Deal May Give AT&T Unprecedented Coverage In The US; Verizon's Answer For Rural Broadband Access Is LTE; + more news

Selfishly speaking, I hope this LTE broadband never makes it to my rural part of PA or at least no one locally hears about it. I got on Verizons unlimited prepaid jetpack plan when they offered it and with a tower within site of where I'm sitting, it's working pretty well for me. Knowing how Verizon "likes to do upgrades" (end sarcasm), if a bunch of people in the area jump on this plan, my cushy speed is likely going in the crapper.

What's the latency on that SpaceMobile connection? I know it's advertised as "low", but what does that mean?

Makes sense, T-Mobile has 100% US based support (experts). The others have outsourced tech support. American Support is far superior. Same with Apple and that's why people don't mind paying more, fantastic service.

Or is it purely an interview company. I see their Lexan awards on commercials but they could be a component of autonomic consumerism.

on the other side of the pond, the incumbent telco and regulator have agreed to some regulatory changes which will mean even more FTTH for rural areas. They also own an LTE network, but after trialling it for rural broadband a few years ago, has pursued an entirely wired approach.

It's amazing what happens with decent regulation and forward thinking execs.

(and before the "US big, UK small" crowd weigh in, we're talking running fibre out to the actual middle of nowhere here, as well as to the smaller towns and villages)

doesn't matter where the person is, it's all about the training and ability to show initiative.

You can have amazing offshore support and you can have someone onshore who is only allowed to follow a script.

Check out this language. Scientists never say never.

"Based on our study, we don't think 5G radiation is that harmful," said Subham Dasgupta, a postdoctoral fellow at Oregon State University, which published findings in early July from a study into the effects of 5G radiation on zebrafish. "It's predominately benign."

AT&T Cell Towers... in SPACE! AT&T the only network with with 6G in Zero G!

Is that native or does that count as roaming? Post paid only or MVNO too?

Unprecedented coverage gonna have unprecedented price tag.

Well, I know I'm getting sick of it and all the hyperbolic emissions.

This is all fine and well - and I'm fine with testing this in a few select areas - but really this is not going to make a dent in the broadband divide until this is available in all under-served broadband areas.

"The RFR Rules. In 1996, the [Federal Communications] Commission amended its rules to adopt new guidelines and procedures for evaluating the environmental effects of RFR from FCC regulated transmitters. The Commission adopted maximum permissible exposure (“MPE”) limits for electric and magnetic field strength and power density for transmitters operating at frequencies from 300 kHz to 100 GHz. These MPE limits, which are set forth in Section 1.1310 of the Rules, include limits for “occupational/controlled” exposure and limits for “general population/uncontrolled” exposure. The occupational exposure limits apply in situations in which persons are exposed as a consequence of their employment, provided those persons are fully aware of the potential for exposure and can exercise control over their exposure. The limits of occupational exposure also apply in situations where an individual is transient through a location where the occupational limits apply, provided that he or she is made aware of the potential for exposure. The more stringent general population or public exposure limits apply in situations in which the general public may be exposed, or in which persons exposed as a consequence of their employment may not be fully aware of the potential for exposure or cannot exercise control over their exposure. Licensees can demonstrate compliance by restricting public access to areas where RFR exceeds the public MPE limits."

If non-ionizing radiation is harmless why does the FCC regulate it so strictly?

I disagree... I loathe having to speak to people from India for instance, extremely hard to understand them. At least with t-mo I know I wont have to...

I wonder how in an emergency network-based location works? If there's otherwise no coverage, no harm done but if coverage is spotty, does it reduce resolution?

as long as you call during business hours, otherwise you get the Philippines. ask me how i know.

He uses his limited power over poor and disabled people to be as publicly cruel as possible. His motivation is difficult for we mere mortals to discern.

When looking at this I am reminded of the problems with WIFi. No matter how much power your router (satellite in this case) has the limitation is virtually always down to the client radio's limitations (cell phone in this case). A small device with a small (tiny) antenna and limited power is a bad combination for long range stuff.

The answer is no. The whole 5G( more accurately mmwave as 5G goes all teh way down to 600 MHz ) is dangerous is based on the short wavelengths. yes ordinary light has a much much smaller wavelength. So how come light bulbs don't make people sick?

We'll see if this continues now that T-Mobile has this huge increase in customers to serve. As far as Apple people pay more because they are trained that a logo is worth a 50% price increase

Good thing you admit to being selfish. The areas getting upgrade will get CBRS and possibly LAA first. And with those you're going to have fewer worries. And unlike your plan which you can go as fast as the network allows this service is capped at 50 Mbps.

Got to start somewhere. at&t fixed 4G has been around for 3-4 years and is still in limited areas. Mine got it in fall 2018. They offer 25 Mbps speeds max but 10 Mbps "guaranteed" and they have a 250 GB cap. I would say Verizon's offering is better. Though at&t just started offering new customers a bonus 250 GB for total of 500 GB. Gee I wonder why they suddenly decided on that? T-Mobile's fixed 4G plans are also still in the beta stage after around a year

And each time I've reached them it's been a pleasure.

Edit: No sarcasm in my comment, I really meant it. They've been very knowledgeable and helpful.

I suppose they will need more than one satellite and to actually start using it to find out

That explains why my zebrafish are acting strange. Must be the 5G bleeding into rural NW NJ from New York. /s

We are talking a comparison of a person working with "some up close and personal facetime" on a magnetron as compared to a person 100' away from a cell tower with much less ERP.

disclaimer: I have no particular opinion either way about mmWave. The following is only a rational response regarding the safety of light.

Infrared is just next to visible light in the EM spectrum and is known to affect biological organisms that cannot "see" it. Continued exposure at levels higher than those naturally occurring on Earth's surface can make the organism feel quite uncomfortable or even kill (cook) it.

Likewise, ultraviolet radiation is just slightly off from visible light and is known to damage exposed skin and DNA, increasing the chance of cancer and, eventually, death.

Neither of them is considered harmful for short term, distributed exposure. The negative effects only come from sustained and/or high power exposure.

The effects of sustained, high power (higher than naturally occurring) exposure to mmWave are simply unknown.

I know that it is relatively simple to shield from mmWave and that it is a fairly directional signal. As such, it is prudent to employ such safeguards to minimize exposure.

I have a Vietnam era magnetron hanging on a nail under my genuine Coca Cola bottle opener. It catches the caps. If there is no hazard from EM why does the FCC insist licensees be responsible for warning the public?

The cell site isn't the issue. The transmitter you put next to your head is possibly hazardous.

This might work better for GM’s OnStar connected cars, which have more space for an antenna and a near infinite duration power supply when it comes to powering their radio.

If it's really unlimited like they say it is, and it's not just a hotspot but a legit *modem*, I might actually ditch my DSL for this. 3 Mbps is getting old, real fast, especially since the pandemic.

Well you figure, ultraviolet light is on the shorter side from visible light. The waves get even more damaging as you get shorter than that into gamma rays and cosmic rays. To the longer side, you have infrared light. Some devices produce that in high volume to produce heat. It's never been determined to be harmful unless of course you burn yourself on the hot device. Radio waves, even millimeter wave, are much longer than infrared. So we're not dealing with any shorter waves than what we have already considered to be safe and benign.

First corona....now 5G waves. My store has been out of lysol wipes and thermometers for months.....bet until 2021 at this rate......lol