BSA, CableLabs, GSMA and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) are teaming up with the Open RAN Policy Coalition for 'responsible policy action in support of open RAN.'
Officials in the Biden administration offered little specificity when it came to China and Huawei, but they voiced support for a cohesive 5G spectrum strategy and changes to social media oversight.
The US government's Lifeline program collects fees from telecom companies in order to help poor Americans pay for connectivity. AT&T and Verizon are proposing sweeping changes to that setup.
Apple is reportedly preparing to unveil a virtual reality headset as early as next year. But the gadget shouldn't excite 5G operators just yet.
This year promises to include everything from C-band deployments to a possible reset in US-China relations by President Biden. The future of the 5G industry is at stake.
Samsung, the world's largest smartphone vendor, released new flagship Galaxy S21 phones. The gadgets have significant implications for the 5G industry.
Verizon's CEO dispensed with the speeds and feeds that often dominate 5G discussions. Instead, he showed off some real-world 5G services, alongside a tacit nod toward the wider American zeitgeist.
Sky-high prices for 3G spectrum licenses helped to ruin many European operators after auctions in the 2000s. With $70 billion in current bids, the C-band auction could do the same to US operators.
The fact that bidders have so far put up $25 billion in total bids appears to reflect a widespread belief that 5G will ultimately be worth it.
'5G Ultra Wideband,' 'Extended Range 5G,' '5G+,' '5Ge,' '5GTF,' '5G Nationwide' and plain-old '5G' are just some of the labels Americans will have to navigate. Good luck with that.
In 2018, AT&T loudly boasted that it was the first operator in the US to launch mobile 5G in mmWave spectrum. Now, two years later, the operator has little to show for its efforts.
Docomo in Japan is now selling 5G for around half of what its fellow incumbents charge. If Dish enters the 5G market in the US, AT&T and Verizon might be forced into a similar position.
FedEx is working with Dell and Switch to build mini data centers in its facilities for edge computing. What the company might do with those resources could have implications for 5G.
China's telecoms regulator counts fully 600,000 5G basestations in the country. Meantime, one analyst firm has recorded sales of just 6 million 5G phones in the US this year.
Tesla, the world's most valuable auto maker, plans to charge $10,000 for its new self-driving service. Meanwhile, 5G remains free to users on most top-tier mobile plans.
Edge computing promises to reduce users' latency speeds. And now, some operators are not only addressing the space but seeking revenues from the sale of low-latency services.
T-Mobile is on its way toward covering 100 million people with speedy midband 5G this year. And its 5G services are up to 25% cheaper than those from AT&T and Verizon.
AT&T's promotions around the new iPhone are far more aggressive than those from Verizon and T-Mobile. Indeed, one analyst warned that it's the most aggressive promotion ever.
From its pricing plans to its support of Verizon's millimeter wave 5G strategy, Apple had plenty to say during its iPhone 12 unveiling.
A disagreement among Trump appointees over 5G has engulfed everyone from the FCC to the DoD. 'Our government is a mess,' concludes one financial analyst firm.
The 'year of 5G' has come and gone a few times now, but it's clear that 4G continues to play the role of workhorse while 5G stands only as the showhorse.
The US wireless industry is rallying around the C-V2X standard for car-to-car communications, and is warning that China could dominate the market if action isn't taken.
AT&T and Verizon are mobilizing against a spectrum-leasing deal between T-Mobile and Columbia Capital. But the upcoming C-band auction is at the heart of the issue.
T-Mobile has more than double the low- and midband 5G spectrum of Verizon. But what will CEO Mike Sievert do when Apple launches the 5G iPhone?
The event attracted speakers ranging from Rakuten's Tareq Amin to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. That's because open RAN today is everything to everyone.
The Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency said it's going to 'analyze components from 5G vendors,' but the details of the program are unclear at best.
Midband spectrum licenses in the middle of nowhere, Texas, sold for an astounding $141 per MHz/POP. And that has significant implications for private networks, IoT and 5G.
Comcast, Charter and Cox collectively spent more than $1 billion on wireless spectrum. Will they choose the safe buildout path, or will they risk an open RAN strategy?
Dish Network's work with smaller vendors and Rakuten's turn away from Cisco and Nokia are early indicators that Open RAN may well be having an effect on the market.
President Trump's mention of a 'national' 5G network raises questions around Newt Gingrich and Rivada Networks, but lacks information, substance, detail and logic.
Whether it's from Amazon or Microsoft or Google, the perfect storm of online game streaming is coming, and those operators that are unprepared will soon stand out.
Infinera's outgoing CEO described the situation as a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' for companies that compete against the Chinese vendor.
FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly has worked to free up critical midband spectrum for 5G. Now he doesn't have a job, reportedly because he disagreed with Trump's campaign against Twitter.
Executives at companies ranging from EdgeMicro to Deutsche Telekom have suggested that videoconferencing could be improved by edge computing. But others offer a decidedly less rosy view of the notion.
Starlink has promised to offer 100Mbit/s downloads nationwide, with latency of roughly 30mn. But given the number of unknowns surrounding the LEO provider, ISPs probably don't need to worry just yet.
As companies like Ericsson, AT&T and Comcast prepare to report their second-quarter results, the industry will be listening intently for comments on the recession, network capex and what the future holds.
Masks are becoming de rigueur among retail stores operated by the nation's biggest wireless network operators. But that doesn't mean every store that sells cell phones requires a mask.
The 3GPP is expected to issue 'Release 16' of the 5G standard Friday. It will support fancy new technologies like network slicing, Integrated Access Backhaul and vehicle platooning.
Verizon has loudly touted its plans to expand its mmWave 5G network. But AT&T and T-Mobile have remained conspicuously silent on the topic.
While dozens of companies debate the US government's role in open RAN, the almighty dollar is driving the discussion.
Microsoft's CEO sees a future of 'remote everything.' As a result, there's a growing consensus among lawmakers that Internet access is no longer a 'nice to have' but a 'need to have.'
President Trump is reportedly preparing a $1 trillion stimulus proposal that would include a 5G element. But how the president doles out money for 5G remains a mystery.
The US State Department is proposing an 'Integrated and Open Networks' (ION) approach to 5G and Huawei, but the effort doesn't seem to have much support beyond US Attorney General William Barr.
The FCC has been tasked with ripping Huawei's equipment out of US wireless networks. Now it has to figure out what goes in its place.
Growing evidence points to a major new agreement between Verizon and Walmart that involves the retailer using Verizon's 5G and edge computing services for a variety of retail offerings.
Also, it happened on a Tuesday (which would reinforce the alliteration in the headline) but I decided that thing was totally tiring.
One of the premier US telecom standards organizations is now pushing for a new public-private partnership to ensure the US 'will be at the forefront of 6G development and deployment.'
AT&T said it will comply with the National Advertising Review Board and will discontinue its '5G Evolution' adverting. But its '5GE' icon will stay.
Cable providers like Comcast and Charter have already outstripped AT&T and Verizon in terms of quarterly postpaid mobile customer additions. What they do next could cement their mobile ambitions.
Verizon's Hans Vestberg wants to take 5G nationwide, just in time for a 5G iPhone in the fall. But he's working to lower expectations for nationwide 5G working in lowband spectrum.
Is global Internet traffic going to return to normal as the pandemic subsides? Or will it remain where it is? Corning's Wendell Weeks might have some insight here.
The Wi-Fi industry is targeting areas like fixed wireless, telehealth, VR, precision manufacturing, private networks and smart cities for expansion. That could worry 5G folks.
Facebook is investing $5.7 billion into one of India's leading mobile network operators. Could Dish Network score the same kind of agreement with an Internet company for its 5G ambitions?
Samsung has long worked to match its products to network operators' desires. But in 5G that strategy does not appear to have paid off.
A cell site in New Jersey appears to have been vandalized due to a belief that 5G causes COVID-19.
Some Wall Street analysts see the spread of the new coronavirus as hastening society's embrace of online life. And that could motivate network operators to invest in their networks.
Verizon is widely expected to dominate the FCC's planned auction of midband C-Band spectrum for 5G. That's because there's no firm limit to how much C-Band spectrum Verizon can acquire.
Smart city executives are leaving AT&T and Verizon. The reason? The FCC's new small cell rules eliminate the need for operators to push for smart city agreements.
Will 5G go up to 10 Gbit/s? The application of networking technologies, including carrier aggregation across wide stretches of spectrum, could get us there... at some point.
TracFone, the largest MVNO in the US, recently hinted at a service called SmartSIM. If TracFone does indeed launch such an offering, what would it look like?
If you're still going to Barcelona this year, please let me know.
Small cells are rolling out in neighborhoods all over the US. I decided to go find mine.
5G is going to play a big role during this year's Super Bowl. But each of the top US wireless network operators is taking a slightly different tack when it comes to the big game.
A new year is upon us, but neither Verizon nor AT&T has shared concrete, quantifiable plans for 5G in millimeter-wave spectrum in 2020. Is this cause for concern?
Companies dealing with users' cellphone location data promise that it's kept securely and anonymously. A new report from the NYT again serves to cast serious doubts on those claims.
Today's 5G customers can boast of having the latest and greatest, but next year their phones are going to be rendered obsolete by the launch of 5G in lowband spectrum.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has a difficult decision to make about exactly how to auction C-Band spectrum for 5G. Hanging in the balance are potentially billions of dollars.
Sprint confirmed that its first 5G customers are consuming three to five times more data than its 4G customers. This certainly indicates demand, but it also raises questions about how operators will profit from 5G.
While some companies have been loudly touting their reliance on US suppliers, it's unclear how far that trend might progress before causing concerns among international suppliers.
If you like cage matches, AI-powered killer robots and 1980s sci-fi movies, you'll love the Spectrum Collaboration Challenge from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
ZenKey is the new 'single sign-on' service from the nation's four big wireless network operators. If history is any indication, it won't last long.
A deep dive into T-Mobile's fixed wireless service over LTE – complete with detailed commentary from a current customer – offers some interesting insights into what it means for Internet service in the future.
New tests of T-Mobile's 5G network in New York City raise plenty of questions about how exactly it works. However, the operator is pushing aside those questions and instead is embarking on a 5G advertising campaign against Verizon.
A modern-day morality play is slowly developing around the US telecom providers that have been caught up in the hoopla surrounding China's Huawei.
We're days away from initial commercial deployments in the 3.5GHz CBRS spectrum band, often called 'Goldilocks spectrum' because of its propagation characteristics. It certainly appears to be just right, given the diversity of initial commercial applications.
Apple is rumored to be working on some kind of AR-capable headset. If the gadget is released, it could create the kind of cultural zeitgeist that the original iPhone did.
Both AT&T and Verizon said they will show off 5G services in NFL football stadiums. But the details of their announcements highlight the fact that it's still early days in the 5G space.
According to new figures from BayStreet Research, 5G phones aren't exactly flying off the shelves.
President Trump's personal aversion to globalization and trade, and his promotion of US-based manufacturing, appears to be pushing some 5G providers toward American vendors.
Verizon is taking a page out of Gillette's playbook by announcing five (5!!!) different unlimited plans. And as for 5G, it's definitely going to cost you extra – at some point.
Dish Network is hoping to enter the wireless industry as a disruptive MVNO while it builds a 5G network. But what exactly are the company's plans?
Mobile 5G services are popping up around the country. However, there are plenty of reasons that such services won't replace customers' wired, in-home Internet connections.
Yes, Dish Network faces an uphill climb in its plan to build a 5G network covering 70% of the US population by 2023. But don't count it out completely.
From cable's wireless growth to Sprint's expected losses, here's what to expect from the next few weeks.
The FCC said it's moving to release valuable midband spectrum for 5G with its new 2.5GHz action, but opponents argue American students will suffer as a result. The truth is that Sprint already owns most of the nation's 2.5GHz holdings.
Now that all of the major US wireless network operators have launched some type of commercial mobile 5G service, it's worth seeing exactly how they're pricing the offering. The results are anticlimactic, to say the least.
AT&T said that '5G+ speeds, where available, will be capped at 2Gbps.' Why? Because "it helps provide a consistent experience" and "doesn't limit" its future options. Or something like that.
The arguments around the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile are increasingly plunging into the political morass – but that might be part of John Legere's ultimate plan.
Amazon is reportedly interested in purchasing the assets that might be divested from the merger of Sprint and T-Mobile. But what exactly does the Internet giant want to do with those assets?
AT&T has promised to offer 5G nationwide by 2020, but how exactly the operator might do that has remained a mystery. One industry analyst has a solid theory: AT&T will use 700MHz to take 5G nationwide.
The proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile took a big step forward with support from the chairman of the FCC, but plenty of questions remain, including whether a Boost divestiture would create competition in the US market and whether anyone would buy it.
The global wireless industry rushed a barebones version of the 5G standard out the door so it could get to market more quickly. Today's 5G certainly reflects that haste.
The GSMA recently recommended that phones show a 5G icon even when they can't find 5G NR coverage. Thus, it's clear that the relative simplicity of today's mostly ubiquitous '4G LTE' status icon is not going to carry over into the 5G future.
The chances that Sprint and T-Mobile will receive approval for their merger proposal continue to dim. And that leads to the next obvious question: What will Sprint and T-Mobile do if they don't receive regulatory approval?
Mobile network operators like AT&T and Verizon might team with big cloud companies like Amazon or Microsoft to tackle edge computing.
The nation's four big wireless operators want to offer single sign-on services like Facebook and Google. But their collective track record in the privacy and security department pretty much makes this a non-starter.
No, it's not because Trump tweeted about 6G. It's because the FCC voted to allow testing above 95GHz, and a bunch of people think that this is where the next generation of wireless will happen.
Despite analyst skepticism, Dish executives continue to argue that the company will be able to make a splash with a new, nationwide 5G network. And Japan's Rakuten appears to offer some evidence to support those claims.
With China's Huawei swept up in a global geopolitical drama, the company's MWC19 lanyard sponsorship has suddenly taken on a new edge.
The Sacramento Kings have pledged to remain on the cutting edge of the 5G technology revolution. But in a deep dive with the team's networking executives, it's became clear that 5G might really just be another drag on the bottom line of the sports franchise.