Dish Network appears to be behind schedule, both in its deployment of 5G and on its move to an open radio access network, said John Strand of Strand Consult after Dish said it's live in Las Vegas (see 2205040057). “With regard to the announcement that they made in relation to the Samsung agreement, it seems that they have had to admit that they cannot meet their deadline with OpenRAN,” Strand emailed Thursday. “They bought Samsung’s [virtual RAN] solution with a promise that it will be OpenRAN compliant at some point,” he said: “Virtualization and cloudification are the global trends. The challenge for OpenRAN players is to achieve the mix and match of vendors while ensuring performance. The OpenRAN optimization for substitutability, energy consumption, network performance, and security has yet to be proven whereas classic 3GPP [3rd Generation Partnership Project] network elements deliver that today. Dish’s story of mixing and matching vendors is not yet a reality.” Strand sees broader challenges ahead. The U.S. remains “an exciting 5G market with dynamism across the value chain,” but “there is no new US spectrum on the table and the FCC’s spectrum authority is about to expire, so policymakers need to step up if the US is to sustain its advantage,” he said.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
The FCC Wireless Bureau adopted rules for a drive-test model, and parameters for the tests required of mobile providers receiving more than $5 million in annual support through the Alaska Plan. Only two providers, GCI and Copper Valley Wireless, exceed the threshold and must provide data, the Thursday order notes. Much of the item addresses various concerns raised by GCI, with some wins and losses. Only GCI filed comments responding to a notice on proposed rules. GCI expressed concerns that speed-test data "would not accurately represent the ability to place a voice call over a 2G network” and “proposed that, instead, providers demonstrate voice coverage by placing voice calls between five and 30 seconds in duration to a telephone number established for test calls,” the order says: “We find GCI’s suggestion to be a reasonable approach, and therefore we will require it. … Because GCI is the only provider subject to drive testing that has a 2G commitment and GCI’s particular 2G requirement is voice only, we agree with GCI that a test assessing the availability of voice service would be appropriate.” GCI lost on other calls. The bureau overrode GCI objections to a rule that at least 50% of drive tests must be conducted from a vehicle in motion. “GCI argues that, instead of basing frames on middle-mile and last-mile technologies, we should assign frames based only on the speeds a provider reports via its FCC Form 477 filings,” the bureau said. “We disagree. The Alaska Drive-Test Model’s integration of middle-mile and last-mile technologies is consistent with the Alaska Plan Order, the Commission’s rules, the provider performance plans that the Bureau approved, and the policy undergirding the Alaska Plan.” The bureau also asked for additional comment on a proposal to require mobile providers “subject to the drive-test requirement to submit new drive-test data consistent with the drive-test model and parameters if they fail to meet a buildout milestone and later seek to cure a compliance gap.” Comment dates will be set in a Federal Register notice. Representatives of the Alaska Telecom Association, meanwhile, spoke with aides to all four commissioners about the “importance of establishing a path forward” on the state plan. “The group discussed the success of the Alaska Plan in supporting the operation, upgrade, and expansion of both fixed and mobile telecommunication services in Alaska,” a filing said: “Plan participants have met or exceeded mid-term benchmarks and will be enabled to continue to improve services for Alaskans throughout the second half of the Plan.”
The FirstNet board approved a resolution Wednesday that requires AT&T, which is building the network, to beef up indoor coverage by adding small cells. The meeting, streamed from New Hampshire, was the last for Executive Director Ed Parkinson, who's exiting the authority for a job at vendor RapidSOS (see 2204280049).
Dish Network went live with its 5G network in Las Vegas Wednesday, it confirmed. In another 5G development, the FCC awarded 4,041 flexible-use licenses won in the $22.5 billion 3.45 GHz auction, which ended in January, including to AT&T. The carrier has said it’s waiting for those licenses to clear before concurrently deploying 3.45 GHz and C band on towers (see 2204210061).
Sixteen months into the Biden administration, several key communications policy positions remain unfilled, including the State Department official who oversees communications. Another gap is a federal chief technology officer, or anyone within the White House specifically charged with overseeing communications policy. On the positive side, Jessica Rosenworcel has been permanent chair of the FCC since December and Alan Davidson NTIA administrator since January.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) is locked in a fight at the FCC with three Chinese equipment companies -- Hytera Communications, Hikvision USA and Dahua Technology USA -- on whether gear from suppliers on the FCC’s “covered list” of companies deemed to pose a security risk should be barred from being authorized for use in the U.S. MSI executives spoke with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington.
Top U.S.-based Huawei executives said Friday that they're hopeful the Biden administration will be open to revisiting sanctions against the company, in a virtual briefing for reporters.
Public Knowledge and other groups urged FCC action on a March petition asking the regulator to classify interconnected VoIP as a Communications Act Title II service (see 2203020052), in a webinar Friday. With revised net neutrality rules on hold at a 2-2 FCC, Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld said the FCC faces a dilemma, and the time to provide clarity is now.
Private 5G networks are in early stages, with no consistent spectrum available worldwide, experts said during an RCR Wireless webinar Thursday. Speakers warned that no one-size-fits-all solution will meet the needs of companies.
The newly reconstituted NTIA Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting May 26, industry officials said. Members haven’t been told what issues will be addressed this time around. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson is to speak at what's expected to be a largely organizational meeting, scheduled for 1-3 p.m. EDT. NTIA rechartered the committee with a new roster of members released in February (see 2202140045). CSMAC has been in existence since the George W. Bush administration and grew out of a 2004 presidential memorandum on Spectrum Management for the 21st Century. But in recent years, it has been hampered by a lack of political leadership at NTIA (see 2201190062). The committee had its last meeting a year ago (see 2104080060). NTIA didn't comment Thursday.