The government’s plan to auction spectrum in the so-called AWS-3 band received a significant boost this week as the Department of Defense agreed to relocate current operations in the 1755-1780 MHz band to a shared arrangement in the 2025-2110 MHz band. The move will...
The federal government re-iterated plans to free up more spectrum assets for the benefit of consumers, including looking at ways for greater sharing of resources between federal agencies and wireless operators.
In a White House memorandum, President Barack Obama laid out several steps designed to...
The nation’s attempt to put together a public-safety wireless network gained leadership today as the FirstNet board of directors announced the hiring of Bill D’Agostino, Jr., as GM. D’Agostino will head up FirstNet’s ambitious attempt to construct a nationwide mobile broadband network to serve...
Expect new relationships and tricky negotiations. Everyone wants priority via LTE – the first responders in any emergency, utilities for mission-critical services, and wireless carriers who don’t want to risk unhappy customers. Those who are used to owning assets and having sole control may...
Updated: LightSquared’s attempts to become a wholesale provider of mobile broadband services appears to have come to an end as government regulators have declared that interference between LightSquared’s proposed spectrum and some GPS equipment was unavoidable. The decision comes just over a year after...
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said it plans to study spectrum in the 1755 MHz to 1850 MHz bands to see if the frequencies can be converted to commercial use. The band currently is used by the Department of Defense, federal law enforcement...
The National Association of Broadcasters accused Time Warner Cable Co. of hoarding spectrum in a letter sent to several members of Congress Friday. The broadcaster lobbying group said that if a spectrum crisis truly exists, companies like TWC should not be allowed to hoard...
LightSquared Subsidiary L.L.C. received good news from the Federal Communications Commission that will allow the satellite communications provider to soon add terrestrial services to its offering.The FCC noted in a report that while on a macro level LightSquared’s plans to offer both terrestrial- and...
Looking to stem objections to its planned network launch, LightSquared said it would fully cooperate on “rigorous” testing procedures to ensure that its plans to offer both satellite/terrestrial and terrestrial-only wireless services do not interfere with GPS offerings.In a Jan. 21 letter to Federal...
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said it is concerned that LightSquared’s proposal to sell wholesale terrestrial-only services could cause interference to navigation and E-911 systems. The agency said the situation must be assessed before any other action is taken.LightSquared is authorized to build...
The Commerce Department has identified 115 megahertz of spectrum that could be freed up within the next five years for mobile and fixed wireless broadband services. The government also released a timetable to free more spectrum as part of President Obama's initiative to find...
While 64% of Americans have broadband access, and the majority of Americans who don't have it say they don't want it, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to closing the gap in the digital divide, according to the federal government, which said it just completed...
Contraband cellphones are the top problem today at prisons. Yet, attempts to block cellphone usage by prisoners has been a controversial topic – wireless operators don't like cellphone jammers because they can block legal communications – and yet prison officials need to find a...
Carriers, tower companies, infrastructure vendors and the organizations that represent and lobby for them in Washington, D.C., would like to have more muscle when it comes to tower-siting issues. While the wireless industry has made some inroads of late, there's only so much it...
Motorola Inc. and the city of San Francisco plan to build out a public-safety network at 700 MHz using LTE technology under a $50.6 million government grant. The award marks the first time the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has given money to fund...
SAN DIEGO – During a press conference with reporters at Qualcomm Inc.'s Uplinq developer's conference, CEO Paul Jacobs said Qualcomm's relationship to its subsidiary, FLO TV, likely will change in the next year.Jacobs was touting the data-caching capabilities of FLO technology, which he said...
President Barak Obama issued a memorandum to free up 500 megahertz of spectrum in the next 10 years, directing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Federal Communications Commission to free up federal and nonfederal spectrum. The details of the president's four-point...
As we await the release of the FCC's National Broadband Plan on March 17th, PRTM is hopeful that the forthcoming recommendations will effectively serve their intended purpose to help reinvigorate the United States' leadership in broadband availability, speeds, and services. While details of...
Even the government is weighing in on the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to develop a National Broadband Plan. The Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Monday filed comments with the FCC encouraging the commission to free up more spectrum...
Word hit the streets yesterday from the National Telecommunications Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Services that there's only going to be one more round of broadband funding. Nothing earth-shaking here. It's been expected that NTIA/RUS would consolidate the final two funding rounds. If...
In responses to a Federal Communications Commission Notice of Inquiry posted in late August seeking comment on the competitiveness of the wireless industry and wireless innovation and investment, industry trade association CTIA laid out arguments that while the domestic wireless market is one of...
As president and CEO of PCIA – the Wireless Infrastructure Association, Michael Fitch is charged with overseeing the group's mission of supporting the infrastructure necessary to make wireless communications and information available at all times and in all places. While the task may seem...
The tower industry gets its turn on the trade show spotlight this week as PCIA’s 2009 Wireless Infrastructure Show is set to kick off at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. The event’s festivities start on Monday, Sept. 21 with the...
The government said it received almost 2,200 applications totaling $28 billion in broadband stimulus package requests. "Applicants requested nearly seven times the amount of funding available, which demonstrates the substantial interest in expanding broadband across the Nation," said Lawrence E. Strickling, assistant secretary...
