Compromise Urged on C-Band Clearing as Schisms Remain; O'Rielly Seeks Quick Action

Asked what minimum amount of C band is needed for 5G, T-Mobile Vice President-Government Affairs, Technology and Engineering Policy Steve Sharkey said "there's no one right number," but 100 MHz per national carrier is becoming somewhat of basic table stakes globally. For rural ISPs, two carriers might need 160 MHz, said Christina Mason, Wireless ISP Association Vice President-Government Affairs.

Also Thursday, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said he hopes satellite interests can dial up the spectrum available to 300 MHz, but indicated he isn't wedded to that amount. "Perfect cannot be allowed to be the enemy of good," he said in a speech at the Brooklyn 5G Summit. He called freeing up 500 MHz -- which T-Mobile has advocated -- "farfetched to nearly impossible." The 3.45-3.55 GHz band could be combined with the 3.5 GHz and C band for the large channel sizes needed for 5G, he said. He wants the FCC and NTIA to speed up work related to 5G spectrum.

His agency must speed processes for auctions, the commissioner said. "Make procedural changes to enable auctions to be held closer together and ideally even simultaneously,” he said: “It cannot take months on end to upscale, reconfigure, and test our software between each auction. This is inexcusable.” O’Rielly's advised keeping expectations low on some of the more “headline-grabbing business cases” for 5G, including remote surgery and autonomous cars. “These will require serious leaps of faith by consumers before widespread implementation can occur,” he said. “We might be wise to focus our attention on those slightly more modest, but still revolutionary, advances that are likely to have immediate impact in business manufacturing and services -- consider this an opportunity for wireless automation on a whole new scale.”

O'Rielly said the agency needs to tee-up other mid-band spectrum bands for review beyond the C band and 3.5 GHz band, even though that "will likely cause some friction with existing federal government users ... inconveniently parked in prime 5G bands." He also criticized the NTIA and Defense Department feasibility study of the 3.45-3.55 GHz band as needless.

NTIA pointed us to Administrator David Redl's blog in February 2018 regarding the feasibility study. He said it's "part of an ongoing effort across the U.S. government to support deployment of wireless broadband and foster American leadership in 5G.”

C Band

A big sticking point in C-band clearing could be what proceeds from a sale go to the Treasury.

JKC Consulting founder John Kneuer said the idea of government participation in the proceeds is gaining traction on Capitol Hill. Alex Damato, legislative director for Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said it's "reasonable" that some amount be returned to the Treasury. A lack of revenue sharing is a political problem for the C-Band Alliance (CBA) band-clearing plan, said Google Senior Counsel Michael Purdy.

Damato said Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-chair Matsui is interested in seeing a compromise that has satellite operators acting as "transition facilitators," largely driving decisions of how much spectrum gets reallocated and where while demonstrating to the FCC that end users are protected. Damato said Congress likely wouldn't pass legislation on C-band clearing before the FCC acts, but whether it would need to do so afterward remains to be seen.

When the agency acts remains unclear. Kneuer said there needs to be "a degree of realism" about how long it takes for freed-up spectrum to be used, given such back-end issues as reconfiguring of networks and satellite launches. Purdy said a six- to nine-month delay on deciding C-band clearing wouldn't irrevocably hurt the U.S. in the 5G implementation race, given the back-end implementation issues.

Public Knowledge Senior Policy Counsel Phillip Berenbroick said freeing up spectrum in 18-36 months from an FCC order, as CBA said it could do, would be "incredibly fast" in spectrum policy, and there needs to be an additional 12 to 18 months factored in for the likelihood of litigation. Wireless Infrastructure Association President Jonathan Adelstein said given the lack of industry consensus on a band-clearing plan, the FCC isn't likely to get behind a proposal by Q3, though something could be put out by year's end. The agency didn't comment on timing.

'No More Dawdling'

O'Rielly wants the proceeding to be done "in the next few months," he said. "No more dawdling."

SES Senior Vice President-Global Advocacy Gerry Oberst said an FCC incentive auction approach has "built-in problems" like it doesn't cover how such expenses as new satellites and filters would be dealt with. The CBA approach "threatens many harms" such as lower-quality video resolution and higher pricing for end users like cable systems, said America's Communications Association Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Ross Lieberman. But proposals to allocate even more spectrum "are even more concerning," he said.

Vice President-Legal and Industry Assistant General Counsel Jill Canfield said NTCA members need a "fair opportunity" to obtain spectrum. She said secondary market transactions like what CBA wants typically favor national operators buying nationwide blocks of spectrum rather than small operators with limited resources that want to cover just discrete areas.

Berenbroick said the CBA proposal could set a bad precedent of expecting a windfall from underused spectrum. Oberst replied the satellite industry is fully using its transponders and the industry plans for four replacement satellites being launched, plus two orbital spares and two spares on the ground, point to spectrum's not being underutilized. That industry thinks it can free up 200 MHz says otherwise, Lieberman said.

CBA did get some kudos, even from those who don't fully share its views. The alliance of Intelsat and SES and two other operators has been transparent and provided ample information to NAB, said Associate General Counsel Patrick McFadden. He wants "evidence-based, fact-based discussion. It should not turn on sloganeering."

CBA representatives meanwhile discussed efforts to build consensus and the maximum amount of C-band spectrum that can be cleared after an FCC order without harming incumbent uses, in meetings with eighth-floor officials, recounted a docket 18-122 posting Thursday. Meetings were with Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel. The group also met with Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1902130008).