Economic Impact of Unlicensed Spectrum Seen Growing Fast

The value of unlicensed spectrum to the U.S. economy grew 129 percent to $525.19 billion since 2013, said a study released Thursday by WifiForward. It's expected to reach $834.48 billion by 2020, boosted by "persistent growth in existing applications and technology" and "deployment of 5G networks, the efficiency contribution of IoT in vertical markets and an expansion of the Bluetooth-enabled ecosystem,” said study author Raul Katz, president of Telecom Advisory Services.