CES 2024: NTIA Announces $50 Million Grant for DISH from Wireless Innovation Fund

Wireless CES 2024: NTIA Announces $50 Million Grant for DISH from Wireless Innovation Fund The money will fund a testing facility for open RAN equipment. LAS VEGAS, January 10, 2024 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced on Wednesday a $50-million grant to DISH Wireless from the agency’s Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. The money will go to the establishment of the company’s Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment, or ORCID. The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based testing facility will allow companies to test equipment and software to ensure their technology works with existing 5G networks. The funding for ORCID is an attempt to allow smaller vendors to enter the market. “Today’s market for wireless equipment is static and highly consolidated. Just a few firms today provide the full set of radios and computers that power mobile phones,” NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said at an announcement event in Las Vegas.  Some of those providers Davidson noted, “pose national security risks to the U.S. and our allies around the world.” That’s in part a reference to Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE, who are barred from federally subsidized networks by the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act. That law provided $1.9 billion to reimburse providers for the replacement of the companies’ equipment, but the effort has stalled amid a funding shortfall and other supply chain issues – the Commission told Congress last week that just five companies have completed their replacements. The ORCID facility is set to use open RAN hardware and spectrum bands owned by DISH, now a subsidiary of EchoStar, as a test bed for vendors to ensure the interoperability of their equipment. Open RAN refers to open radio access networks, or networks built with generic components rather than proprietary ones produced by a handful of large suppliers. The company’s experience with its existing open RAN network puts it in a good position to help companies looking to enter the space, said Charlie Ergen , EchoStar co-founder and chairman. “We learned some hard lessons regarding how to best deploy open RAN, lessons we will bring to and leverage at ORCID,” he said.The NTIA also announced $30 million in Innovation Fund grants to five additional recipients. The agency has now awarded a total of more than $98 million from the $1.5 billion CHIPS Act program. Up to $140 million is set to be made available through the first round of funding. Spectrum CES 2024: More Spectrum and Auction Authority Necessary for 5G The White House released a long-term spectrum plan in November, but the FCC still lacks auction authority. LAS VEGAS, January 9, 2024 – More spectrum will be necessary to expand 5G mobile networks in the United States, experts said at CES on Tuesday. “We need to not only open up more spectrum bands, we need to use them as efficiently as possible,” said Chris Lewis , president and CEO of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge. Lewis cited as a step in the right direction the National Spectrum Strategy, a plan put forward by the White House in November to study almost 2,800 MHz for potential repurposing and to set up a long-term spectrum planning framework. Beefing up the nation’s spectrum pipeline, as well as promoting unlicensed use and dynamic spectrum sharing, should be positive for 5G adoption going forward, Lewis said. The plan “set down the right principles to move forward,” he said. For all that to come to fruition, the Federal Communications Commission will need its spectrum auction authority renewed, something the Commission has been pushing lawmakers on. Congress let the authority lapse for the first time in March, and efforts to reinstate it have stalled. A stopgap measure was passed in December allowing the Commission to issue licenses that had been purchased before the lapse. Those will be used, largely by T-Mobile, to expand 5G footprints. The World Radiocommunications Conference also tapped in December several hundred megahertz of spectrum for licensed, mobile use globally, part of an effort to help satiate the demand for growing 5G networks. Some of that has already been reserved for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use in the United States. Chris Emmons , vice president of devices and accessories at Verizon, said freeing up more spectrum would allow the company to continue expanding home broadband on its 5G networks. Some states have flagged concerns about the capacity on those networks, as cell traffic is prioritized during congestion, but Emmons said fixed wireless broadband is more adequate on 5G networks than on previous standards. “Fixed wireless access for consumers has been a dream for a long time,” he said. “There were 3G attempts, there were 4G attempts… There have been a lot of things that people have tried over the years, but we’ve actually seen a fixed wireless solution now that scales successfully.” “As long as we continue to get the spectrum we need, we will engineer that properly and provide for all these use cases,” Emmons said. Satellite Dish Files Petition for Reconsideration on SpaceX Testing The company is concerned about interference in adjacent bands. WASHINGTON, January 5, 2024 – Dish Network filed a petition for reconsideration of the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to allow SpaceX to test satellites for its cellular service with T-Mobile. The partnership is intended to use SpaceX satellites to provide service to mobile devices on some of T-Mobile’s spectrum bands. But Dish, in a Tuesday filing, is concerned about the potential for harmful interference in adjacent bands in which it operates its own satellite systems and asked the FCC to limit the number of satellites SpaceX can test, or to halt future testing altogether. AT&T and the Rural Wireless Association, a trade group of small, rural wireless carriers, have also opposed the move out of fears that other systems could be interrupted. SpaceX applied to operate the service in May 2023. Satellite-mobile company Omnispace met with Commission staff on December 11 to discuss an analysis that raised similar concerns. Dish submitted a letter signing onto Omnispace’s study and asked the agency to require further study on the potential for interference before fully authorizing the service. The FCC granted SpaceX authorization on December 1 to test the radios on its satellites in the 1910-1915 megahertz and 1990-1995 MHz bands, known as the “G-Block,” but only for 10 days at a time. The size of SpaceX’s fleet makes that limitation less effective at mitigating the effects of any interference, Dish said in its petition. “When a system is authorized for 7,500 satellites, testing for each launch would effectively allow such operations for an astounding 75,000 days, the equivalent of two centuries,” the company said. SpaceX, for its part, has said in filings that its software can quickly turn off individual satellites in the event of any interference with existing systems and has refuted Omnispace’s analysis, arguing the potential for such interference is low. PCMag reported the Commission gave the company permission on December 14 to go further and conduct field tests with on-the-ground devices in 25 locations across the United States. SpaceX launched its first six satellites for that purpose on Tuesday and plans to “soon” begin testing, the company said in a release. Dish and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. Infrastructure Draft BEAD Plans Looking to Mark Some Fixed Wireless ‘Underserved’ Ohio’s move was blocked by the NTIA, but Vermont’s and Georgia’s survived edits from the agency. WASHINGTON, January 3, 2024 – Ten states included plans in their draft Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment proposals to make more licensed fixed wireless service areas eligible for subsidized infrastructure by categorizing them as un- or underserved. The $42.5-billion broadband expansion program’s rules mark the fixed wireless technology as “reliable broadband service,” meaning areas receiving home internet on licensed spectrum are only by default eligible for BEAD-funded infrastructure if speeds are below the program’s minimum threshold of 100 Megabits per second download and 20 Mbps upload. The states and territories were required to submit initial proposals for implementing the program to the federal government by December 27. The states consistently cite concerns about wireless networks’ ability to handle large numbers of users at once, particularly in the case of broadband provided with the excess capacity on networks designated for mobile use, as those networks prioritize mobile users during periods of congestion. “As additional customers are added and subtracted from fixed wireless networks, the amount of available bandwidth available per customer varies,” Rob  Fish , deputy director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, said in an email. “A particular fixed wireless customer could receive 100/20 Mbps or better during one month and then no longer be able to receive that speed in another month as customers are added.”  States with initial drafts marking some wireless broadband ‘underserved’ States with initial drafts marking some wireless broadband ‘underserved’
Four states – Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, and Vermont – published initial drafts of those plans that would mark areas whose only internet comes from wireless broadband on cellular networks as “underserved,” making them eligible for BEAD-funded infrastructure. North Carolina’s draft plan would set homes and businesses receiving service from the technology to “unserved,” putting them at the front of the line for BEAD-funded infrastructure. By default, locations receiving less than 25 * 3 Mbps are unserved and locations receiving less than 100 * 20 Mbps are underserved, with unserved getting special priority. The state’s draft would also mark as unserved locations connected via a general access license in the CBRS band. Three other states – Ohio, Nevada, and Wisconsin – planned to extend the underserved designation to locations receiving fixed wireless broadband on licensed spectrum, including networks specifically designed for home broadband. California published a draft plan that would modify locations receiving licensed fixed wireless at speeds on the lower end of the underserved range, moving them into the unserved category. New Mexico did the same, but only if the service is provided by cellular networks. No drafts including these measures have been officially approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Commerce Department agency handling BEAD. States are allowed to modify the designation of certain locations, provided they justify them with sufficient evidence, according to an NTIA policy notice. Ohio’s plan to designate all fixed wireless unserved was scrapped Ohio’s plan to designate all fixed wireless unserved was scrapped
The agency scrapped Ohio’s plan to designate all licensed fixed wireless as unserved, citing inconsistency with the BEAD definition of reliable broadband. A revision in the state’s BEAD draft acknowledges that the NTIA informed the state broadband office that categorizing the technology as unserved would breach the rules laid out in NTIA’s Notice of Funding Opportunity. Vermont and Georgia’s plans to mark as underserved wireless broadband on cellular networks, however, survived NTIA edits to their draft proposals. Both state offices said they submitted proposals including the measure. “I believe we made a convincing case and are expecting final approval any day on our Volume 1 proposal,” Fish said. “Are we concerned that it could still be rejected? Yes, of course, but we firmly believe we proved our case and believe the NTIA shares our desire to avoid declaring mission accomplished and then having people come out of the woodwork saying they are unserved.” The fear that some homes and businesses in Vermont receiving cellular fixed wireless at reported speeds above the minimum BEAD threshold may turn out to lack consistent internet access comes from concerns about the capacity on those networks and the state’s geography. The state, 78 percent of which is covered in heavy tree canopy, incorporated into its BEAD plan a line-of-sight analysis to demonstrate potential obstructions to radio signals necessary for fixed wireless. The analysis reveals 1,108 locations lack visibility to any towers, and therefore, would experience diminished service for a significant portion of the year. Those factors can amount to inconsistent wireless service in Vermont, the state’s broadband office said in its draft proposal. It cites 2,464 challenges submitted as of 2023 to FCC coverage data for the state’s biggest cellular fixed wireless provider, over two-thirds of which were upheld. Georgia broadband office shares Vermont concerns Georgia broadband office shares Vermont concerns
Jessica Simmons , Executive Director of the Georgia Broadband Program, said the state shares some of Vermont’s concerns about broadband provided on cellular networks. “This is a good technology, it’s just a capacity concern,” she said. With home internet users and mobile users competing, she said, it can be difficult for all locations within range of a cellular network to consistently connect on its excess bandwidth. Georgia’s plan to mark homes and businesses served only by the technology as underserved is an effort “to make sure that those locations that are being marked as ‘served’ can actually get access that they requested,” she said. Simmons said the NTIA requested additional information on why the state felt it necessary to make the change. The measure survived edits from the agency, but has yet to be officially approved. The NTIA did not respond to a request for comment. Republican lawmakers at a House oversight hearing in December pushed Alan Davidson , the agency’s top official, on state plans to open up more wireless broadband service areas to BEAD infrastructure. They expressed concerns that such plans would lead to states subsidizing networks in areas that already receive adequate internet. Rep. Tim Walberg , R-Michigan, said he was “very concerned” about his state’s draft proposal, which would mark locations receiving cellular fixed wireless as underserved and asked Davidson to commit to rejecting the plan. “I can’t really answer the question without having without seeing sort of the totality of what they’re proposing and what their what the state will be working on,” Davidson said at the hearing. “I will say there are good reasons states have tried in some situations to work within the statute… to make these changes as they go through their own challenge process and figure out where they’re going to spend the money that we’ve given them,” he said. Update: This story was updated to correct Rob Fish’s name. This story was reported and written by Reporters Jake Neenan and Jericho Casper. Signup for Broadband Breakfast News Broadband Breakfast Research Partner CES 2024: NTIA Announces $50 Million Grant for DISH from Wireless Innovation Fund Bipartisan Bill Proposes $7 Billion Extension for Affordable Connectivity Program CTIA Urges FCC Extension for Implementing SIM Swap Safeguards Big Cities Turn To FCC To Tap Cable Broadband Fees CES 2024: More Spectrum and Auction Authority Necessary for 5G CES 2024: Siemens Announces New Partnerships with AWS, Sony Broadband Measurement Summit Announced for March 7 FCC Unveils Plans to Phase Out Affordable Connectivity Program Alabama, Florida Propose Making RDOF Locations BEAD-Eligible FCC: Only Five Firms Have Finished ‘Rip and Replace’ of China Gear Broadband People: Rusty Williams Is New CEO of Utilities Technology Council FCC Concludes Review of Rural Digital Opportunity Applications with More Defaults Draft BEAD Plans Looking to Mark Some Fixed Wireless ‘Underserved’ NTIA Endorses FCC’s Proposed Increase of Broadband Speed Benchmark 12 Days of Broadband: Net Neutrality Is the Issue That Never Dies In Year-End Message, FCC Chairwoman Urges Affordable Connectivity Funding 12 Days: In 2023, a Rising Tide of Open Access Networks NTIA Issues Clarifying Policy Notice on BEAD Uniform Guidance All 56 States and Territories Submit BEAD Initial Proposals Broadband Breakfast on January 10, 2024 – Live from Las Vegas at CES 2024 12 Days: FCC Issued Rules Against Digital Discrimination Broadband Breakfast on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 – Congress, Net Neutrality and Privacy 12 Days: Middle Mile Investments and the Push for Internet Exchange Points Broadband Breakfast on January 24, 2024 – Broadband Mapping and BEAD Challenges Broadband Measurement Summit Announced for March 7 FCC Rules Face Litigation Risk in 2024, Note Journalists Broadband Breakfast on February 7, 2024 – Social Media in the Courts Broadband Breakfast on Wednesday, January 31, 2024 – Congress, Net Neutrality and Privacy Broadband Breakfast on January 24, 2024 – Broadband Mapping and BEAD Challenges Broadband Breakfast on January 10, 2024 – Live from Las Vegas at CES 2024 Starlink Plans to Join Affordable Connectivity Fund Subsidy Program Broadband Breakfast on January 3, 2024 – The Broadband Forecast for 2024 with Tech Journalists Broadband Breakfast on December 27, 2023 – The 12 Days of Broadband Broadband Breakfast on Wednesday, December 6, 2023 – Recap of the Digital Infrastructure Investment Summit Experts Still Disagree on FCC’s New Digital Discrimination Rules Broadband Breakfast on December 20, 2023 – Space Wars: What to Expect from Satellite Broadband Trending
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