LAS VEGAS, October 11, 2023 – The state policy head for the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association urged Wednesday that fixed wireless broadband providers engage state offices and legislators on including them in BEAD plans.

The $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program prioritizes fiber because of the high speeds it is capable of providing. BEAD guidelines exclude unlicensed spectrum from its definition of reliable broadband and require states to consider non-fiber technologies only when fiber would be too expensive to deploy.

States can set the cost threshold at which they do that. This is where WISPs – wireless internet service providers – can push for inclusion in BEAD plans, said Steve Schwebel, WISPA’s state advocacy manager. 

Some states will not be able to get fiber to every household lacking adequate broadband with their BEAD allocations, Schwebel said, and WISPs should talk with state broadband offices about setting a low enough threshold to allow fixed wireless providers to compete for grants in hard-to-reach areas.

“We can be a good partner in helping a state find a solution to that problem,” he said at WISPAPALOOZA, the annual conference of small and fixed wireless broadband providers.

The trade group has hired state lobbying group 50State to help in this effort. Colm O’Comartun, a partner at the firm, echoed Schwebel’s sentiment.

He encouraged WISPs to think about “regular engagement with our local elected officials and regulators.”

WISPA had a hand in setting Ohio’s high-cost threshold – about $5,100 per location – for a state grant program, Schwebel said. He added Pennsylvania is also consulting with WISPA on its BEAD threshold.

States are in the process of drafting initial proposals for implementing the program, due to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by December 7. Those proposals will outline states’ plans for their high-cost thresholds.

Schwebel also encouraged WISPs to fill out Broadband Data Collection forms with information on locations they provide with broadband service. Participating in the recently launched Federal Communication Commission program keeps states informed on how fixed wireless providers are already operating in their communities and helps maintain good relationships with state officials, he said.

BDC data is due to the FCC each year on March 1 and September 1.

LAS VEGAS, October 10, 2023 – The trade group representing small and fixed wireless internet providers is focused on combating a provision in the Joe Biden administration’s major broadband funding program that designates areas served with only fixed wireless as lacking adequate connectivity, WISPA policy heads said on Tuesday.

“We’re continuing our aggressive advocacy to overturn the deeply flawed decision,” said Louis Peraertz, WISPA’s vice president of policy, in an address to the group at its yearly conference WISPAPALOOZA.

The notice of funding opportunity for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program excludes from the definition of reliable broadband fixed wireless technology that operates on entirely unlicensed spectrum – spectrum bands not licensed to designated carriers by the Federal Communications Commission. That makes areas served by some WISPA member providers open to infrastructure projects funded by the program.

WISPA’s arguments against the provision, Peraertz said, have “received support from several congressional offices.”

The group is also pushing state broadband offices to make BEAD funds available to fixed wireless providers. Steven Schwerbel, WISPA’s state advocacy manager, said WISPA had a hand in setting Ohio’s planned extremely high cost threshold, the point at which the state will look to technologies other than fiber-optic cable to keep costs down.

“Thanks to our input, that threshold is being set in a way that will allow our members to compete for state grant dollars as widely as possible,” he said.

Pennsylvania’s broadband office is in active talks with WISPA about its high-cost threshold, according to Schwerbel.

States are in the process of submitting BEAD initial proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, due by December 27. They come in two volumes, the second of which includes the high-cost threshold and other grant awarding procedures.

WISPA is also meeting with Federal Communications Commission officials to argue for changes in the commission’s plan to reinstate net neutrality rules, saying its members do not have the market share to engage in the anti-competitive practices the rules are designed to prevent.

The FCC will vote on putting its plan up for public comment at its open meeting on October 19.

HOUSTON, May 8, 2023 – Fixed wireless provides some advantages over fiber to the premises for multi-dwelling unit owners and home owners, said panel including wireless providers at a Broadband Communities Summit event on Thursday.

Property owners do not want to deal with the construction costs and inconveniences of bringing fiber to the premises, said Christopher Curtin, vice president of MDU expansion at internet service provider Ubiquity. Often, bringing fiber to the home requires drilling holes and disrupting living spaces in order to lay the wires.

Instead, companies should leverage the existing infrastructure to build fixed wireless connections where possible, he said. Doing so reduces the likelihood of overbuilding as fixed wireless can rely on the infrastructure already existing in the community, continued Curtin.

Certainly there is merit to building new wires in some cases, said Pat Garry of Astound Broadband, but carriers can optimize time and resources by taking advantage of what structures are already in place.

Fiber is not required for consumers to receive the same high-quality experience as other internet users, added Pierre Trudeau of the telecommunication solutions product developer Positron Access Solutions.

This is particularly true for people that qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program which supplements broadband access for qualifying low-income households, said Nick Laird of Verizon, the director of sales and marketing for the internet service provider.

Fixed wireless does not require that installers drill holes or enter property, which can lower the barriers to adoption for low-income families. “With a lot of ACP properties, [fixed wireless] is a support pillar,” said Laird.

Our goal as fixed wireless providers is to go into the community and help residents understand what connectivity solutions make sense for them, agreed panelists. Fixed wireless is often the solution for these communities, said Laird.