How Carriers, Cafes, And Satellites Are Rewriting Internet Access. Also: It's meter up week! What to expect..

Tomorrow’s Meter Up has the Wi‑Fi world buzzing, and we’re stepping into it with a full slate of stories reshaping how we connect. We set the stage with what we want to learn from Meter’s year of deployments—real outcomes, support models, and how Wi‑Fi 7 fits when most devices are still 6E—then fan out to the bigger map: carriers, cafes, satellites, and the stubborn problem of affordability.

AT&T’s rapid mid‑band 5G rollout is a stakes‑raising move, accelerating downloads for phones and fixed wireless and nudging home broadband toward a truly converged model. Over in Austin, a new study shows cost remains the top barrier to adoption, even as coffee shops flex 300+ Mbps speed tests. The contrast is sharp: capacity keeps rising, yet everyday access lives or dies on price, stability, and simple support. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom launches managed Wi‑Fi 7 with AI‑driven mesh at national scale, cutting lag complaints and giving users real dashboards to prioritize work, streaming, and guests without guesswork.

We also track Spectrum’s rural expansion and the human side of Verizon’s 15,000 job cuts as teams pivot to automation, cloud troubleshooting, and AI‑assisted support. Culture gets playful with gamified Wi‑Fi passwords reducing help tickets at a startup hub, a reminder that small behavior tweaks can fix big headaches. And in orbit, Amazon’s rebrand to LEO signals satellite broadband’s move from demo to deployment, with enterprise pilots across aviation, mining, and telemedicine chasing low‑latency, anywhere‑access use cases.

Join us as we connect the dots between speed, affordability, and real‑world reliability—and share what we’ll be asking on the ground at Meter Up. If this conversation hits your wavelength, follow, share it with a fellow network nerd, and drop your question for the Meter team so we can bring it to the room.

Chapters

• 1:00 Meter Up Preview And Expectations
• 2:56 AT&T’s Mid‑Band 5G Blitz
• 4:39 Affordability And Austin’s Public Wi‑Fi
• 6:38 Deutsche Telekom’s AI‑Driven Wi‑Fi 7
• 8:43 Spectrum’s Rural Buildout And Costs
• 10:02 Verizon Cuts And AI Retraining
• 11:30 Gamified Wi‑Fi Passwords
• 12:25 Amazon LEO Rebrand And Use Cases
• 15:23 Being An Expert Witness
• 16:47 Event Plans And Social Updates

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:30

What's up, y'all? It's Drew Lentz, the Wireless Nerd, and this week's Waves brings you the very latest in enterprise Wi-Fi upgrades, carrier innovation, broadband breakthroughs, and community-powered networking, from national infrastructure to wild coffee shop tests. Now, this week is going to be a pretty crazy week. Meter Up is happening tomorrow, which is November 18th. It's going to be in San Francisco, California. It's going to be at Pure 27. And coming off of last year's inaugural meter up event, there's a lot that I think people are anticipating. You know, we got to hear from them and see what they were doing with the command platform last year, see what they were bringing to the table. Now it's been a year later. They've probably got some networks that are have been deployed that they're going to talk about, some experience that they've been able to understand the way that the market is reacting to what they're doing. And we're probably going to see some real world scenarios of what they've deployed, how they've deployed it, and how they've supported that. I think those were some of the questions leading into it. Was you know, last year they talked about, hey, this is what we're doing and how we're doing it. And welcome to the market. It's going to be phenomenal. But a lot of people had questions on, well, how are you actually going to do this? How are you going to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 if you've got 6e devices that are out there? How are you going to support your customers? What does your channel look like? So this year we're really looking forward to learning some of those answers, understanding where meter is, catching up with them in 2025. And there's no shortage of buzz about this. I mean, every freaking influencer that I can think of is talking about it in the networking and Wi-Fi space. They've got billboards that are going up everywhere. They've done a tremendous job of letting people know who they are and what they're what they're after. So I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I want to see and hear from them. I promise not to ask any crazy questions. Well, maybe I will. I don't know. I don't promise anything. So we'll see how it goes. But meter up is happening tomorrow. If you're in the San Francisco area, if you're in the Bay Area and you need an invite, please reach out to me. If you're traveling in for it, please reach out to me. Also, I'm really looking forward to seeing some old friends. It's going to be a really good time tomorrow at Meterup. Can't wait to see everybody there. All right, now let's jump into some news and some fun stories about what's going on, what's new, what's now, what's next in the wireless industry. ATT is launching rapid mid-band 5G rollouts. I mean, they are like going full force here. This is going to boost their network and home internet speeds. ATT made national headlines this week by announcing that their rapid deployment of new mid-band spectrum, which is 3.45 gigahertz, this is the spectrum that was acquired from EchoStar across nearly 23,000 cell sites, and they're doing it in just a few weeks. This is a deployment pace that their CEO, Jeff McElfrisch, called Record Fast. This is affecting customers in more than 5,300 cities across 48 states. They're now seeing up to 80% faster 5G downloads. This new layer boosts speeds for both mobile and ATT Internet Air, which is their fixed wireless offering, pushing their convergence between wireless and home broadband. This is going to create new businesses for their converged services overall and for streaming and remote work. McAlfrish emphasized that the spectrum's rapid activation will drive efficiencies, reduce pressure to build more sites, and quote, set the bar for what it means to be the best advanced networking company in America. His words, not mine. That's okay. I'm a subscriber of a different service. But you know, this is actually fascinating. Makes me want to take a look at ATT. Maybe next time I'm in Costco, I'll let those people harass me a little bit more. Dude, I hate that. I just gotta say I'm not a fan of people like walking up and going, hey, who's your internet service provider? I I get it. Sales is sales, but man, get out of my way. I'm trying to go get some free samples, is all I'm saying. Anyway, analysts note that the move also cements ATT's edge for AI-powered edge and enterprise application and helps accelerate the open RAN and 5G standalone ambitions throughout late 2025. So this is a great announcement from them. There's a lot going on with that spectrum that they acquired from EchoStar. So we'll see what it means for their customers. Here's a fun one. A new affordable internet study in Travis County revealed that 69% of those lacking internet services said that they simply couldn't afford it. Even as the city pushes digital inclusion and expands literacy programs with only a handful of trainers serving thousands, interviewed Austin residents cited challenges securing devices and finding truly fast, stable Wi-Fi in public spaces, with the local government now compelling new resource maps and prepping a plan update. This research team highlighted that future funding for broadband expansion is currently on pause due to federal realignment, but there is obviously a clear need for this happening and a growing digital divide, not just in Austin, but in other cities around the world. Now, what does this all mean? If you combine ATT's rapid expansion with what they're doing in 5G, they're really trying to raise the speeds overall. Now, something like this can help that digital divide and that digital inclusion effort because now you've got hotspots that can be powered by more internet access as long as they make that reliable Wi-Fi available. In contrast, Mozart's Coffee, which is at 3825 Lake Austin Boulevard, and Epoch Coffee, which is at 22 West North Loop Boulevard, both in Austin, Texas, turned breakfast into bandwidth bragging rights. Both posted public speed test results. Mozart's hit 420 megabit per second, Epoch hit 315 megabit per second with latency less than 13 milliseconds, with customers live tweeting screen grabs and debating which shop had more robust outlet access. During the morning rush, log showed 60 plus devices connected simultaneously at each cafe. The Austin American Statesman documented user reviews, posted photos of ad hoc Wi-Fi leagues, and quoted the local IT pros on reliability differences that influence whether and where remote gat workers gathered. So it's funny. At the end of all of it, though, I think what made the big difference was who had more outlets to plug stuff into. So if you're in Austin, you know, you you can find free Wi-Fi in a couple of different places, and it looks like it's pretty fast. But is it stable? Is it reliable? And will it cost you$25 for a cup of coffee? I don't know. It's Austin. You never know. Now from the other side of the pond, Deutsche Telekom unveils Manage Wi-Fi 7 and AI mesh is going nationwide, it says. Germany saw its most ambitious consumer Wi-Fi launches. Deutsche Telekom activated Manage Wi-Fi 7 and Fiber and hybrid customers nationwide. This platform, powered by the AirTy's AI-driven software, attracts more than 8,000 smart mesh nodes in real time and steers each device to optimal APs and bands based on traffic, application type, and historic peak hour congestion. Now, this is pretty awesome if you think about it. This is a big national Wi-Fi rollout where they're using AI to steer the clients in the directions that they need them to do it. In order for them to be successful. Now, I don't understand how they're doing it, but maybe we can find more information here. The Deutsche Telecom AirTiede system, previously piloted piloted in Dortmund and Berlin, is now deployed to millions of homes with dedicated dashboards for users to view device stats, run diagnostics, prioritize work or entertainment traffic, and create custom guest access codes for apartments and small offices. Senior VP Pedro Bandera said their goal is quote, zero troubleshooting calls. That's awesome. Zero troubleshooting calls. System logs already show 35% fewer lag and spike complaints since the rollout began. Notably, Wi-Fi crowds and the feedback via commuter SSID contests in Berlin directly shaped AP load balancing and schedule tweaks for event and transit hubs. So they're using the network to understand what's going on and trying to steer clients appropriately. Again, I don't it's you know, I don't know how they do it. It says that the AI-driven software tracks more than 8,000 nodes in real time and steers each device to optimal APs and bands based on traffic, application type, and historic peak hour. So this is something to look out for. You know, this is a way that as we move into Wi-Fi 8 and we move into not just MLO and having them, you know, the frequencies being able to be aggregated. Now we look at the ability for APs to offload some of that traffic, you know, receiving from one, sending to another, so on and so forth. I wonder if this is that type of real world application that we're gonna see. And when you apply AI to that, I think it's gonna be it, I think it's gonna be pretty neat. Spectrum celebrated a milestone, connecting over 5,400 homes and businesses in Montgomery County, Indiana through a$7 billion multi-year rural build-out. This is featuring gig class, fiber, unlimited mobile, and seamless Wi-Fi mesh service. The digital divide is shrinking there as field teams map speeds and reliability for local businesses, health clinics, and schools. Community events show 250 plus households testing new speeds on work-from-home shifts and hybrid student days, with local retailers launching digital storefronts and smart checkout apps. This build, noted by Vice President Josh Moore, delivered 100% U.S.-based customer support, stretches 100,000 fiber miles nationwide, and leverages the FCC's rural digital opportunity fund, the RDAF funding, for public-private partnerships. Now, obviously, this is a uh this is a press release from Spectrum, but it highlights the idea that we're still trying to solve the digital divide in so many creative ways. Now, with the introduction of satellite and low Earth orbit and you know the FCC trying to put a special emphasis on that, I think that there's a lot to be said for people that are going to be able to have access to communications, reliable communications, but the big question is affordability in my mind. I mean, the first story we talked about today was all about affordability. And overall, that's what I see in South Texas. It's not that there's not this incredible access everywhere, but it's the ability for it to be affordable. Now, amidst all these things are happening from an innovation perspective, whether it's through Spectrum or whether it's through AI or the use of Wi-Fi 7 or Wi-Fi 8 or Open RAN, Carrier Giant Verizon confirmed this week it will cut 15,000 jobs. That's 15% of its total workforce, shifting its focus to automation, franchise retail, and next-gen wireless network investments. These layoffs exclude union workers but alter the daily workflow for technology, retail, and support teams. So if you think about where AI is making the impact, we've seen it now at a couple of different organizations. It looks like Verizon is following that same pattern. The company's new CEO, Dan Shulman, cited a need to quote transform culture cost and customer returns, while Wall Street Journal reporters detail transitions of 180 corporate-owned stores and an aggressive push to compete with ATT and T-Mobile after quarterly subscriber losses. Analysts expect Verizon's retraining initiatives for tech staff to center on AI and cloud troubleshooting, security, network optimization, and direct device support. So there it is, man. I mean, they're talking about their support center focusing on AI and cloud troubleshooting. This is not AI taking jobs. This is people being trained to use AI to limit the number of people that they have to hire to do the same job. So this is that whole idea that it's not AI that's going to take your job, it's people that understand AI who are going to take your job. Transition programs have sparked debate in union and tech forums about the best strategies for telecom workers facing automation. Absolutely. At Startupland at 555 Bryant Street, the guest Wi-Fi password became a rotating, quote, rare Pokemon challenge. Monday was Jirachi, Tuesday was MewTew. Wednesday was Arcanine. Over 50 coworking members posted selfies, memes, and Slack comments, sparking a chain of creative SSID changes, like uh Wi-Fi for Snorlax or DittoFi. I wonder if Kabutops has one out there. Shout out to Kabutops, the YouTube streamer. Anyway, a neighboring Palo Alto startups, they've they've caught on with some of this trend. According to Reddit, ticket volume dropped and staff reported higher engagement and better password hygiene when they did this. So the idea is that you know, if you give someone something that makes it fun or that gamifies connecting to the network, you're going to limit how many people mess the password up by having a good time with it. So is gamified Wi-Fi onboarding the next step for workplace engagement and security? I don't know. Let's find out. In other news this week, Amazon made waves across the wireless and satellite industries this week by officially rebranding its Project Kuiper satellite constellation as Amazon Leo. After months of ramped up satellite deployments and partnerships, the announcement came directly from CEO Andy Jassy in a virtual town hall, where he highlighted the company's intentions to accelerate, quote, enterprise-ready global coverage and lean into the growing race against rivals Starlink and OneWeb. The new name, pronounced Leo, stands for Low Earth Orbit and is meant to emphasize both the constellation's orbital layer and Amazon's focus on low latency everywhere in one-click access. Since the initial deployment of October 2023, Amazon has launched more than 150 Leo satellites with demos already delivering 100 megabit download speeds to remote villages and airplane partners like JetBlue. If you look online, you can even see speed test up to a gig, which is pretty awesome. This rebrand marks the transition from the test phase to a priority on commercial pilots. Enterprise users from mining companies in Nevada to rural telemedicine providers in Alaska are now signing up for beta service with Leo's Nano, Pro and Ultra Antennas, each tuned for different speed tiers, climate durability, and mobile applications. If you want to see these, I will be out at Amazon at AWS reInvent the first week in December and stop by. Don't know if there's gonna have any of the gear out there, but more than likely you'll be able to see it at CES. So if you're gonna make your way out to CES, drop me a note, let me know, come by the area and come check it out. Full disclosure, if you know, if you don't know, I'm an employee, I'm an Amazon employee, and I work at the Eero component of Amazon. So we have a great time over there, and these are kind of like our cousins. So it's always fun to pay attention to things that can actually make an impact in my day-to-day. I know there's a lot going on in this space and a lot happening, so it's really neat to rot watch the rocket launches and see what's going on. Analyst at 5G Storn and Gadget note that Amazon's move was accelerated not just by competitive pressure, but by a series of high visibility field trials, such as Leo's live streaming of global business school classes and partnership with NBN Co in Australia. The Amazon Leo team kicked off the new brand with a 48-hour global hackathon where device makers were challenged to build the quote next killer app for satellite-driven IoT data routing, agricultural monitoring, and disaster relief. So my question to you is if you had access anywhere, if you, if if internet access was a given, connectivity is a given, how would that change what you do in your day-to-day job? What would you do? What would be the killer app for you to make this happen? Anyway, I don't think that this is just a this isn't just a facelift, right? This is the inflection point where satellite broadband ceases to be that tech demo and actually becomes a serious challenger for remote work, remote business, rural business, mobile enterprise applications across continents. There's a lot going on with this. And as Amazon makes its way into it, and again, I might be biased, but you know, I'd I try not to be biased. I love the idea that there is connectivity everywhere, but now with someone like Amazon coming on board, this just opens up, you know, the entire marketplace for people to do more globally. As a fun aside, man, add to my LinkedIn resume expert witness. I got to participate in a trial where I got to be an expert witness talking about connectivity and wireless connectivity. It's something I'd never done before, and it was one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever been through. So if you ever get a chance to do it, jump at the opportunity to show off what you know and and how you know it. I mean, be be the person that's helpful in a scenario like this. But man, be ready to just get rattled. Depositions aren't something to shake a stick at. I've never sat through one of those with someone who's grilling me who doesn't have a technical background. That was, I think, the fascinating part was being able to understand the questions that were coming from a non-technical person about something that was super highly technical, and then trying to figure out how I phrase that or that I word that that makes sense to an audience or a jury or a judge or a person or a lawyer or whatever it is, someone who doesn't live in the world that I live in. And that was, I think, the most challenging part that was frustrating me, like internally, was I would get asked these questions, and this question would come in, and it was like, why would you even say that? Like, that's not how RF actually works. But trying to figure out how to phrase that and build that into something so that someone would understand, someone with no background in this, would understand how RF works. Anyway, that was a lot of fun. It was definitely a new experience. All right, that's Waves for this week's. Thanks for joining us. Tomorrow we will be at meter up in San Francisco. We'll probably do a couple of things there, maybe record some stuff and definitely get an episode out this week. It's gonna be a crazy week, man. We're gonna learn some stuff. Pay attention to, I'm probably gonna be posting a lot on Instagram at Wireless Nerd, probably on X at Wireless Nerd, and then I'm gonna do some digests on LinkedIn. I don't like spamming that thing too much, but you know, I know that social media has taken a hit lately uh uh from the perspective of what we're using, like what people are using to share and consume information. I'm really trying to stay off of Twitter or X as much as possible just because of the suck of the internet, but I do communicate there a lot. If you want me to post somewhere else, let me know. Either way, I hope to see you guys at Meeter Up. Uh, if you're out there, come by and say hi. If you're not planning on being out there, send me questions that you want me to ask so that we can talk to them about it. And until then, I'll talk to you next week on the Waves podcast. See ya.