Only seven business days after it began, the FCC’s 24 GHz spectrum auction “blow past the $1 billion mark Friday (March 22).” The FCC is auctioning the spectrum “to free up more bandwidth for 5G wireless broadband, to help close the rural digital divide, and to make wireless a stronger competitor to wired broadband. New York and L.A. continue to lead, with bids on licenses there of $28,080,000 and $21,606,000, respectively, with Chicago in distant third with $10,436,000.”
Taneytown officials consider limits on installation of small cell wireless technology
The Taneytown, MD Mayor and City Council discussed an ordinance "that would place limits on the implementation of small cell wireless apparatuses erected on public grounds in the city." The ordinance "would establish a framework for aesthetic criteria that a small-cell provider wo...
What will 5G bring to public safety?
During a session at the recent International Wireless Communications Expo, speakers acknowledged that "5G is only beginning, and it has the potential for paradigm changes — for public safety operations as well as the rest of society." During the panel, Nick Nilan, director of publ...
Report: Fiber-based broadband will power 59% of 1.2 billion connections by 2025
The Broadband Forum and Point Topic recently predicted that there will be 1.2 billion broadband subscribers worldwide by 2025, with fiber-based broadband playing an increasingly important role. The report further predicts that 89% of the expected 1.2 billion subscribers in 2025 wi...
5G’s deployment’s downside? Dip in small cell spend
AGL Media Group reported that there may be other factors affecting small cell rollout, such as regulatory uncertainty surrounding the FCC small cell order. Crown Castle’s Scott Longhurst was quoted stating "we are in a strange 90-day window. Even though the small cell order ...
Viewpoint: D.C. needs to speed up 5G deployment
Vincent Orange, president and CEO of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, penned an op-ed in the Washington Business Journal stating "the robust development of revolutionary 5G networks throughout the city is well overdue." Orange highlighted the benefits of small cells, ranging from pub...
Georgia Senate OKs rural broadband bill
Georgia senators voted 53-1 for a bill primarily aimed at increasing broadband deployment in rural Georgia and would allow the state’s 41 electric membership corporations (EMCs) to get into the broadband business. In a statement, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said that, "Broadband a...