Simington Calls for Mandatory Security Updates for Wireless Devices

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington called on his agency colleagues to change the Commission’s equipment authorization rules and mandate manufacturers to provide security patches for wireless devices. Not doing so puts the country’s wireless networks at risk, he says. “Hundreds of millions of devices are in active use in this country—more every day, and in more applications—are susceptible to known security vulnerabilities, exposing us to theft of private data and to attacks on the integrity of our public and private networks. But some manufacturers and sellers of these devices plan to do absolutely nothing about it,” he told the annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy and Regulation conference on Thursday. Continue Reading

Ericsson Portrays Positive Outlook Despite Expected Slowdowns

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

Ericsson senior managers presented their perspectives on the telecom equipment market over the next several years during the company’s Capital Markets Day, held on December 15. The big takeaway is that Ericsson expects the global radio access network equipment business to be “flat” for several years. However, it expects the 5G RAN market will grow by over 11 percent a year over the next three years.  Sales in North America, Ericsson’s biggest market accounting for 39 percent of 3Q22 sales, continued to grow with strong 5G demand. However, aggregate U.S. mobile network operator capital expenditure is expected to peak in 2022, and then decline somewhat in 2023, Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading

Two Broadcast Towers Fall in South Dakota

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

The winter storm that moved through much of the country this week knocked down two TV towers in South Dakota on Wednesday. The larger, 1,700-foot TV tower is owned by Nexstar KDLO-TV. An adjacent 800-foot tower also fell that day, according to NorthPine. The Inside Towers database indicates the tower was built in 1978.   Antennas for Alpha Media’s KDLO-FM were also on the larger tower under a lease agreement. KDLO is back on-air, broadcasting from a backup facility, notes Inside Radio. The station says it’s broadcasting with reduced signal strength and coverage, but listeners can also tune in online at: www.gowatertown.net. Continue Reading

American Tower Sued for $1B for Allegedly Breaching LatAm Deals

By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor

Terra Towers Corporation filed a lawsuit against American Tower International in a Miami-Dade court on Tuesday, accusing them of breaching a $1 billion acquisition and development deal across numerous Latin American markets, collectively known as Project Codu.  Terra and Terra TBS own the majority of shares in Continental Towers, which owns and operates cell phone towers primarily in Central America, Peru and Colombia. Beginning late in 2017 and throughout 2018, Terra and American Tower negotiated the proposed acquisition of the towers owned by Continental Towers and DTH, an affiliate of Terra. Continue Reading

T-Mobile Expands 5G Network with New Mid-Band Spectrum Layer

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) announced that it has expanded its Ultra Capacity 5G nationwide coverage and capacity. The company says it is adding a “massive boost” to its Ultra Capacity 5G network with a new nationwide layer of 1900 MHz mid-band 5G spectrum. Use of 1900 MHz spectrum dates back to 2G when Sprint launched the U.S.’s first Personal Communications Service digital cellular network in November, 1995, in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area. T-Mobile garnered that large swath of 1900 MHz spectrum when it merged with Sprint in April 2020. Today, T-Mobile commands an aggregate national weighted average spectrum depth of 323 MHz across the various 5G mid-band frequencies it owns. The 178 MHz of EBS/BRS 2.5 GHz spectrum that it also gained in the Sprint deal represents the lion’s share. The 1900 MHz band adds another 66 MHz. The company also has 37 MHz of AWS-1 (1.7/2.7 GHz) spectrum. The remaining 42 MHz is primarily 27 MHz of C-band and 12 MHz of 3.45 GHz, won in FCC Auctions 107 and 110, respectively. Continue Reading

EU Regulators Loosen Restrictions for 5G State Aid

To achieve The European Commission’s goal of delivering 5G to all European households by 2030, regulators have adopted new legislation regarding state aid rules to enable more accessible financing and rollout of high-speed broadband. Reuters reported that the Broadband Guidelines will provide “an up-to-date framework to support the digital transition and reflect technological, regulatory and market developments.”

“The revised Broadband Guidelines adopted today are a major step towards a successful European digital transition. They will make it easier for member states to support the deployment of performant broadband networks in insufficiently connected areas. This will benefit consumers, businesses, and the public sector,” said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy. “By reducing the digital divide, the new rules will further contribute to correcting social and regional inequalities across the EU.” Continue Reading

CCA, NATE, WIA Urge Congress to Close “Rip & Replace” Funding Gap

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

Several telecom associations, including the Competitive Carriers Association, NATE and WIA, banded together to urge lawmakers to fully fund “Rip & Replace” before the 117th Congress adjourns. The program was mandated by Congress in 2019, to remove equipment from U.S. communications network gear from Huawei and ZTE deemed to pose a threat to America’s national security and replace it with gear from trusted vendors. This July, the FCC identified a more than $3 billion shortfall in the program, Inside Towers reported. “Absent the funding of this shortfall, carriers could only be reimbursed for approximately 40 percent of their costs, which would preclude them from completing the process,” say the associations in a letter to Senate and House leadership. Continue Reading