22Open questions and known gaps
The short version: What we looked for and could not pin down well enough to print. If you can source any of it, the corrections desk below wants to hear from you.
Still digging
27 things we could not source well enough
Each of these would make the guide better. Send a source and we will add it, with credit if you want it.
- Whether the FCC adopted a final order in 2026 ending the required ATSC 1.0 simulcast for NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) stations
- How much of the 6 GHz band the EU and Japan have opened for Wi-Fi
- How the Shannon capacity limit links channel width to maximum data rate
- US launch dates for 2G and 3G cellular service
- CTIA's most recent total count of US cell sites (2024 or 2025 survey)
- Radio systems and channels used by Boston Fire, Boston EMS, MBTA Transit Police and Massachusetts State Police
- How MBTA subway and commuter rail crews and local utilities use their own radio systems
- Which Wireless Emergency Alert categories exist and which ones phone users can switch off
- EU public safety radio networks and the ETSI TETRA standard
- A national count of US police agencies that encrypt their radio, from a neutral source
- Whether Boston Fire and Boston EMS radio is encrypted, and whether the new Boston Police system is P25 trunked
- Logan Airport noise complaint totals and Fly Quiet reports from Massport, 2018-2026
- Ofcom guidance on whether receive-only scanner listening is allowed in the UK
- How many receiving stations MarineTraffic and other ship trackers run today
- Which ships other countries require to carry AIS on domestic voyages
- How the Coast Guard's Sector Boston runs the harbor, how much ship traffic Boston sees, and which radio channels the Boston pilots work
- How EU countries outlaw GPS jammers, from national law
- How NIST's WWV, WWVH and WWVB time stations are funded in 2025-2026
- Whether MassDOT still uses Bluetooth readers for highway travel-time signs in 2026, or has moved to commercial probe data
- GOES Rebroadcast (GRB) downlink frequency and the dish size needed to receive it
- How many Eversource smart meters were installed in Massachusetts as of October 2026, and when Boston neighborhoods are scheduled
- The chip type and radio frequency of the new CharlieCard
- Boston's post-repack UHF TV channel list, which sets which channels are open for wireless mics locally
- An official 2024-2026 total of US amateur radio licensees
- Current (2026) list of FM stations broadcasting from the Prudential Tower mast in Boston
- Which carriers and completion dates the MBTA gives for its current subway tunnel cellular upgrade
- Official FCC registration numbers and heights for the Cedar Street and Cabot Street towers in Needham and WBZ's AM towers in Hull