Category Archives: Wireless Networks

Emergency Roaming: Mitigating the Adverse Impact of Mobile Network Failures

A spate of recent telecom network failures has emphasized the importance of accessing emergency services, including 911 calling and texting, during network outages. Emergency or disaster roaming enables access to emergency services during such network outages. Most emergency calls are made from cell phones, which in some markets could reach as high as 95% of all emergency calls.… Read More »

The Trials and Tribulations of Neutral Hosts

Two weeks ago, we published an Insight Note to our clients on the neutral host business using Crown Castle (CCI) as an example to highlight the challenges of the small cell hosting model. In our Note, which you can download below, we detailed the most critical challenges associated with small cell deployments. We also answered the question of… Read More »

Highlights of Canada’s New NCL Spectrum Licensing Framework

Canada became the latest country to make spectrum available for enterprise private wireless networks (see here for the global market). Using a 80 MHz slice of C-band spectrum between 3900 MHz – 3980 MHz, enterprises and service providers will be able to apply for a spectrum license under the Non-Competitive Local Licensing Framework (NCL). NCL aims to cater… Read More »

A Look Under The Hood Of The FCC National Broadband Map

The FCC recently released version 2 of the National Broadband Map. It’s an ambitious project that aims to provide information on the available connectivity services at every location in the US. The NTIA plans to use the map to identify unserved and underserved communities to provide funding under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. I was… Read More »

Telecom Cloud Platforms: A White Knight or Trojan Horse?

The extension of the public cloud to telecom networks is one of the most important technology trends with far reaching consequences for both cloud providers and telcos. Cloud providers are making an aggressive bid for telcos to host their network infrastructure on the public cloud. They argue that this will help telcos cut their costs, evolve their service… Read More »

Millimeter Wave Has Failed. Or Has It Really?

Proponents of millimeter wave (mmWave) access technology loud its success by citing the number of completed auctions. Looking at the quality of these auctions reveals a contrasting conclusion: mmWave is struggling to gain the interest of mobile network operators. Except the United States and Australia, the demand for mmWave licenses is low; and operators are not willing to… Read More »

Direct-to Handset Satellites: Are They Doing it Wrong?

Direct-to-handset (DTH) satellite service is better off using millimeter wave spectrum than mobile spectrum. The three models prevailing today – spectrum infill, spectrum slice, and over-the-top – have inherent challenges that limit market access (see my previous post). In this post, I share a perspective on how to improve the commercial viability of DTH constellations using mmWave spectrum.… Read More »

How the Different Direct-to-Handset Satellite Constellations Stack Up

Update – May 23, 2023: We have published a report detailing the technical performance of AST Space Mobile direct-to-handset LEO constellation. Click here for additional information. Different approaches are possible to enable Direct-to-Handset (DTH) satellite connectivity. For instance, there’s the approach by T-Mobile and SpaceX (see here) and by Apple and Globalstar (see here). AST SpaceMobile is taking… Read More »

Enterprise Private Wireless Networks: 5G or Wi-Fi?

In telecom circles 5G is a panacea for all problems: there is a ready 5G application for any connectivity need. This makes 5G dominate private wireless network projections, while Wi-Fi is either ignored or dismissed as unreliable or unable to provide millisecond-grade latency. This ignores the fact that Wi-Fi is progressing along a roadmap that addresses its shortcomings… Read More »

Dispelling The Sustainability Myth in Telecom Networks: What’s Worth The Investment?

I wrote this Insight Note for two reasons: 1. The rise in cost of energy threatens to stress the financial performance of service providers; and 2. I want to provide context for potential investments in power saving technologies to help investors decide which would be worthwhile. Energy consumption in telecom networks has become a confounding issue because of… Read More »

Apple-Globalstar: Just an SOS or Birth of the “Global” Telco?

Apple launched the iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via satellite service allowing a user to send and receive text messages over Globalstar satellites (here). The direct satellite-to-handset service operates over Globalstar Gen2 satellites which will start to expire by 2025. Apple will incur costs in excess of $400 million to fund Globalstar launch 17 new satellites by the… Read More »

T-Mobile + SpaceX Direct Satellite-to-Handset Service: Lots of Hype and Little Reality

This will start as a technical post, but I will relate it to practical and commercial conclusions at the end. T-Mobile and Space-X announced a partnership to provide direct satellite-to-handset service using T-Mobile PCS frequency band. While this is new to Space-X, there are other players in the industry working on the same objective, primarily AST SpaceMobile and… Read More »

A Report on Power Consumption in Mobile Networks

There are many misconceptions about power consumption in mobile networks. Some of the root cause of these misconceptions come from lobbying groups working on behalf of the wireless industry. Several publications by such organizations have purposely confounded the topic. Mobile network operators for their part have been largely silent. As an energy crisis grips the globe, it is… Read More »

What Spectrum for Enterprise Private Networks Tell Us About Risks and Opportunities

Countries are in process of allocating spectrum for private wireless network, but are they assigning the right spectrum? Most of the allocated spectrum falls in the mid-bands, primarily 3.x GHz, or the millimeter-wave bands (24, 26, 27, 28 and 38 GHz). A close look shows the fragmentation in allocated spectrum which could not be good for economies of… Read More »

Wi-Fi vs. 5G In Enterprise Private Networks

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) brings a number of features that elevate the performance of Wi-Fi significantly from that of older generations. These features solve many of the challenges that limit the performance of current Wi-Fi networks, and raise the performance to a level close to that of cellular networks based on 4G and 5G technologies. Since 5G private networks… Read More »