Today’s approval of two LTE-U devices is an important milestone in unlicensed spectrum policy and consumer protection. Two years ago, equipment manufacturers submitted LTE-U devices for approval to the FCC which could have impaired the millions of consumers who rely on Wi-Fi. Instead of regulating, the FCC encouraged industry to work together to develop a plan to mitigate that harm. The result is the Wi-Fi Alliance test plan. WifiForward is pleased that Ericsson and Nokia have certified that they have passed the complete industry-developed coexistence plan. As unlicensed technologies continue to meet our growing demand for broadband, we hope today’s announcement demonstrates how the Wi-Fi community will work hard and successfully to develop sharing mechanisms to connect more people.
WifiForward, a national coalition of consumer and public interest groups, internet service providers, semiconductor chip makers, wireless broadband equipment manufacturers, and content providers, released the following statement on President Trump’s appointment of Commissioner Ajit Pai as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC):
Read More “WifiForward Statement on Chairman Pai”
Today WifiForward, a multi-stakeholder coalition of public interest and consumer groups, tech companies and Internet service providers, released the following statement in response to the release of the final LTE-U Coexistence Test Plan:
Read More “WifiForward Statement on LTE-U Coexistence Test Plan”
WifiFoward welcomes two new members to its growing list of companies, organizations and public sector institutions concerned about the future of Wi-Fi. PEN America, a membership association of prominent literary writers and editors working to defend free expression, and Private Internet Access (PIA), a VPN service provider specializing in secure, encrypted Internet connections, have joined the coalition to help advocate the need for more spectrum access to protect Wi-Fi against future bandwidth congestion.
Read More “WifiFoward Welcomes PEN America and Private Internet Access”
The following statement is attributable to Bill Maguire, director of WifiForward’s Save our Wi-Fi campaign on the introduction of The Promoting Unlicensed Spectrum Act of 2015 (original release below):
Read More “WifiForward Statement on the Promoting Unlicensed Spectrum Act Introduced Today by Senator Schatz”
We applaud the co-sponsors of the Federal Incentive Spectrum Act for their innovative approach to freeing up more spectrum for our growing mobile broadband usage. We are hopeful that policymakers will consider making more spectrum available for unlicensed use as these frequencies become available. Wi-Fi carries the majority of Internet traffic and unlicensed spectrum has led to the creation of new technologies that consumers rely on, new jobs and businesses, and billions of dollars in economic growth annually (generating more than $222 billion in 2013 and an expected $547 billion in 2017) and we’re hopeful these leading policymakers prioritize finding a balance between unlicensed and licensed policy.
WASHINGTON (Sept. 23, 2015) – The R Street Institute announced today it has joined a host of technology companies and public-policy groups in the Wifi Forward coalition. The coalition aims to preserve, protect and extend existing technical specifications for Wi-Fi use.
Read More “R Street Joins Wifi Forward Coalition to Expand Wi-Fi Availability”
WifiForward commends the Broadband Opportunity Council for underscoring the importance of Wi-Fi, powered by unlicensed spectrum, to our communities. Wi-Fi serves as a crucial on-ramp to the Internet, connecting citizens who have the fewest options for getting online. That connectivity is essential in providing access to job and educational opportunities, improving commerce, supporting economic development, and providing a sandbox for wireless innovation.
The members of WifiForward believe that Wi-Fi and unlicensed technologies are critical to the U.S. economy and to consumers. Intensive and innovative use of unlicensed spectrum frequencies – which power Wi-Fi and many other consumer and industrial technologies like Bluetooth, ZigBee and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) – is an incredible success story:
Read More “WifiForward Launches the Save Our Wi-Fi Campaign”
Today, The Senate Commerce Committee and a wide variety of stakeholders from the automotive and telecommunications industries announced progress initiating the testing of spectrum sharing between connected vehicles and Wi-Fi and other technology in the 5.9 gigahertz band, in a pair of letters from lawmakers and industry stakeholders to the heads of three federal agencies. (Senate letter on 5 GHz , Letter on testing)
Read More “WifiForward Applauds Chairman Thune on 5 Ghz Band Spectrum Testing”
