LOS ANGELES�The sharing of unlicensed spectrum, among the big carriers and everyone else (that means you), may be comingmuch faster than most of us anticipated.Cisco Systems predictsthat 66 percent of U.S. mobile data traffic will be offloaded to Wi-Fi networks in 2019.
From interesting opinion piece, written by Leigh Chinitz, inrcrwireless.com. �Italics throughout are mine:�
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�It is common wisdom these days to say that there is a �spectrum crunch.� That is, that we, the consuming public, are consuming more and more wireless data, and that the companies that provide us access to this data (the mobile operators) are running out of the capacity needed to deliver it.
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�Recent events, however, cast serious doubt on these kinds of claims. The events in question are therecent activities regarding the use of LTE technology in unlicensed spectrum. There are multiple technologies being discussed, from LTE-U to LAA to LWA (previously covered in Digital Radio Update) to Qualcomm�s MuLTEfire.
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�Lost in the minutiae of the back and forth on this topic, however, has been perhaps the most important admission in the recent history of spectrum policy:
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The mobile operators have admitted publicly that they can run their businesses using unlicensed spectrum.�So what�s the real issue here then?� Here�s my concern:� If the big mobile carriers are successful at this �land grab� then they could allocate more of their licensed spectrum to eMBMS, which could directly compete with over-the-air radio and TV.� See more on that topichere.�
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Digital Radio Update will continue covering this very important topic in wireless technology. ��
