This year, WifiForward celebrated World WiFi Day with “Moving WiFi Forward: The Value of Unlicensed and Shared Spectrum” an event on Capitol Hill. In the ever-evolving landscape of wireless connectivity, an effective spectrum policy is crucial for achieving national goals and ensuring equitable access to the internet. Read More “World WiFi Day 2023 – Moving WiFi Forward: The Value of Unlicensed and Shared Spectrum”
WifiForward congratulates Anna Gomez on her nomination and Commissioners Carr and Starks on their renominations. Ms. Gomez’s experience at the FCC, NTIA, in international negotiations and in the private sector positions her well to advance a comprehensive and forward-looking spectrum policy for the U.S. If confirmed, we look forward to working with these candidates and all five members of the Commission to expand wireless broadband, spur economic growth and advance innovation through a spectrum policy that furthers coexistence technologies (like unlicensed and shared-licensed services) and exclusive technologies. Read More “WifiForward Statement on President Biden’s Nominations to the FCC”
The following statement can be attributed to WifiForward:
As WifiForward noted in our comments to NTIA for the National Spectrum Strategy, a balanced, comprehensive spectrum policy includes CBRS-like models of shared licensing to promote innovation and competition that enable commercial license holders and government functions to coexist instead of forcing government users to relocate to entirely different spectrum bands. Read More “WifiForward on NTIA’s Request for Comments on the CBRS Framework”
This week, WifiForward submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on the development of a National Spectrum Strategy, emphasizing our support for unlicensed and shared licensed spectrum. And we’re not the only ones: Many other voices chimed in to share the importance of a balanced spectrum policy.
These comments are an important first step towards developing a roadmap for spectrum management that will ensure the U.S. continues to lead on innovation over the next decade. As NTIA seeks to identify additional spectrum for commercial use in increasingly crowded spectrum bands, creating a balanced approach to how spectrum is allocated will play an important role in our nation’s wireless and competitive future. The potential benefits are immense, and the possibilities for the future are endless – so it’s critical that we get the National Spectrum Strategy right. Read More “WifiForward Leads Charge In Support of Unlicensed & Shared Spectrum”
The following statement can be attributed to WifiForward:
“WifiForward applauds NTIA’s decision to solicit feedback for its National Spectrum Strategy and looks forward to participating in this proceeding. American consumers increasingly rely on Wi-Fi to connect to the internet, including for carrying over 80% of their mobile traffic. As consumers, manufacturers, and enterprises look to shared spectrum like CBRS to bring increased competition and deliver specialized 5G services, it’s a critical time to develop a national spectrum plan that balances those needs and ensures that all technologies can continue to advance and keep pace with growing and evolving consumer, enterprise and economic demands with access to unlicensed, shared-licensed and exclusive licensed spectrum.” Read More “WifiForward on NTIA’s National Spectrum Strategy Request for Comment”
The following statement can be attributed to WifiForward:
“The U.S. needs balanced spectrum policies that include shared-licensed, unlicensed, and licensed spectrum and enable the most efficient and effective use of our nation’s airwaves. WifiForward urges Congress to pass a clean renewal of the FCC’s auction authority as soon as possible to allow the FCC to continue its important work of making new spectrum available using an all-of-the-above approach that will benefit innovators and consumers alike.” Read More “WifiForward Statement on Spectrum Auction Authority Lapse”
The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is the 150 MHz band of spectrum between 3.55-3.7 GHz. It employs a 3-tier spectrum sharing regime between government and private sector users in a shared license approach. This has significant benefits below: Read More “The CBRS Success Story”
Getting back to our regularly scheduled FrequencyPULSE with this week’s question: How does the success in the CBRS band impact the future of spectrum policy and the look ahead to the next bands in the spectrum pipeline?
Unlicensed and shared spectrum are proven solutions that deliver more competition, more 5G innovation, more US jobs, more voices and more connections. In 2021 alone, Wi-Fi boosted the U.S. economy by $995 billion — $177 billion more than was originally expected — and contributed 3.2 million jobs to the global economy. The wireless industry touts the economic benefits of licensed spectrum, but those benefits often do not extend to rural and underserved populations, as the carriers’ control of spectrum through exclusive-use licensing allows them to focus on serving areas with a high return on investment. The country is running out of spectrum, and a remarkably broad swath of companies and organizations — representing manufacturing, automotive, agriculture, energy, retail, commercial real estate, communications, media and supply chain industries, as well as schools, libraries, and civil society groups – support an inclusive approach to spectrum policy. So why do the three dominant mobile carriers oppose unlicensed and shared spectrum? To undermine competition and innovation. Read More “WifiForward Statement on CTIA Economic Study”
New on WifiForward: we bring you a printable resource about shared spectrum.
Read More “Shared Licensing Is A Key Part Of A Balanced Spectrum Policy”