Lawmakers Eye Broadcaster Concerns Ahead of Auction, as CBRS Draft to Circulate at FCC

“Tomorrow, [FCC] Chairman [Tom] Wheeler plans to circulate with the commissioners draft final rules to create a new service in the 3.5 GHz band, the Citizens Broadband Radio Service,” said Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman at Thursday's hearing. “This is an exciting opportunity to use new innovative technologies and policies to leverage 150 MHz for wireless broadband.”

Lawmakers also introduced high-profile spectrum legislation. Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chairs Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., reintroduced their Federal Spectrum Incentive Act (HR-1641) Thursday, as expected (see 1503250061). Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced a companion bill in the Senate for the first time. CTIA praised the legislation, and subcommittee leadership backed the bill as in the last Congress. The bill, which would incent government spectrum holders to give up spectrum, is “the type of forward-thinking bipartisan spectrum policy that we need to meet our nation’s commercial and government spectrum needs,” said CTIA Vice President-Government Affairs Jot Carpenter in a statement. The bill’s model “can benefit resource-constrained federal agencies and encourage additional private sector investment and innovation," said Carpenter.

Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., praised the AWS-3 auction’s success and said “the model can hopefully be recreated in other spectrum bands through the Federal Spectrum Incentive Act.” He said opportunities for “beachfront” spectrum will be “even more scarce in the future” so “we’re going to have to start looking outside of the traditionally desirable spectrum bands,” such as the frequencies above 24 GHz.

The legislation “would create the first-ever incentive auction for federal agencies,” Matsui said. “It is a game changer.”

Questioning at the hearing quickly turned to the broadcast incentive auction, scheduled for Q1 2016. Guthrie asked FCC officials about the relocation fund being potentially insufficient. “What are potential solutions?” he asked.

“We too, Congressman, are concerned about both the amount and the process,” said FCC Incentive Auction Task Force Chairman Gary Epstein. The FCC commissioned a report that said holding the auction with the $1.75 billion allocated would be challenging but feasible, and emphasized the agency's goal to minimize relocation costs. “We’re working with the NAB, the broadcasters, the industry generally,” he said. “We have no reason to believe that $1.75 billion won’t be sufficient.” Walden asked if the fund would proceed under competitive bidding and if it's a one-time request; Epstein said yes on both.

Walden asked about how the FCC is handling performance requirements for receivers, whether it would be a one-size-fits-all model if the agency is able to “tailor an appropriate framework.” The Technology Advisory Council has “looked at the issue” and “proposed new approach for dealing with receivers,” Office of Engineering Technology Chief Julius Knapp replied, saying agency staffers are working with industry on different approaches, without moving toward mandatory standards.

The Congressional Black Caucus is displeased with the state of diversity in FCC spectrum auctions, said Caucus Chairman G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C. He aligned himself with concerns voiced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill. “Success is in the eye of the beholder, and from my vantage point, my eyes, my constituents, they are an abysmal failure,” Rush had told FCC officials, refuting the idea that the AWS-3 auction was a great success due to revenue. “Reassure me, please, if you can,” said Rush. He wanted to know how “this next auction will give us an opportunity for small and minority bidders to fare better and to have different and better outcomes.” Butterfield pushed the officials to “acknowledge the lack of diversity.” FCC officials conceded more needs to be done and that the agency is reviewing many of the rules. Sherman mentioned the notice on designated entity rules that Wheeler circulated Monday (see 1503240055">1503240055). “Once that is voted on by the commissioners, there’ll be an additional comment period,” Sherman said.

Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., asked how the FCC will make sure broadcasters participate. “Your point is absolutely the most crucial one,” Epstein assured her, citing the webinars and seminars for broadcasters that the FCC has arranged and the broadcaster information packages that “contain both business information and estimated pricing information.” That information “combined with the AWS-3 figures has piqued a lot of interest from broadcasters,” he said, citing FCC staff’s trips around the country to 50 cities to discuss the auction with broadcasters.

Clarke and Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., asked about smaller broadcasters. Epstein told Clarke the FCC is receiving “a lot of positive feedback from a lot of stations who want to participate in the auction” but emphasized that for smaller or more rural broadcasters, there are “other options,” such as channel sharing. “We’ve emphasized those alternatives with those other broadcasters.” Cramer wondered about implications for a smaller-market station that declines participation and whether they’ll still be forced into the repacking process. “What we’re seeking to do in this auction is to have a near-nationwide continuous band of spectrum,” Epstein told him.

“What’s going to happen with the TV white spaces?” asked subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who was pleased when Knapp said her concerns could be “easily” resolved. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., expressed concerns about the progress of border coordination between the U.S. and Canada, and Eshoo said she shared those questions. The FCC hopes to resolve those concerns months before the incentive auction, Epstein said.

Several lawmakers asked about unlicensed versus licensed spectrum use. FCC witnesses emphasized a complementary role. Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, pressed officials on progress on the agency's examination of sharing possibilities in the upper 5 GHz band, mentioning his Wi-Fi Innovation Act that focuses on spectrum sharing there, and officials mentioned coordination with different stakeholders and told Latta they would keep him apprised.

The Telecommunications Industry Association warned Walden and Eshoo in a letter “that the FCC’s proposed technical rules for unlicensed devices will result in significant harmful interference to 600 MHz band licensees, and eventually to consumers.” TIA urged no further incentive auction delays.