Federal Communications Commission (FCC) aims to start its third 5G spectrum auction on December 10, 2019. FCC will be selling 3,400 MHz in three different — 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz — spectrum bands during the third 5G spectrum auction.
FCC said it has already auctioned 1,550 MHz of spectrum that can be used for 5G connectivity — since November 2018.
Telecom industry association GSMA says 47 percent of phone connections in North America will be on 5G networks in 2025.
Earlier, Verizon revealed that it launched Verizon 5G Home, the first commercial broadband 5G service in October 2018. Verizon never revealed the outcome of the investment in the 5G Home business.
In addition, Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network is also live in Chicago and Minneapolis on a 5G-enabled smartphone. South Korea’s three mobile operators have launched 5G services on Samsung Galaxy 5G smartphone.
Verizon announced plans in February to launch its 5G service in more than 30 U.S. cities in 2019.
AT&T earlier said its mobile 5G millimeter wave service (5G+) is live in parts of 12 cities. AT&T plans to offer 5G+ in parts of 11 other cities later this year. AT&T aims to offer a nationwide sub-6 GHz mobile 5G network by early-2020.
Cisco recently projected that in three years, the share of 5G wireless connections in North America would be twice the projected rate for Asia.
According to CTIA, the U.S. leads the world with the most commercial 5G deployments of any nation.
The latest Ericsson Mobility Report indicates that nearly half of the mobile subscriptions in North America will be 5G by 2023.
Rural broadband
FCC also announced $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to enhance the coverage of broadband networks in rural America over the next decade.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said on Friday that the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund represents the FCC’s single biggest step yet to close the digital divide and will connect up to four million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed broadband networks.
Baburajan K
