CAMPBELL, Calif.� It is possible that we will see a surplus of wireless network capacity in the not-too-distant future.
Just this week, Mobile Experts LLC released a report that provides a detailed analysis of the carrier Wi-Fi market, predicting a �decisive transition from ‘pure Wi-Fi’ to unlicensed services tied to LTE in various ways.� In particular, the report provides detailed information about License Assisted Access, LTE Wi-Fi Aggregation and LTE WLAN Radio Level Integration with IPSec Tunnel (LWIP), as well as LTE in Unlicensed bands.
Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts, in arecent press release, was quoted thus: �About 80% of mobile data is actually carried over Wi-Fi today, and we expect at least 90% of mobile data to be carried over unlicensed bands in 2020.�Unlicensed data traffic tied to LTE control channels will greatly improve on ease of use, and will be far more reliable than Wi-Fi services.�The reason for investment is simple:�These hybrid combinations of LTE and unlicensed wireless can achieve the low cost of Wi-Fi, and the easy dependability of LTE.�
At the same time,plans are being put in place for 5G; Facebook is on the verge ofbecoming its own ISP, using millimeter wavelengths; and companies like Boeing are in the midst ofdeveloping satellite networks to deliver broadband communications. While I have espoused, many times, the benefits of holding on to one�s own spectrum, it occurs to me that if the market is flooded with capacity, that stations or groups of stations might be able to �wholesale� capacity across the entire country, for their own use like the MVNOs (such as Boost Mobile and Cricket, to name but a few) do now. In other words, stations or groups of stations would enter in to long-term deals to use the new spectrum to develop their own eMBMS-like facilities, with regional or national coverage.� ��
