The White House announced a long-term spectrum plan in November, but the FCC still lacks auction authority.
LAS VEGAS, January 9, 2024 – More spectrum is needed to expand 5G mobile networks in the United States, experts said Tuesday at CES.
“We not only need to open up more spectrum bands, we need to use them as efficiently as possible,” he said. chris lewispresident and CEO of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge.
Mr Lewis cited the National Spectrum Strategy as a step in the right direction. This is a plan proposed by the White House in November that would explore the possibility of reusing approximately 2,800MHz and establish a long-term spectrum planning framework.
Lewis said strengthening the domestic spectrum pipeline and promoting unlicensed use and dynamic spectrum sharing should benefit future 5G deployments.
The plan “sets out the right principles for moving forward,” he said.
To make all of this happen, the Federal Communications Commission will need to update its spectrum auction authority, something the commission is urging lawmakers to do. Congress first allowed the powers to expire in March, but efforts to restore them have stalled.
A stopgap measure was passed in December that allows the commission to issue licenses purchased before they expire. These will be primarily used by T-Mobile to expand its 5G footprint.
The World Radiocommunication Council made hundreds of megahertz of spectrum available for licensed mobile use around the world in December as part of its efforts to meet the demands of growing 5G networks.
Some of it is already reserved for Wi-Fi and other unauthorized uses in the United States.
chris emmonsVerizon’s vice president of devices and accessories said freeing up more spectrum will allow the company to continue expanding home broadband with its 5G network. Some states have expressed concerns about the capacity of these networks as cell traffic is prioritized during busy times, but Emmons said fixed wireless broadband will be more sufficient on 5G networks than previous standards. He said that.
“Fixed wireless access has been a long-held dream for consumers,” he said. “There were attempts at 3G, there were attempts at 4G. People have tried a lot of things over the years, and now we really have fixed wireless solutions that scale well.”
“As long as we continue to get the spectrum that we need, we will design it properly and address all of these use cases,” Emmons said.
