Spectrum usually isn't a particularly partisan issue in the US but the Trump Administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) could be setting up a clash over access to unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi. Read more...

We speak to Harold Feld about the latest developments, including the battle over FCC auction authority, the 3.98—4.2 GHz band and the influence of Elon Musk. Read more...

It was a big day for spectrum sharing when US regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened the 3.5 GHz CBRS spectrum band to commercial operations. The band is unique in that it's shared among unlicensed users, licensed users, and the US Navy. Companies such as Helium, Dish Network and… Read more...

US institutions and regulators have a deep trust in market mechanics and capitalism. The benefits of this can be debatable. The US spends nearly twice as much on healthcare as the average OECD country but has the lowest life expectancy compared to its peers. In the spectrum policy world, however,… Read more...

Being a confusing subject, spectrum managers often resort to talking about frequencies as if it is land. This is intuitive because many spectrum policy concepts apply to real estate too. A usage right can be thought of as owning land, while technical limits on usage resemble planning permission rules. It… Read more...

Unlike many countries, the head of the US regulator for commercial spectrum, the FCC, is directly appointed by the President. This means that each change of Administration results in a new Chair. The last Chair, Ajit Pai, took an energetic approach to spectrum management. He quickly implemented the 600 MHz… Read more...

The frontiers of useful and valuable spectrum, we are told, are constantly moving upwards. A visitor from 2010, for example, might be shocked by Thai mobile operators paying $375 million for the 26 GHz band, or their South Korean counterparts paying $550 million for the 28 GHz band. The same,… Read more...

The FCC is considering secondary mobile use of most of this band, adding to the groundswell of interest created by the plans to use 4.5 GHz for 5G in China and Japan. But wider adoption is likely to be hampered by NATO’s use of the band in Europe, as Toby Youell explains. Research… Read more...

Only the 3.4 - 3.6 GHz and 3.6 - 3.7 GHz frequencies have been harmonised for mobile use at ITU level but there is growing support among  vendors and operators to see 4G and future 5G services in  3.4 - 4.2 GHz.   Regulators in Europe plan to allocate 3.4-3.8 GHz… Read more...

Brussels will be involved in every aspect of 5G development. The FCC won't. We're in a familiar place but this time its important we work together. Read more...