Wireless Infrastructure Association

"[3][4][5] Examples of companies that are members of WIA include American Tower, Ericsson, Graybar, JMA Wireless, Qualcomm, and SBA Communications.

At various times throughout WIA's history, it has focused on land mobile radio, paging, messaging, personal communications services, and tower and antenna siting.

[8] In 2012, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.

Specifically, section 6409(a) of the law orders states and local governments to approve requests made by companies to collocate[b] , remove or replace transmission equipment on existing wireless towers or base stations.

[24][25] WIA advocated an effort passed by the FCC commonly referred to as The "5G Upgrade Order," which made key clarifications for wireless deployment.

The Order: WIA has been the leading voice in lobbying Congress to include wireless for funding eligibility in its landmark infrastructure bill.

WIA helped convince Congress and the Administration to provide agencies with the needed flexibility to allow all broadband technologies, including mobile and fixed wireless, the opportunity to compete for funding.

In a February 2014 article in National Law Review, Washington telecommunications attorneys Dave Thomas and Douglas A. Svor explained the issue and the battle played out between the wireless industry and local governments.

In their article, Thomas and Svor state that spectrum and infrastructure serve as the most important aspects of federal communications laws in terms of being good for the economy and American competitiveness.

Thomas and Svor wrote:[28]Industry's universal support for the FCC's proposals has been matched by local government's hostility towards them.

[43] According to international communications company Ericsson, heterogeneous networks help wireless customers enjoy activities that require a large amount of data, such as watching streaming videos, uploading photos and using cloud storage services.

The purpose of the forum is to advance the development of heterogeneous networks in the United States, as well as to push policies related to distributed antenna systems (DAS),[d] small cells, and fiber backhaul.