UScellular continues pursuit of BEAD money for FWA

BELVIDERE, Ill. – UScellular conducted a live demonstration of its advanced 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology at Washington Academy in Belvidere today. The event was designed to highlight how wireless connectivity can help bridge the digital divide in Illinois.

Attendees, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, experienced a 5G FWA technical demonstration that showcased the power, reliability and speed of 5G mid-band technology and how it can connect homes and businesses across the state. Belvidere is one of the first cities to receive UScellular's 5G mid-band network, which can deliver speeds up to 10x faster than 4G LTE and current low-band 5G networks.

Using specially designed antennas connected to a nearby cell tower, UScellular network experts conducted a call with more than 20 simultaneous video streams to simulate today's digital lifestyle. Prior to the demonstration, attendees toured the cell tower, where they received a rare opportunity to see the inside of the base station and the equipment that makes this high-speed connectivity possible.

UScellular now offers low-band, mid-band and high-band mmWave 5G speeds and services in select areas in Illinois. Low-band 5G provides broad coverage, while mmWave 5G provides super-fast speeds with more limited reach. 5G mid-band technology is considered the "sweet spot" of 5G because it provides fast speeds with broad coverage – enhancing both mobile and FWA connectivity.

Illinois was just allocated more than $1 billion in funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to expand broadband internet to areas across the state. This program can provide supplemental funding to subsidize infrastructure investments that improve both access to and affordability of broadband connectivity. As Illinois takes advantage of its allocated funding, UScellular encourages the use of a range of technologies to bring connectivity to the areas that are hardest to connect.

Read the full press release here.

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