JOYCE — A broadband internet provider is fighting to continue delivering fixed wireless services to rural and underserved communities in Clallam and Pacific counties.
CresComm WiFi CEO Robert W. Pensworth sent a letter last week to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Secretary Marlene H. Dortch to address the issue.
“Joyce-based CresComm WiFi is the high-speed broadband provider in Forks, Joyce and Lake Sutherland,” Pensworth wrote in an email to Peninsula Daily News. “Parts of our Clallam Network operate on CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) to provide speeds up to 100 Mbps Down x 20 Mbps Up. This spectrum is being sought by the FCC to auction off to the (cellphone companies) for revenue for the Trump Administration.”
The move would be “devastating” for internet customers CresComm serves, Pensworth said.
In his letter to the FCC secretary, Pensworth wrote that CresComm provides high-speed internet with a particular focus on delivering reliable broadband to rural and remote areas where traditional internet infrastructure has been limited or not available.
The CBRS spectrum “is crucial for serving our current customers and growing our customer base with broadband speeds of 100/20 Mbps or more, enabling us to deliver affordable, high-quality and reliable broadband service,” Pensworth wrote to the FCC. “Continuing the current CBRS framework with the existing rules is essential to our operations and long-term growth, ensuring we can meet the broadband needs of our customers without disruption. The current allocation provides the reliability and flexibility we require to expand and improve services to the communities we serve.”
CresComm strongly opposes any proposal to remove CBRS operations from any portion of the 3550-3700 MHz band to another spectrum band, Pensworth wrote.
“Relocating CBRS operations would directly harm our company and the customers we serve, as it would significantly disrupt our ability to provide consistent, high-speed broadband in rural and underserved areas,” he continued. “If the FCC were to reduce or reallocate the amount of CBRS spectrum available to us, it would severely impede our ability to meet the needs of our customers.”
CresComm also opposes any “substantial increase in the maximum power levels for Citizens Broadband Radio Service Devices (CBSDs) in CBRS,” Pensworth wrote. “Allowing higher power levels would lead to expanded Priority Access License (PAL) Protection Areas and a higher potential for interference with other users, undermining the original vision of CBRS as a dynamic, localized spectrum band that can coexist with federal operations and other high-priority uses.”
Higher power levels would disrupt CresComm’s ability to deploy small cells and other localized wireless infrastructure facilities, Pensworth wrote.
“This would significantly harm our operations and customer service,” he wrote. “The increase in interference would also undermine the competitive landscape by making it harder for smaller service providers like our company to compete.”
Pensworth concluded his letter by requesting the FCC maintain its current rules and allocation for 3550-3700 MHz band for CBRS operations.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
