The FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking it adopted at an...
The FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking it adopted at an open meeting last month to examine how to speed the deployment of wireless services in rural areas. The proposal asked how to make unused spectrum available to…
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new users and provide access to capital and equipment. The proposal seeks feedback on an appropriate definition of a “rural” area, including whether there should be a uniform definition or whether it should vary depending on which regulatory initiative was at issue. The Communications Act doesn’t define rural areas and the FCC hasn’t adopted a specific definition for addressing the wireless licensing portions of the Act. The FCC also seeks feedback on what constitutes “use” of spectrum in rural areas, including the applicability of leasing through secondary markets to utilize spectrum more efficiently. The proposal asks for comment on the potential expansion of recent Wireless Bureau spectrum audits to help identify unused spectrum in rural areas. It asks whether a spectrum inventory is feasible and whether it should be limited to the most rural or underserved areas. The Commission cited markets in Alaska, Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta as “particularly appropriate” for such an inventory. It said its Spectrum Policy Task Force had recommended that the FCC focus on secondary markets as the “primary means” to increase spectrum access and, in time, consider alternatives, such as govt.-defined easements. “We seek comment on whether now is an appropriate time to consider the use of spectrum easements for new licenses,” the Commission said. Using such easement, software-defined radios and other frequency-agile devices could allow 3rd parties to take advantage of unused portions of licensed spectrum, it said. It also addressed how providers of rural wireless services could have better access to capital for building out systems. The FCC asked whether the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) should be able to obtain security interests in the spectrum licenses of carriers that borrowed from the agency. Comment is sought on “whether, and to what extent, licensees in rural areas would benefit from the opportunity to pledge their licenses to RUS as collateral as a means of overcoming their difficulty in raising capital.”