Diane Rinaldo was the former acting administrator of the NTIA during the first Trump administration. And she's expecting changes as his new administration begins.
According to a former head of the NTIA during the first Trump administration, there's a good chance the incoming president's new administration will take a more favorable view on fixed wireless access (FWA).
"They have started to look at other technologies that have the ability to move a little quicker and cost a lot less" than fiber, said Diane Rinaldo, who was the former acting administrator of the NTIA during the first Trump administration.
FWA is dramatically cheaper and faster to install than fiber. However, fiber provides much faster speeds and significantly more network capacity.
Rinaldo said she doesn't expect the incoming Trump administration to reduce the amount of money in the Biden administration's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which is designed to funnel $42.45 billion through US states for broadband networks in rural areas.
"I don't anticipate any of that funding gets clawed back," Rinaldo said.
But she did say that she expects incoming officials to change the program in order to take a technology-neutral approach toward BEAD awards, rather than a fiber-first approach.
That's likely music to the ears of satellite and fixed wireless providers, given that under the Biden administration's current rules – developed by the NTIA – most of the $42.45 billion in the BEAD program is intended for fiber networks.
FWA back again
Rinaldo – who has also lobbied for open RAN technology since her tenure at the NTIA – made her comments during an event hosted by FWA equipment supplier Tarana Wireless.
California-based Tarana has so far sold its equipment to more than 250 service providers in 24 countries. But it and other FWA supporters have bemoaned the Biden administration's fiber favoritism. Indeed, a number of FWA players have shifted to fiber as a result.
If the Trump administration does rework BEAD to make it indifferent toward networking technologies, that could potentially funnel more BEAD cash toward FWA vendors like Tarana.
"Preferring fiber builds in nearly all cases – which involve significantly more construction and labor – will delay deployments," FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told Congress in July. "We have a range of next-generation technologies that can offer robust, affordable, high-speed Internet services – from 5G fixed wireless to a new generation of low Earth orbit satellites – that can reach unconnected families virtually overnight. The Biden Administration's restrictions will prevent states from funding projects that could quickly bridge the digital divide."
Carr is widely expected to score Trump's nomination to lead the FCC.
BEAD money will be distributed by US states, and some have already indicated an interest in FWA. But the incoming Trump administration could create more incentives for states to allocate BEAD funding to FWA operations as well as satellite services like those from SpaceX and Amazon.
A question of spectrum
One key element in the FWA discussion is spectrum. For example, both Verizon and T-Mobile use licensed spectrum for their FWA offerings. Licensed, exclusive-use spectrum cannot be accessed by other providers and is therefore considered more reliable. Meanwhile, smaller providers – and many Tarana customers – transmit their FWA offerings over unlicensed spectrum.
It's not clear whether the incoming Trump administration will make a distinction between licensed and unlicensed FWA. The Biden administration has worked to prevent BEAD funds from going to FWA providers using unlicensed spectrum. Carr, for his part, has argued that BEAD funding should not be allocated to locations already served by FWA operations in unlicensed spectrum.
But spectrum could also be a major limiting factor for FWA providers. That's because the amount of spectrum available to a fixed wireless network operator often can determine the number of customers the operator can support. The more spectrum, the more customers.
Thus, Verizon and T-Mobile may not be able to pursue BEAD funding if they don't also get more spectrum to support those customers. Both companies have already outlined plans to double the size of their FWA customer base by 2028 – without BEAD money.
"Spectrum policy is key to the debate about how much market share fixed wireless will take from fixed wireline broadband services," wrote Blair Levin, a policy adviser to New Street Research and a former high-level FCC official, in a recent note to investors. "If the status quo lingers, that is positive for fixed wireline broadband, particularly cable. If new spectrum becomes available that can be utilized for fixed wireless, that is positive for the wireless companies."
Already FWA has gobbled up the vast majority of growth in the US broadband industry over the past year, currently commanding around 7% of the market.
You May Also Like
