pleased “we worked through that little issue with the FAA. We’re pleased they [upgraded] their radio altimeters.”
Concerning the approximately six million U.S. homes subscribed to fixed wireless access, Cox said, “it’s not a blip. You’re not going to use fiber everywhere. You need the right setting, the right ROI. That’s what we’ve proven with FWA.”
The upcoming BEAD funding being skewed towards fiber was a much-discussed topic. Cox said personally, she doesn’t believe fiber should be specified in NTIA Notice of Funding Opportunity for the BEAD funds. “There are places today where we don’t have fiber serving cell sites. As you start edging out, fiber’s going to be a great solution. But farther out,” it’s not going to make economic sense to use fiber, she said.
John Deere Senior Counsel John Gifft discussed precision agriculture, saying that connectivity is necessary for today’s farms. Noting that the world’s population, some eight billion, is expected to grow to 10 billion by 2050, he said, “That means farmers will need to do more with less.” Factors such as weather variability like rain, plus soil quality, all contribute to what a farmer can do.
Farming faces a labor shortage and aging workforce. The average age of a U.S. farmer is 55 and they work 10-12 hour days, according to Gifft. “They can’t keep up this pace,” he said.
“Connectivity allows farmers to increase their crop yield, which means more food for the world. Without broadband, farmers can’t take advantage” of improvements in machinery. “Now, tractors can drive themselves. Farmers can track it, while keeping track of other things,” he said.
Connectivity means automation, more data and more precise work. John Deere has technology to enable farmers to identify and spray a weed individually, according to Gifft. Right now, a farmer who owns 1,000 acres may have cell phone connectivity for about 400 of those. The company sees satellite- or terrestrial-delivered connectivity as a solution in which “you send a tractor off on its own to help with tilling” the soil, he said.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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