Wireless Org Says Cable Lobbyists Are Trying To Block Allocation of 5G Spectrum To Stymie FWA
CTIA, which represents the wireless industry, has accused the cable industry of lobbying against the allocation of 5G spectrum to slow the advance of fixed wireless access broadband.
In a blog post titled “Cable Is Trying to Use Spectrum Policy to Stop 5G Home Competition,” Nick Ludlum, senior VP and chief communications officer for CTIA, accused lobbyists for the cable industry of posting "disingenuous, or just flat-out inaccurate, statements about global spectrum allocations."
As originally reported by Light Reading, FWA operators including T-Mobile and Verizon Communications, are looking to acquire more spectrum in the lower 3-GHz band to, according to CTIA, “meet the surging demand” for 5G wireless data.
The cable-backed group Spectrum For the Future, however, argues in its own blog posting that these wireless companies want to “pursue old-school approaches to spectrum licensing that will only reinforce the dominance of Chinese equipment from companies like Huawei.”
Sino fears serve as merely a disingenuous scapegoat for cable’s real fear, Ludlum said, which is competition from FWA. Since they emerged three years ago, 5G fixed wireless services from T-Mobile and Verizon have dominated customer additions for home broadband.
In a separate graphic, CTIA also shows the growing 5G “spectrum deficit” — the amount of spectrum wireless carriers actually have now vs. what they need to service 5G demand, per the FCC.
