Opinion: Broadband Wireless is gaining traction in rural areas, but Congress needs to act if adoption is to continue

Mark Harmsworth says Congress needs to consider expanding the wireless spectrum allocation to allow further adoption of Fixed Wireless internet systems

Mark Harmsworth
Washington Policy Center

A recent study published by Econ One and released by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), examines the adoption of broadband wireless across the US. The broadband wireless market is rapidly developing into a viable option for consumers that don’t have access to more traditional hard wired internet solutions.

Broadband Wireless, or Fixed Wireless as it’s sometimes referred to, is a cellular connection from a carriers network to a home. The connection is via a wireless device that functions similar to a wireless phone hot spot, but has much greater capacity and speeds. The pricing for these services is comparable to traditional cable and fiber services.

The Fixed Wireless service consumes wireless spectrum to deliver the internet and understandably, consumes a lot more spectrum than a phone or mobile device that are the traditional devices used on the network.

Unfortunately, ther