Today, Senators Brian Schatz, Richard Blumenthal, Tom Udall, Ed Markey, Maria Cantwel, and Claire McCaskill sent a letter to Federal Communications Chairman Tom Wheeler, urging the CC to examine the effects of LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) technology. The letter expresses concern that, if left unchecked, LTE-U could interfere with and thus seriously harm important consumer technologies like Wi-Fi.
The following can be attributed to Charles Duan, Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge:
“Wi-Fi is incredibly important to numerous consumer technologies. Nearly every laptop, smartphone, and Internet-enabled device relies on Wi-Fi and other similarly open technologies like Bluetooth.
“Unlicensed spectrum is the foundation for these communication technologies like Wi-Fi, and so we are troubled to see developments like LTE-U that might interfere with or even drown out existing Wi-Fi devices. FCC action is necessary to protect the open spectrum spaces that have enabled extraordinary innovation.
“We’re pleased that these Senators are calling on the FCC to take action on this important issue. We look forward to working with them, as well as the FCC and other members of Congress, in protecting valuable technologies like Wi-Fi.”
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