The Private Sector Needs More Licensed Spectrum, Please – Opinion

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US wireless spectrum policy is, of course, subject to the same crony destructiveness as is anything else subjected to DC’s massive, all-encompassing involvement in our existences.

Spectrum is a limited resource.  The majority of spectrum is owned by the government.  So it is a constant fight to get government to give up the spectrum — and get it to the private sector.

Big Business cronies have the power to control how government operates.

Many, MANY Big Businesses control the Big Government agencies that supposedly oversee these Big Businesses.  So the Big Businesses have Big Government effusively lie and impede to reward themselves — and punish their enemies.

In this case, to block either the government’s sale of spectrum to the private sector — or private deployment of spectrum already out of government’s massive hands.

US Airlines Still Opposed to 5G and Threaten to Cancel Incoming flights

Big Government’s Dishonest, Anti-Science Blockade of 5G Wireless

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Wants to Keep Your 5G Spectrum For Itself

“The future of America’s 5G wireless services may be threatened by unwarranted concerns coming from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)….

“The FAA says they are worried that 5G wireless services that use a portion of spectrum called the C-Band, claiming that it may – just may – interfere with radio altimeters gauge an airplane’s  altitude.

“Protecting an airplane’s altimeters from interference is crucial, except that the call of warning is baseless in that the FAA has not provided reliable evidence to demonstrate that 5G services pose a threat to flight safety….

“Real world experience also shows that 30-plus countries use the same spectrum bands for 5G services but have not had a problem with interference.”

And yes, there are Communist China implications….

The Deep State Is Imposing Many Impediments to 5G Wireless – and China Loves It

The global standard for 5G will be set by the country that gets 5G up and running first.  And it’s a two-nation race — US and China.  All of the crony-strength idiocy and provincialism in which we engage is a huge national security threat.  International as no country on earth should allow China to set 5G global standards.

Oh! 5G refers to Fifth Generation wireless.  This is the next step up in wireless connectivity.  This is a significant leap ahead of 4G.  The Internet of Things (IoT), was born.

“The interconnection via the internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.”

It is expected that 1.5 billion IoT devices are online by the end of this year.  So the government needs to get as much spectrum as possible — as rapidly as possible — to the private sector.  Progress is not impeded by cronyism.  That’s because it is.

The government can allocate spectrum to private users in two ways: license or unlicensed.

Licensed is spectrum purchased by — or loaned to — a single owner.

In exchange for complying with a number of regulations, radio and TV broadcasters are allowed to use the licensed spectrum in which their stations can operate.

Cellular phone companies buy licensed spectrum on which to build their wireless networks.  Oh! And they are required to follow a number of regulations.  Because Big Government.

License is more advantageous for 5G.  Each band of spectrum has fewer users.  You can use unlicensed spectrum for 5G and the IoT — and the technology to do so is getting better all the time.  It is not optimal.  It can be a digital Tower of Babel if unlicensed spectrum is available.  You can think of an old-fashioned telephone party line.  It can get a little crowded…:

“For your own IoT deployment, consider the implications of using a licensed vs. unlicensed wireless spectrum to support your network. A licensed spectrum offers two important benefits: better reliability and performance.

“Why? “Why? In order to be given priority, unlicensed spectrum users must compete with licensed users. And as an unlicensed user, you have no protection from interference on the part of other parties.”

Please don’t misunderstand me: I strongly support unlicensed spectrum.  It is a good idea to have a large amount of spectrum available for the private sector.  I am only pointing out that the government’s recent licensed-unlicensed decisions have been less than optimal.

The licensed spectrum is SOLD.  The government has made hundreds of billions from licensed spectrum sales.  Unlicensed spectrum is given away “free.”  In the DC definition of free — which means We the People don’t get paid for it.

Therefore, why has the government taken the license-unlicensed decisions it did despite its monetary incentives?

FCC Allows Unlicensed Access to All 6 GHz Spectrum Bands

FCC Proposes More Spectrum for Unlicensed Use

Can you guess the reason?  If you guessed Big Tech — you are correct.

6 GHz (Spectrum Band) CTIA against Apple, Google and other tech giants

“CTIA said the national interest in 5G demands more thorough consideration. Plus, the commission and wireless industry have a long history of successfully repurposing spectrum….

“The RLAN Group, which includes Apple, Broadcom,…Facebook (and) Google…told the commission in its March 18 filing (PDF) that it should reject the efforts by CTIA and Ericsson to ‘upend’ the commission’s proposed approach….”

NAB Faces Down on Facebook Et Al. 6 GHz Compromise

The Broadcasters make an additional, very good point….

NAB: Google And Microsoft Are able to afford Spectrum.

“The National Association of Broadcasters has some advice for Google and Microsoft, who have been pushing the FCC to free up more unlicensed spectrum in the broadcast incentive auction: If you need more spectrum for your business plans, you’ve got the money to bid for it in the auction.”

These Big Tech monsters certainly have orders-of-magnitude more money than do the wireless phone companies looking for more licensed spectrum to do their vitally-important-vis-a-vis-China 5G work.

Big Business is able to purchase Big Government for a lot less than they would pay.  Big Government will then give Big Business what it should have bought.