When you hear wireless internet providers talk about "expanding the 5G cellular Network," your first thought is probably, "Oh good." That's because there's a lot of wireless data streaming to the world's many many smartphones, tablets, and laptops. But scientists are increasingly worried that all that mobile device bandwidth will come at a cost — our ability to forecast the weather quickly and accurately.
While most people know that they're paying their wireless provider to connect them to the internet, they may not realize that wireless providers are tapping into a finite resource: a narrow band of radio frequencies known as spectrum (not the cable company). Spectrum-range radio wavelengths are unique for a few reasons. For one thing, they can transmit data through solid objects – such as the walls of your house or windows of your car – making them ideal for wireless communication. But they are also important because the Earth's atmosphere naturally emits radio waves, which can be picked up by satellite sensors and translated into weather data like temperature and precipitation.
