The fixed Wireless Internet Service Providers Association intends to lobby Congress and the FCC about its “Path to Gigabit” proposal. WISPA President/CEO Claude Aiken says tailored policy solutions can connect communities to affordable, futureproof broadband “without having to spend billions over the next decade.”
“We’ve tried money before. We need a multifaceted solution” to bridge the digital divide in rural America, “one that goes beyond dollars,” he said during a press briefing Wednesday. The plan entails using WISPs already providing service to their communities, he said.
Part of the three-legged plan calls for freeing up more mid-band spectrum for smaller innovators. He suggested 200 MHz in the upper portion of the C-band or in the 3.1-3.5 GHz would be ideal. Aiken said: “coordinated, non-auctioned, high power, point-to-multipoint use, either on a shared or license by rule basis” would work. The association favors a localized spectrum policy to increase competition, urging more accessible spectrum for diverse, smaller innovators to boost connectivity in the hardest to serve parts of rural, suburban and urban America.
“We have to think small,” he said, suggesting subsidy programs be developed that leverage existing smaller providers, “who will quickly deploy rather than simply making funding available to larger players who will overbuild.” This would result in “significant savings,” said Aiken.
Finally, he suggests aligning infrastructure policy to unleash competition by small innovators. “All the money in the world isn’t going to do much good if you can’t get into a right-of-way or access a pole or tower,” said Aiken. WISPA supports removing deployment barriers and supports “Dig Once” rules.
The digital divide is “typically not looked at in a holistic way. That’s why we came out with this” plan, he said, noting that a mix of policies will be needed, “because there is no one-size-fits-all solution.”
Some in the industry question whether some of the recent RDOF awardees can live up to their deployment promises, Inside Towers reported. Asked whether the plan is a response, Aiken said “No, we firmly believe that Gigabit fixed wireless is possible today. This proposal is designed to be a catalyst to get [broadband] more robustly deployed.”
Inside Towers asked what could happen if the plan is not followed. Aiken said, “If we don’t follow this path we end up repeating the mistakes of the past. We have spent billions of dollars on broadband deployment in the past and we still have a digital divide. Money alone isn’t going to [fix] it. You need multi-faceted solutions that touch on all these things.”
He then referenced some of the funding bills before Congress with massive continued support and massive consumer subsidies. “We think you can do that, more cost effectively, and still have Gigabit connectivity,” Aiken said.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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