RDOF winner Resound Networks says that it has successfully achieved gigabit speeds using fixed wireless access (FWA) in the 6 GHz band via an experimental license. The company said that it reached a distance of more than three miles using 160 MHz-wide channels that will become available in the band.
Resound is one of three top-ten winning bidders in the Rural Development Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction that plan to use fixed wireless, along with fiber broadband, to deliver gigabit speeds.
And while several big winning bidders that plan to rely on gigabit fiber broadband for their deployments have had funding released to them, none of the big winning bidders planning to use gigabit fixed wireless have had funding released — apparently because the FCC wants to make sure that the technology can meet performance requirements.
This is something to watch in Minnesota. The biggest potential RDOF winner in Minnesota is LTD Broadband. They bid to deliver fiber but they have more experience with fixed wireless. So that’s a conundrum. Are there appreciable differences if they can get the same bandwidth? Does it matter if they bid for one technology but use another? Resound Networks’ success is sure to spark discussion.
Blandin on Broadband
News and information on broadband use, policy, and trends
Blandin on Broadband 
Experiments are one thing. Being able to deliver it consistently to every household in an area is another… at a reliability that allows it to be used for public safety purposes.