“Dean Bubley: Fact-Checking CTIA’s Testimony to Congress on Spectrum Policy”

“On January 23, 2025, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on “Strengthening American Leadership in Wireless Technology”. Speakers included representatives from NCTA, CTIA, Open RAN Policy Coalition and Public Knowledge, with witnesses primarily covering spectrum issues.

The CTIA witness’ live comments and written testimony focused on mid-band spectrum for exclusive, high-powered use by cellular carriers (MNOs, mobile network operators) for 5G and future 6G networks. But CTIA’s testimony is inaccurate in many respects – starting with its arbitrary redefinition of “mid-band” to 3-8.5 GigaHertz (GHz), rather than the widely accepted 1-6 GHz or 1-7 GHz range.

The lower cut-off of 3 GHz and below means its analysis omits large swathes of mid-band spectrum that the cellular carriers already control, especially the 190 megahertz held by T-Mobile in the 2.5 GHz band, which the carrier itself describes as mid-band.”