By Chad Mills Aug 31, 2020 | Original WRDB article here.

A 4G/5G so-called "small" Wireless Telecommunications Facility (sWTF) on Guthrie St. in downtown Louisville. (WDRB Photo)

A rendering of a potential Verizon 4G/5G sWTF antenna in a Louisville neighborhood. (Source: Bill Hollander)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — As Verizon and AT&T build out their 5G networks in Louisville, city leaders believe a legal door has been opened that gives them some ability to regulate the aesthetics of some of the antennas and poles the telecommunication companies are building across the city.

One of the new Verizon poles is slated to be built just across the street from a home Kevin Dohn is renovating in Buthchertown near the sidewalk outside Gold Bar and Sergio’s World of Beers.

Dohn has spent at least two months researching the project and uncovering its problems.

“It’s not about saying ‘no’ to 5G," Dohn explained. "It’s about saying, ‘Hey, you know, we need to be able to have more oversight.’”

Dohn says oversight is hard to come by and answers from Verizon are too.

Continue reading “Louisville Seeks Better Regulation of Densified 4G/5G Infrastructure Antennas”

Judge rules that a Massachusetts city was correct in denying ExteNet’s poles over power concerns

By Wireless Estimator, Aug 27, 2020 | Original article here.

ExteNet Systems failed to convince a US District Court Judge that they were discriminated against in Cambridge, Massachussets

In a ruling yesterday, US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs dismissed a lawsuit by ExteNet Systems against the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts and its Pole and Conduit Commission over the commission’s decision to reject five of the ExteNet’s proposed small cell wireless installations in the city because its applications did not specify how the company would power the wireless devices or how data would be fed into them.

Continue reading “Judge Rules Against Extenet in Massachusetts”

By Ian Fogg Aug 26, 2020 | Orignal OpenSignal Report here.

Opensignal has analyzed the real-world 5G experience of our users across mobile operators in a number of countries globally, including Australia, the U.S. and South Korea. As part of those country reports, we developed a measure to understand the overall mobile experience of 5G users, Download Speed Experience – 5G Users, which takes into account their average 5G and 4G download speeds as well as the time spent connected to each technology. For the first time, we are now comparing 5G users’ overall experience across 12 of the world’s leading 5G markets.

Aug 2020 US Average 4G/5G Download Speed: = 33.4 Mbps

The modest 5G Download Speeds in the U.S. are due to a combination of the limited amount of new mid-band 5G spectrum that is available and the popularity of low-band spectrum – T-Mobile’s 600MHz and AT&T’s 850MHz – which offer excellent availability and reach but lower average speeds than the 3.5GHz mid-band spectrum used as the main 5G band in every country outside of the U.S. However, Verizon’s mmWave-based 5G service offers very considerably faster average 5G Download Speeds of 494. 7 Mbps in our recent U.S. report, which is faster than the average 5G download speeds Opensignal has seen on any operator, or in any country to date including Saudi Arabia.

Continue reading “Benchmarking the 5G User Experience — 50 Mbps”

Editor’s Corner — Firece Wireless

By Linda Hardesty, Apr 10, 2019 | Original Fierce Wireless article here.

I’ve been covering communications networks for a couple decades, but I’ve only recently been focusing specifically on wireless networks since I joined the FierceTelecom group. As part of my self-education, I attended a session at this week’s CCA Mobile Carriers Show in Denver, entitled “Innovative Small Cell Solutions.”

The first thing the panelists discussed was the definition of a “small cell.” You would think an audience of wireless professionals would already know the definition. But apparently they don’t, because the FCC only recently, in September 2018, published a new rule aimed at speeding deployment of small cells and 5G. And within its rule, the FCC defined what it calls “small wireless facilities.”

The FCC’s rule says these small wireless facilities are defined as those that are mounted on structures 50 feet or less in height, including their antennas, with a 10% leeway in certain situations. In addition, each antenna associated with the deployment is no more than three cubic feet in volume; and all other wireless equipment associated with the structure is no more than 28 cubic feet in volume

Melissa Mullarkey, VP of government relations at Mobilitie, said on the CCA panel that the company is working to “educate communities on what small cells are.” Mobilitie is a provider of wireless real estate solutions. Mullarkey added that with a height at 50 feet and an allowance for 28 cubic feet of volume, “that’s a lot of room for adding a lot of equipment to the pole.”

Personally, I’m grateful to the FCC for providing a precise definition of a small cell because for my first couple of months covering wireless, I’ve had to contend with words like “mini cells,” "micro cells" and “mini-macros,” the latter of which seems like a contradiction in terms. Now, at least we know that a small cell is 50 feet tall or less.

At Mobile World Congress earlier this year, I did see some small cells for mmWave that were actually small. These devices could be mounted on something like a light post and were unobtrusive.

Beyond the height and volume definitions provided by the FCC, the panelists at the CCA show said small cells differ from macro calls primarily in power and coverage requirements.

Continue reading “So-Called Small Cells Can Actually Be Quite Big”

. . . but Tim Wu Doesn’t Clarify What The Ban Actually Accomplishes

Adapted from an article by Karl Bode, Aug 20, 2020 | Original Techdirt article here.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I don’t think the TikTok ban is coherent policy. If we genuinely want to protect U.S. consumer data from bad actors . . .

We would do the following:

1. Fund a major expansion in election security reform.
2. Stop kneecapping and under-funding our privacy regulators.
3. Pass a basic privacy law for the internet era.
4. Hold adtech, telecom, and "big tech" companies genuinely accountable for violating consumer trust. We’d shore up the integrity of our communications networks. We’d help develop and implement security standards for IOT devices.
5. Build a coherent framework of policy that protects consumers and businesses from all threats, not just Chinese apps.

“To be abundantly clear the US Government is not doing this. It is not even anywhere close to doing this.”

Continue reading “Tim Wu Joins The Senseless Ban TikTok Parade”

Tests that could prove their coverage maps wrong; AT&T and other Wireless Carriers oppose FCC drive-test mandate despite history of exaggerating coverage.​

By Jon Brodkin, Aug 20, 2020 | Origina Ars Technica article here.

Enlarge

AT&T and T-Mobile are fighting a Federal Communications Commission plan to require drive tests that would verify whether the mobile carriers’ coverage claims are accurate.

The carriers’ objections came in response to the FCC seeking comment on a plan to improve the nation’s inadequate broadband maps. Besides submitting more accurate coverage maps, the FCC plan would require carriers to do a statistically significant amount of drive testing.

The FCC proposal issued in July 2020 says:

"In order to help verify the accuracy of mobile providers’ submitted coverage maps, we propose that carriers submit evidence of network performance based on a sample of on-the-ground tests that is statistically appropriate for the area tested."

Continue reading “AT&T, T-Mobile Fight Wireless Antenna Need Tests”

Recent Public Comments at SF Department of Public Works

Public Comment from Aug 19, 2020

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Public Comment from June 17, 2020

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San Francisco Public Works web site and Youtube Channel

SF-DPW Hearing

AGENDA

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

10:00 AM

The FINAL hearing on implementing the dangerous SF-DPW Ordinance to Article 25 (Ordinance 190-19) is scheduled for Wed Aug 19 @ 10:00 am

In accordance with Gov. Gavin Newson’s statewide order for all residents to shelter in place and the numerous local and state proclamations, orders and supplemental directions, aggressive directives have been issued to slow down and reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Therefore, Public Works hearings that are held through videoconferencing will allow remote public comment. As the COVID-19 disease progresses, please visit the Public Works website (sfpublicworks.org) regularly to be updated on the current situation as it affects public hearings and the department.

Notice is hereby given that the Director of Public Works will hold a remote public hearing via teleconference to consider the item(s) listed below and that said public hearing will be held as follows:

1. Call to Order

   • REMOTE MEETING VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE
   • View at: Microsoft Teams link (https://bit.ly/3f9IxAA)
   • Public comment call-in: 888-204-5984 / Access Code 9927045

2. Order No. 203367 — Notice of public hearing to further implement the requirements of San Francisco Public Works Code Article 25 by adopting objective standards for personal wireless service facilities.

Continue reading “SF-DPW Hearing Aug 19 at 10 am”

Beta users get downloads of 11 to 60Mbps, not the gigabit speeds that SpaceX teased

​By Jon Brodkin, Aug 14, 2020 | Original ARS Technica article here.

A SpaceX Starlink user terminal/satellite dish.

Beta users of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-broadband service are getting download speeds ranging from 11Mbps to 60Mbps, according to tests conducted using Ookla’s speedtest.net tool. Speed tests showed upload speeds ranging from 5Mbps to 18Mbps.

The same tests, conducted over the past two weeks, showed latencies or ping rates ranging from 31ms to 94ms. This isn’t a comprehensive study of Starlink speeds and latency, so it’s not clear whether this is what Internet users should expect once Starlink satellites are fully deployed and the service reaches commercial availability. We asked SpaceX several questions about the speed-test results yesterday and will update this article if we get answers.

Links to 11 anonymized speed tests by Starlink users were posted by a Reddit user yesterday. Another Reddit user compiled some of the tests to make this graphic:

Enlarge

Continue reading “SpaceX Starlink Speeds Revealed — 60 Mbps”

By Karl Bode, Aug 11, 2020 | Original TechDirt article here.

Long-standing, Established 3G/4G/5G Equipment Security Flaw

Steve Gibson from Security Now | The paper, Impersonation Attacks in 4G/5G Networks, is here: web | pdf

One of the dumber aspects of press coverage of the TikTok kerfuffle is the lack of broader context.

How, exactly, does banning a Chinese-owned teen dancing app solve our security and privacy headaches in a world where apps and services everywhere are collecting most of the same data, if not more? And why the myopic focus on just TikTok when Americans attach millions of totally unsecured Chinese-made "smart" IOT devices to their home and business networks with reckless abandon? If you’re going to freak out about U.S. consumer privacy and internet security — why not focus on actually shoring up overall U.S. consumer privacy and security?

Many press outlets and analysts have innately bought into the idea that banning TikTok somehow seriously thwarts the Chinese government’s spying efforts. In reality, China’s spying capabilities, fueled by an unlimited budget, have no limit of potential other ways to get far more data thanks to United States’ lax privacy and security standards. Case in point, last week in the midst of TikTok hysteria, a report quietly emerged showing that the U.S. satellite communications networks have the security of damp cardboard:

Continue reading “Forget TikTok. Feebly Secured Infrastructure Is Our Real Problem”

Adapted from an article by KIMBERLY FORNEK, Aug 13, 2020 | Original Chicago Tribune article here.

Illinois State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi Press Conference on
New Densified 4G/5G Legislation

Illinois State Rep. Rep. Deanne Mazzochi:
“I take the health and well-being of our residents very seriously. I take the values of our properties and our homes very seriously — and our residents must have a say in what is actually happening in their neighborhoods.”

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi talks about legislation she has proposed to give local governments control of the installation of Densified 4G/5G wireless equipment in their towns. With her are Western Springs Village President Alice Gallagher (left), Clarendon Hills Village President Len Austin (center) and Hinsdale Village Trustee Luke Stifflear. (Matthew Serafin)

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi has proposed legislation that would protect residents from a proliferation of Densified 4G/5G equipment and require reliable information about the effects of the new wireless frequencies and modulation that is being proposed for Illinois residential neighborhoods. Is this Densified 4G/5G Grid near homes necessary or even worth it?

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Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon in May, 2018:

"When [Verizon] went out in these 11 [5G test] markets, we tested for well over a year, so we could see every part of foliage and every storm that went through. We have now busted the myth that [5G frequencies] have to be line-of-sight — they do not. We busted the myth that foliage will shut [5G] down . . . that does not happen. And the 200 feet from a home? We are now designing the network for over 2,000 feet from transmitter to receiver, which has a huge impact on our capital need going forward."

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Mazzochi, a Republican from Elmhurst, has filed House Bill 5818, the “Protect Me From [Densified 4G/]5G Infrastructure Act,” which among other measures would require wireless companies to provide a plan to monitor and record daily levels of radio frequency emissions produced by Wireless equipment of Any G, analyze noise (noise is electromagnetic power transmitted through the air — noise that can ruin the Quiet Enjoyment of Streets (QES)) for so-called "small" Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (sWTFs) and ancillary equipment , and allow local governments to require new wireless antennas be installed on existing poles, where appropriate, to limit the number of new poles.

Mazzochi and officials from Western Springs, Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills held a press conference Thursday at Tower Green in Western Springs to talk about the need for legislation to return control of wireless infrastructure to local municipalities.

For Clarendon Hills Village President Len Austin, the issue is transparency. Telecommunication companies should be clear about

• how many 4G/5G small cells they want to install
• where they want to install them, and

• whether they would share infrastructure

• Continue reading “IL State Bill HB.5818 to Give Local Governments a Say in Densified 4G/5G Wireless Grid”