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Subscribe • Advertise Thursday, November 19, 2020Volume 8 | Issue 226

FCC Votes to Open Auto Safety Spectrum to WiFi, Despite DOT ConcernsBy Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau ChiefIn the second-to-last FCC meeting of the year, all five FCC Commissioners agreed to the plan to reallocate the 5.9GHz auto safety band to enable WiFi use. That’s despite opposition from the Department of Transportation, whichcalls the planned changes dangerous. The new band plan designates the lower 45 megahertz (5.850-5.895 GHz) forunlicensed uses and the upper 30 megahertz (5.895-5.925 GHz) for enhanced automobile safety using CellularVehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology. It’s because of that opposition that Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote toPai Tuesday and asked him to delay the vote. FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks called the continuingdisagreement between federal agencies on spectrum issues “disappointing,” though he voted for the changes.

Chairman Ajit Pai kept the agenda smaller than usual and restricted votes to bipartisan issues. House Democraticleaders recently asked Pai and the heads of 49 other federal agencies to restrict their decisions to consensus itemsfor the remainder of the current administration’s term, Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading

Georgia’s Divided on Broadband Too Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) and telecom providers remain split on how best to bringbroadband to rural parts of the state, reported The Brunswick News. The primary issue lies with fees - EMCs want theGeorgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to nearly double what they can charge providers to attach equipment toutility poles.

The News reported the current fees are $20 per pole per year, and the EMC wants the sum raised to $37.95 per poleannually. Conversely, providers call for a decrease in rates, to $7 per pole, based on a federal law adopted in 1978,requiring the FCC to set rates.

The decision rests with the PSC regarding fees. The Georgia General Assembly passed legislation earlier this yearthat the PSC will decide how much EMCs can charge for pole attachments. On Tuesday, the commission openedhearings on the matter, with representatives from both the EMCs and providers providing testimony. ContinueReading Committee Sends Telecom Bills to Full SenateThe House and Senate are rushing to move legislation forward before the 116th session of Congress adjourns nextmonth. In a quick meeting Wednesday morning, the Senate Commerce Committee approved 11 bills and CoastGuard promotions, which are now all subject to approval by the full Senate.

Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) said the final vote, “represents hours and hours of work. We closed deliberations at11 p.m. last night on the issues that kept us from moving forward. It is typical of the way we operate and the way wecome together on a bipartisan basis.”

Three of the measures are of interest to telecom readers. They were approved by voice vote.

The bills are:

1. S. 1166, Internet Exchange Act of 2019, Sponsors: Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), TammyDuckworth (D-IL), and Roy Blunt (R-MO). The measure is aimed at helping expand broadband in rural areas.

2. S. 4472, Ensuring Network Security Act, Sponsors: Gary Peters (D-MI), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Blunt. Thebill is meant to improve an FCC subsidy program to remove China’s Huawei and ZTE from the U.S. telecommarket.

3. S. 4803, Beat China by Harnessing Important, National Airwaves (CHINA) for 5G Act of 2020, Sponsors:Wicker, and John Thune (R-SD). The measure would lock in administration plans to auction Pentagonspectrum for 5G next December. Continue Reading

FCC Fines Telemarketer Nearly $10 Million for Spoofed RobocallsBy Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau ChiefAll five FCC Commissioners on Wednesday approved a nearly $10 million fine for illegal robocalls. The agency saidKenneth Moser made 47,610 unlawful, spoofed robocalls over a two-day period shortly before California’s 2018primary election.

Moser and his company, Marketing Support Systems, spoofed a competitor’s telephone number when transmittingthe pre recorded voice calls that contained false accusations against a candidate for the California State Assembly.The competitor was HomeyTel, which advertises that it provides legal robocalling services to political candidates. Asa result of the robocalls, HomeyTel received complaints from consumers who received the calls and a cease-and-desist letter from the candidate. Continue Reading

What Do You Know About Cluster Connectors?

Driven by 5G adoption and an ever-increasing demand for capacity, the radios and antennas needed to supportmultiple frequency bands and higher-level MIMO are growing more complex. In under five years, port counts haveincreased from less than 10 per antenna to as many as 30. Mating each radio port to its associated antenna port—while suspended atop a tower—is becoming more costly and risky.

Creating a secure, low-loss feed requires time and precision to prepare and torque each connection properly. Clusterconnectors, which connect multiple ports at once, have addressed some of the issues. Now a new generation of tool-less cluster connectors, with TDD/FDD support and easier-to-handle cabling, offers more significant improvements.This white paper identifies some of the added capabilities of these new solutions and what to look for in selecting theright cluster connector. Download it here.

November 18, 2020 at Close

Ericsson Report Says 5G Market Worth $31 Trillion by 2030

A report released yesterday by Ericsson entitled “Harnessing the 5G Consumer Potential,”stated 5G could drive up to USD $31 trillion in cumulative consumer revenue in the ICTindustry by 2030. The study was done in partnership with Omdia, a global technologyresearch company. The report estimates that communications service providers (CSPs)could earn USD $3.7 trillion of that total - a figure that could increase further as newadjacent digital services opportunities arise.

The report also estimates that CSPs could generate up to USD $131 billion by 2030 from digital service revenuesalone, by proactively bundling and marketing 5G use cases. About 40 percent of these revenue projections areattributed to consumer spending on enhanced video, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality and cloud gaming over5G networks. The report projects that AR is likely to drive more than half of all consumer spending on immersivemedia by 2030 – starting with gaming and extending to other areas like shopping, education and remotecollaboration. Continue Reading

Dixieland Looks Away, Saying "No" to Florida Tower Citing zoning concerns, Lakeland, Florida has voted against erecting a cell tower in their town. With a 3-2 simplemajority, the Lakeland City Commission sided with residents near the Ariana Street location who argued againstconstruction, reports The Ledger. Although the neighbors complained about declining property values and potentialhealth issues, the Commission pointed to zoning issues as the deciding factor.

Commissions Phillip Walker and Stephanie Madden, who voted in favor of the cell tower proposal, explained that theyfelt a new tower would be beneficial for the community, especially the children requiring access to online educationalmaterial. Acknowledged as a less affluent community, the Dixieland neighborhood could easily wind up on thedownhill side of the digital divide, noted Madden. She added that her support was an attempt to avoid "playingfavorites" with broadband outreach. Continue Reading

John Deere Harvests 3.5 GHz Spectrum for 5GEquipment manufacturer John Deere has announced plans to upgrade its broadbandnetwork to 5G after obtaining licenses in five counties in Iowa and Illinois. For ConstructionPros reported that Deere secured the licenses via the FCC auction for the CitizensBroadband Radio Service (CBRS) 3.5 GHz spectrum in August.

“It's a spectrum range that we obviously did not have availability to in the past, andsomething that we foresaw might take a little bit of time to get to some of our rural counties,” says Craig Sutton, JohnDeere’s Manager of Manufacturing Innovation and Technology Strategy. “We looked at how this spectrum couldbenefit Deere in some of our strategic plans in smart, connected factories and smart industrial, knowing that we hadmore and more connected devices coming online, especially inside our factory operations.” Continue Reading

Watch Now: The Sparring Partners Panel

Higher capacity in 5G requires more complex antennas to support M-MIMO and multiple bands. How can operatorssimplify their 5G deployments and reduce installation times in the RAN? Cluster connectors can help by integratingmultiple RF ports in a single interface.

In this panel, speakers from CommScope, Senza Fili, EJL Wireless, and Radial discuss:

How can operators meet the challenge for capacity with 5Gl?What are the costs and risks of installing antennas with high port counts?How can cluster connectors can help operators simplify cell site deployments?Can cluster connectors address mating issues, reduce PIM, advanced radio support and cable manageability?

Register to watch or listen to this on-demand conversation.

Tower Utility Knife Quickly Removes Cold Shrink Tubing From Cable

For those of you tired of using a box cutter or pocket knife, Gamma Electronics has developed the Tower Utility Knife,(or T.U.K.), designed to help eliminate the issues conventional blades have removing cold shrink tubing from cables.The T.U.K.’s 2-blade design, protects the cable and also reduces the risk of injury to operators.

Gamma says the 2-blade system makes cutting efficient and safe and can remove cold shrink in less than a minutewithout damaging the cable or connector. The primary blade has a small lip that allows it to slide underneath coldshrink tubing while making sure the blade never cuts into the cable.

Once you reach the connector you can rotate to the precision blade which allows you to make the precise cutsneeded to fully remove the cold shrink. When done with the precision blade, rotate back to the primary blade tosafely "TUK" the blades away.

The Tower Utility Knife ($89.00) is available in black or blue and will start shipping December 1, 2020. Makes a greatChristmas gift for those tower climbers in your life! To order, click here.

MD7: Rebranded for the Tailwinds of 5G

MD7’s vision, “unlimited possibilities in a world connected” sets the stage for its new global brand, logo and websiteunveiling this month, after 17 years of service to the wireless industry. The company’s purpose is to “enable ourpartners to realize the potential of mobile.” Through a suite of services that help wireless operators manage theirassets, MD7 provides development and management of cellular real estate and infrastructure, new insights andconsulting services.

The core founders have been together since MD7’s beginning in 2003 when their first “office” was Starbucks. “We arenow 300 employees strong over 9 time zones,” says Tom Leddo, Chief Strategy Officer. “We wanted our brand to notonly reflect who we’ve become, but also who we see ourselves becoming in the future.”

Headquartered in San Diego, CA, and Dublin, Ireland, MD7’s team has deep roots in the mobile infrastructureconsultancy business. Tom Leddo is quick to point out, however, “We’re not the same company that we were 17years ago.” He adds, “With the tailwinds of 5G taking everything to the next level, we’re excited about the next threeto five years. We’re going to continue to evolve, to grow and find ways to solve our customers’ needs throughinnovation and technology.” Continue Reading

FloridaVerizon to Open Business Innovation Hub to Explore 5G Solutions

Verizon announced they would be opening a 5G Innovation Hub in Lake Nona, FL in the Orlando area. The carrier iscalling it a “living lab” smart community that will provide an opportunity to test 5G use cases for connected healthcare,autonomous mobility, smart communities, education, retail and others. Lake Nona is a planned community that ishome to thousands of “citizen scientists,” students, visitors, various national headquarters and healthcare facilities.The community was designed to focus on providing an ideal landscape to create new and innovative experiencesacross a multitude of industries.

With Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network on site, innovators will be able to test how Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband’sspeeds, bandwidth and latency can enhance applications for industries prevalent in Lake Nona such as connectedhealthcare and technology, autonomous mobility, smart communities, health and wellness, education, retail andsports. Continue Reading

DISH Names Senior Vice President of Ting MobileRobert Currie was named Senior Vice President of Ting Mobile, a company DISH purchasedin August of this year, Currie is responsible for sales, marketing, go-to-market strategy andoperations of the business. He most recently led two of Canada’s fastest growing and mostdynamic mobile brands — Koodo Mobile and Public Mobile (TELUS Communicationsbrands). He held business development and product roles for entrepreneurial softwareorganizations, including Algorithmics and Genasys.

Currie holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and aMaster of Science from the University of Toronto.

Connected Cities 2020 Talks Smart and Secure Buildings in the Age of COVIDA webinar panel hosted by Dense Networks yesterday covered the topic of Smart and Secure Buildings. The webinaris part of the Connected Cities 2020 series.

Panelists included John Dullin, VP at Corning, Greg Spraetz, SVP of Real Estate Solutions at ExteNet, AlbanCambournac, VP US Digital Energy Offer Management at Schneider Electric and David Eckell, National MarketManager of Graybar. Dense Networks Executive Director Peter Murray moderated the session.

With buildings becoming increasingly automated, the panel addressed the many systems that require infrastructureenabling smart building solutions. The panel agreed that COVID has been the catalyst for many new applications forsmart building and fiber is the enabling feature that makes it all happen. Continue Reading

TODAY @ 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. PST Spotlight: Connect the Field to Your Business

Now, more than ever before it is crucial to connect your field teams and business operations in one system. Find outhow industry innovators are unlocking the potential of their field teams.

For too long, field service has been decoupled from deployment operations. Times are changing and point solutionswon’t cut it. Hear from the leaders making the move to integrate their asset deployment and maintenance into onesystem.

How do you gain visibility into what goes on in the field?How does data quality impact the future of your business?What does the future of operational excellence look like in the next five years?

Panelists include Kim Martin, VP, Tower Engineering Professionals, Alice Le, VP of Sales Operations, FederatedWireless, Stacey Aughe, CIAO, Union Wireless. The panel will be moderated by Julia Dillon, Product MarketingManager, Sitetracker. Click here for more information or to register now.

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RF Engineer - Greenville, NC

LBA group is looking to hire an RF Engineer. The job is based out of Greenville, NC.Please contact Ben Cobb for more information or to apply.

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