Cable Leased Access Rules on June 6 FCC Tentative Agenda but Not 5.9 GHz
The FCC will take up cable leased access rules and an NPRM on aviation safety, in addition to the declaratory ruling and Further NPRM on robocalls (see 1905150041), Chairman Ajit Pai blogged Wednesday. The FCC isn’t slated to tackle the 2.5 GHz educational broadcast service (EBS) band or a notice on the 5.9 GHz band, as some had expected (see 1905130054 and 1905140050). "We’ve certainly had monthly meetings with more items on the agenda, but with a major item to crack down on unwanted robocalls, this could be one of our most impactful meetings of the year," Pai said.
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The 5.9 GHz item ran into interagency objections and was pulled from the agenda Wednesday, industry officials said. The Department of Transportation and the FCC didn’t comment.
“We understand the importance of interagency coordination and the decision to delay the FCC’s issuance of the 5.9 GHz NPRM for one month,” WifiForward said. “After 20 years of being stuck in neutral, an additional month of deliberation will not change the importance of the Commission taking a fresh look at the band. Making additional unlicensed spectrum available, given the enormous economic benefits it will deliver to the country, must remain a central part of US spectrum policy.”
The June agenda’s lone media item would relax cable leased access rules to account for the wider number of outlets for video programming, Pai said. “The need for burdensome leased access rules has dramatically diminished.” The item includes a draft order that would remove requirements for part-time access and a further notice on calculating rates, said General Counsel Tom Johnson at a Media Institute luncheon Wednesday (see 1905150060).
At an event Wednesday, Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition Executive Director John Windhausen called on the FCC to take a pause before revising rules for the 2.5 GHz band. The FCC has had a freeze on issuing new EBS licenses for more than 20 years, Windhausen noted. “A lot of those licenses … were taken for the urban markets, but not many for the rural markets.” In 50 percent of the U.S., there’s no EBS licensee.
Windhausen later said he was pleased the 2.5 GHz item isn’t on the agenda. “The FCC should not rush to judgment until it seeks more comment and fully develops the record in this proceeding,” he said.
“Colleges and K-12 school districts are today deploying EBS in some markets,” Windhausen said. “The Havasupai … Tribe even deployed EBS service at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. So you can see this is very doable.” Carriers want to auction the spectrum, he said. “Auctions would upend the educational preference that was established over 50 years ago” and “would not serve the needs of rural America,” he said.
SHLB reported 4,000 EBS licenses aren't assigned. “Wireless broadband deployment economics (not a lack of available commercial spectrum) constrain the development of network in rural, unserved counties,” said the report by Raul Katz of Telecom Advisory Services. “Additional spectrum will not change the economic constraints that disincentivize investment in sparsely populated areas.”
The poorest Americans can’t afford broadband, Katz said at the event. “Thinking that we’re going to solve the problem of the digital divide by getting more spectrum is a dream,” he said. “If we don’t address the social problem by less expensive offers, then it’s not going to happen.”
Pai said he's also circulating an NPRM aimed at improving aviation safety through an update to the aviation radio service rules. The service “uses dedicated spectrum to enhance the safety of aircraft in flight, facilitate the efficient movement of aircraft both in the air and on the ground, and otherwise ensure the reliability and effectiveness of aviation communications,” Pai wrote. “Unfortunately, the FCC’s rules for managing these airwaves haven’t kept pace with recent technological advances. ... We’ll vote on several proposals that would enable the use of today’s state-of-the-art safety-enhancing technologies.” Pai said he would propose allocating spectrum for enhanced flight vision systems, “which use an advanced radar technology to improve pilots’ ability to detect potentially dangerous objects in fog and other difficult visual environments.”