2018 Quilt Winter Member Meeting

ALEKSANDR YANKELEVICH, BRANDMEYER CENTER FOR APPLIED ECONOMICS

WIRELESS SOLUTIONS FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE

UNIVERSAL SERVICE: WHAT IS IT?

Universal Service: principle that all Americans should have access to communications services.

• FCC recognizes high-speed Internet as essential communications technology

• FCC continues to support voice service

UNIVERSAL SERVICE: HOW ARE WE DOING?

Source: FCC https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/residential-fixed-internet-access-service-connections-per-1000-households-by-census-tract/

UNIVERSAL SERVICE: HOW ARE WE DOING?

Pew: 11% of Americans don’t use the Internet (Jan. 2018)

• Rural usage declined between 2016 and 2018 (81% to 78%).• Suburban usage remained the same at 90% and urban usage

increased from 89% to 92%.• 95% of Americans own a cell phone and 77% own a

smartphone. These numbers are 91% and 65% for rural Americans.

• 12% of Americans in 2016 owned a smartphone, but did not use broadband at home.

UNIVERSAL SERVICE: HOW ARE WE DOING?

• FCC 2018 Broadband Progress Report:

• 92.3 percent of all Americans (298 mil) have access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service (Dec. 2016).

• 69.3 percent of rural Americans have access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps while 97.9 percent of urban Americans do.

• Over 99 percent of Americans have access to mobile LTE with a minimum advertised speed of 5 Mbps/1 Mbps (including 98.2 percent of rural Americans).

HOW DO WE FILL THE REMAINING GAPS

RURAL WIRELESS OPTIONS

• Educational Broadband Service (EBS)

• Television White Spaces (TVWS)

• Fixed Microwave Services

EDUCATIONAL BROADBAND SERVICE

• Uses: Educational services used for the transmission of instructional materials.• Suitable and available for mobile telephony/broadband services.

• Frequencies: Part of 2496-2690 MHz band.

• Licensing: Widely available in rural areas, but difficult to obtain a license (see https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/7521245412.pdf).

EBS USAGE EXAMPLES

Northern Michigan University (NMU).

• NMU students issued wireless capable devices. Some students don’t have Internet access at home.

• NMU filed FCC Waiver applications to obtain EBS throughout the Michigan Upper Peninsula.

• Project leveraged Merit Network’s extensive fiber network.

NMU EBS LICENSES

EBS USAGE EXAMPLES

Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS)

• ACPS has one-to-one student laptop policy for 4th grade and above.

• 22.5 MHz of EBS had been licensed to school district.• Schools connected to fiber, LTE used as wireless backhaul.

MAKING MORE EBS AVAILABLE

National EBS Association (NEBSA) working with FCC to update EBS rules . . . since 2014 . . .

TELEVISION WHITE SPACES

• Uses: FCC permits operation of low power unlicensed wireless devices in broadcast television spectrum.

• Frequencies: Spectrum frequencies generally below 1 GHz.

• Licensing: Most TVWS devices must rely on a geo-location capability and database access mechanism.

TVWS AVAILABILITY

TVWS AVAILABILITY (DETROIT, MI)

TVWS AVAILABILITY (MONTMORENCY, MI)

TVWS USAGE EXAMPLES

Microsoft, Mid-Atlantic Broadband, Charlotte and Halifax County Public Schools, VA.

• Use TVWS as backhaul between at-home connections and MBC fiber.

Manhattan Kansas Public Library (part of Gigabit Libraries Network collaboration).

• Wi-Fi hotspots with TVWS backhaul to library wireline connections.

TVWS IMPACTED BY SPECTRUM AUCTION

“The #Uncarrier cleaned up.”

MICROSOFT AND TVWS

MICROSOFT AND TVWS

Connect Americans Now (CAN) is “a group of concerned citizens, local organizations, rural advocates, and leading innovators committed to eliminating the digital divide that is holding back rural America” (national members include Gigabit Libraries, Microsoft, and SHLB)

FIXED MICROWAVE SERVICES

• Uses: Microwaves are short waves used mostly for point-to-point communication systems.• Potential substitute for wireline backhaul over long distances and

difficult terrain.

• Frequencies: Common bands include 6 GHz, 11 GHz, 18 GHz, and 23 GHz.

• Licensing: Licensed by filing application for individual links. Requires frequency coordination.

FIXED MICROWAVE SERVICES EXAMPLE

HOW DO WE FILL THE REMAINING GAPS

OTHER WIRELESS OPTIONS

• Wi-Fi

• Millimeter Waves (mmW)

• Mobile Wireless

WI-FI

• Uses: Short range technology for end-user devices in a fixed location used in conjunction with wireline and wireless backhaul.

• Frequencies: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz.

• Licensing: Unlicensed—Part 15 of FCC rules permits operation of radio frequency devices without individual licenses. Devices operate in accordance with 802.11 standards.

WI-FI (BACKHAUL) EXAMPLE

Red Hook WiFi (in partnership with New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute)

• Wi-Fi mesh network in Red Hook section of Brooklyn.• Network serves neighborhood that is home to approximately

5,000 residents of public housing who exclusively rely on mobile phones for Internet access.

MILLIMETER WAVES

• Uses: Point-to-Multipoint application with high reuse, but also high free space loss of spectrum.

• Frequencies: 28, 37, 39, 64-71 (V Band), 71-76 (E Band), 81-86 (E Band), 92-95 GHz.

• Licensing: Various. Includes licensed and unlicensed, with new rules under development for 28, 37, 39, and 64-71 MHz bands. Non-exclusive nationwide licensing with link registration for higher frequencies.

MILLIMETER WAVES EXAMPLE

Cruzio Internet, Siklu and the City of Santa Cruz

• 1 Gbps E-band (70/80 GHz) mmW equipment for lower cost broadband to affordable housing residents, government buildings, and community anchor institutions.

LICENSING COMPARISONS

License Type Spectrum Bands

Geographic licensing Mobile Wireless (600 MHZ, 700 MHz, Cellular, SMR, PCS, AWS, WCS, BRS, EBS); 3.5 GHz (PALs); Spectrum Frontiers (24 GHz, 28 GHz, Upper-37 GHz, 39 GHz)

Unlicensed / License-by-rule TVWS; Wi-Fi (900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5GHz); 3.5 GHz (GAA); Lower-37 GHz; 60 GHz; 90 GHz (indoors)

Non-exclusive nationwide licensing

3650-3700 GHz; 70/80/90 GHz

Site based licensing Fixed Microwave (6 GHz, 11 GHz, 18 GHz, and 23 GHz)

THROUGHPUT AND DISTANCE COMPARISONS

Spectrum Band Maximum Throughput DistanceTVWS 10-33 Mbps 2-10 km (1.2-6.2 mi)EBS 100-150 Mbps 4.8-14.5 km (3-9 mi)2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 60 Mbps 6.4-24 km (4-15 mi)5 GHz Wi-Fi 1-5 Gbps 6.4-200 km (4-124 mi)6 GHz 400-800 Mbps 35 km (22 mi)11 GHz 400-1,000 Mbps 16-29 km (10-18 mi)18 GHz 500 Mbps 16 km (10 mi)23 GHz 1-4 Gbps 3.2-4.8 km (2-3 mi)24 GHz 1 Gbps 0.8-1.6 km (0.5-1 mi)39 GHz mmW 1 Gbps60 GHz mmW 200-1,000 Mbps70/80 GHz mmW 1-2 Gbps 1.6 km (1 mi)

MOBILE WIRELESS SPECTRUM

• Uses: Mainly, terrestrial and mobile fixed service

• Frequencies: • 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800, 900 MHz (Cellular, SMR), 1.7-2.2 GHz (AWS,

PCS), 2.3 (WCS), 2.5 GHz (EBS/BRS) • Now includes mmW spectrum (e.g., FCC Spectrum Frontiers Order)

• Licensing: Commercial—Various auctions held since 1994 with various evolving construction and secondary market requirements.

MOBILE WIRELESS COMPETITION

Source: FCC 20th Wireless Competition Report, https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-17-126A1_Rcd.pdf

MOBILE WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

2011: T-Mobile and AT&T referred to HSPA+ (normally considered fast 3G) as 4G technology. Verizon Wireless advertised LTE as 4G.• Later, providers used the term “4G LTE.”• International Telecommunications Union-Radiocommunications sector

(ITU-R) specified 4G requiring peak speeds of 100 Mbit/s.

2018: We are now seeing press releases concerning “5G.”

WHAT IS 5G

ITU-R in 2012, embarked on a program to develop the “International Mobile Telecommunication system (IMT) for 2020 and beyond.”• Entails detailed investigation of key elements of 5G.• Dec. 2017: 3GPP submitted summary of 5G

• Standard should support frequency bands in 450 MHz to 52,600 MHz range (also sets out min. and max. channel bandwidths).

• Multiple carriers can be aggregated for up to 6.4 GHz of transmission.

5G PRESS RELEASES

• Sprint (Feb. 2018): “Sprint promises to launch nationwide mobile 5G network in first half of 2019.”

• T-Mobile (Feb. 2018): “T-Mobile buys 1150 MHz of millimeter-wave spectrum covering Ohio for 5G.”

• AT&T (Jan. 2018): “AT&T CEO says the first 5G devices will be ‘pucks’ that work like mobile hotspots.”

• Chip makers say the first 5G-compatible radio small enough for a phone won't likely appear until early next year.

• Verizon (Jan. 2018): “Verizon Remains Confident it Can Deliver 1 Gbps Wireless.”

5G FAKE SOUNDING NEWS

• “SF Residents Raise Health Concerns About 5G Small Cells.”

• “Trump team considers nationalizing 5G network . . . to guard against China.”

• The FCC Commissioners unanimously came out in opposition.• Tom Wheeler reminded us that Pai FCC early on withdrew a Notice of

Inquiry concerning cybersecurity standards put forward under Wheeler’s administration.

6G ANYONE?

Feb. 2018: “Don't Laugh, Charter Is Testing '6G' Wireless”

• "Our 5G wireless tests are going well," says [CEO Tom] Rutledge, "as are our 6G tests, which is our pre-spec definition of the integration of small cell architecture using unlicensed and licensed spectrum working together interchangeably with our advanced DOCSIS roadmap to create high-capacity, low-latency product offerings.”

5G NOT FOR EVERYONE

Jan. 2018: “CEO: We Don’t Need 5G for U.S. Cellular Fixed Wireless, LTE Will Work Just Fine.”

• “What we’re targeting is . . . outside the cable footprint. We’re meeting the unmet needs of consumers who don’t have reliable broadband today.”

• “there is more than enough spectrum and technical ability in the LTE and voice over LTE world to meet the demands of [remote areas in Kansas and Nebraska.]”

• U.S. Cellular fixed wireless service supports broadband speeds in the range of 5-10 Mbps.

THANK YOU!!!