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10/23/2017

Charter clarifies wireless plans, promises to launch licensed LTE small cells

DENVER—Charter’s wireless ambitions continue to come into focus, with the company promising an “inside-out” strategy that will start with a Wi-Fi-first MVNO through Verizon in 2018 and then will expand into “our own mobile core infrastructure by deploying licensed LTE small cells,” the company said.

“Charter is actively testing licensed small cell technologies which will put us on the path to providing next-generation super-fast, high capacity broadband to our customers,” the company wrote in a post on its site. “We will combine these 4G LTE and 5G technologies with our existing advanced high-speed network to profoundly enhance connectivity for millions of our subscribers.”

Charter offered a more detailed view into its plans via a filing it recently made with the FCC, detailing a meeting between Charter executives, including the company’s wireless chief Craig Cowden, and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, alongside other FCC officials.

“The wireless component of Charter’s network is transitioning from a nomadic Wi-Fi network to one that that supports full mobility by incorporating Wi-Fi with multiple 4G and 5G access technologies to deliver a seamless connectivity experience,” Charter wrote in its filing. “In navigating this transition, Charter is emphasizing an ‘Inside-Out’ strategy, focusing first on wireless solutions inside the home and office, and then eventually expanding outdoors.”

Specifically, Charter’s executives petitioned the FCC to release 3.5 GHz spectrum, often referred to as the CBRS band, for both licensed and unlicensed use. The agency is scheduled to discuss rules for that band during the FCC’s open meeting next week. Charter is urging the agency to move quickly to release the spectrum, but also to put rules around the spectrum that would keep licenses geographically no bigger than a county.

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