During 2019 and 2020, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile acquired 73% of the millimeter wave (mmWave) licenses offered in three FCC auctions. Their combined gross bids of $9 billion accounted for 88% of the total. Just a few years earlier, these incumbent operators had begun building their mmWave portfolios through acquisitions in the secondary market. That period marked the… Read More »
The direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communication market is emerging as a highly competitive field, exemplified by the ongoing debates around out-of-band (OOB) power flux density (PFD) regulations. Satellite operators using terrestrial mobile spectrum as a secondary application must adhere to strict PFD limits, which impacts the performance capabilities of D2D services, with significant commercial implications for market players. The… Read More »
The satellite industry has adopted two primary approaches to connecting smartphones to satellites using 5G. The first approach utilizes MSS (Mobile Satellite Service) spectrum, as seen with the Globalstar-Apple collaboration. The second approach employs low-band terrestrial spectrum, such as the PCS band, which is being implemented by SpaceX and planned by startups like Lynk Global and AST Spacemobile.… Read More »
The wireless industry celebrated the FCC’s decision to relax certain restrictions within the CBRS band. This milestone, informally dubbed “CBRS 2.0,” promises to increase the availability of channels over a larger footprint along coastal lines and Federal facilities, and reduce restriction times. The industry views this as a significant advancement. However, how much of an impact this will… Read More »
In recent years, regulators globally have released a significant amount of new spectrum for wireless services, primarily in the mid-bands between 3.3 and 4 GHz [See here and here]. This wave of allocations has largely subsided as most countries have now assigned the majority of the cleared spectrum. We are currently at a point where new spectrum blocks… Read More »
T-Mobile will acquire the wireless assets of USCellular including about 4.5 million subscribers and about 30% of the spectrum assets as the figure below shows [see here]. The value of the transaction is $4.4 billion. USCellular will retain ~70% of its spectrum, which it says it plans to monetize immediately. USCellular will also keep its towers to become… Read More »
Access licensing is a new spectrum licensing mechanism that enables a party to obtain a license for spectrum that is not utilized by the incumbent license holder. Canada recently released the framework that governs access licensing. It identified the Cellular 800 MHz and PCS 1800 MHz bands for this licensing framework in designated rural and remote Tier 5… Read More »
The recent reorganization of the Dish Networks corporate structure raised interest in Dish’s spectrum portfolio. Analysts sought to understand the value of this portfolio in potential asset divestment or as collateral for new debt (see here). In a our new Insight Note, we take a deep dive into the AWS band spectrum holdings of Dish. These holdings combine… Read More »
The 3800 MHz spectrum auction in Canada concluded with total proceeds of C$2.158 billion (US$1.6 billion) for a nationwide allocation of 250 MHz (link to results on ISED web site). To put this result in perspective, the 3500 MHz auction, which concluded in July 2021, raised C$8.91 billion for a nationwide average of 111 MHz. The 3800 MHz… Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Update – April 2023. We published a report on the expected valuation of the Canadian 3800 MHz auction. For additional information see here. Canada will auction its 3800 MHz C-band spectrum beginning on October 24, 2023 [see here]. This is very late! The auction includes 250 MHz between 3650 and 3900 MHz. Together with the 3450 – 3650… Read More »
Auction 110 [see here] for 100 MHz in 3.45 – 3.55 GHz scored $22.5 Billion in gross proceeds for an average of $0.736/MHz-PoP. AT&T, Dish and T-Mobile won 83% of the MHz-PoP. For details, download the full summary here:
The row between the wireless and aviation industries on potential interference between 5G and aircraft radio altimeters is sounding like a storm in a tea cup! The genesis of this dispute is a report in October 2020 by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) citing potential interference to altimeters operating in the 4.2 – 4.4 GHz band… Read More »