by Dugie Standeford
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...
by Richard Haas
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...
by Richard Haas
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...
by Richard Haas
Agenda item 1.2 of the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23) considers the identification of the upper 6 GHz band (6425—7025 MHz) for IMT. With over a year to go until the event, the debate over the band seems more heated than ever. UK regulator Ofcom recently faced a backlash when… Read more...
by Toby Youell
US President Calvin Coolidge famously said that "the business of America is business". This is certainly the case for spectrum trading. The United States possesses the only significant spectrum market with any real liquidity. The reasons for this pro-trade culture is subject to debate. Several companies have procured spectrum from… Read more...
by Laura Sear
At WRC-23, the mobile industry will highlight the coverage benefits of mobile in the UHF band but one recent study suggests demand is increasing in Europe for PMSE spectrum—most of which is in this band. And PMSE users say the use of the 600 MHz band for mobile in the… Read more...
by Toby Youell
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...
by Toby Youell
The C-Band, comprising frequencies around 3.5 GHz, are widely considered crucial for 5G networks. Canada's nationwide operators, only able to bid on a limited portion of the 3450 - 3650 MHz, competed aggressively this Summer and ended up paying an average of $2.61/MHz/POP, a new record for the band. The… Read more...
by Toby Youell
The FCC's ongoing auction of the 3.7 - 3.98 GHz band, which has raised $78.5 billion and counting, appears to confirm mid-bands' value for the mobile industry. So what next for the mid-bands? Another high-profile band, 6 GHz, is the subject of a worldwide fight between advocates of mobile broadband… Read more...
by Toby Youell
Regulators around the world seek to put spectrum, a natural resource, to its best use for society at large. This means they pursue a variety of domestic public policy objectives such as providing universal access to broadcasting services or having superfast mobile broadband networks. So why did US foreign policy… Read more...