Education Advocates Lose Out in Pai Proposal for 2.5 GHz Band; 5.9 GHz Stalls
Educational interests got little of what they were hoping for in draft FCC rules on the 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band, in an order circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai for the July 10 commissioners' meeting and as expected (see 1906120043). Pai didn’t circulate a rulemaking on the 5.9 GHz band, which some expected, after it, like the 2.5 GHz item, didn’t make the cut for the June meeting (see 1905130054). The 5G items top a busy July 10 agenda (see 1906180080).
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The draft calls for an incentive auction of unused 2.5 GHz spectrum and EBS white spaces. New educational licenses could be offered only in tribal areas. The Education Department had urged Pai to preserve the band for use by educational institutions (see 1906100041). In a win for wireless ISPs, which want to launch services in the band (see 1906120074), Pai is proposing auctioning the spectrum in county-sized licenses, an FCC official told reporters on a conference call, speaking on condition of not being named or quoted.
The order wouldn't adopt a proposal in the 2.5 GHz NPRM (see 1805100053) to modify each current license to include census tracts covered by each current geographic service area, said a senior FCC official. The order wouldn't make new EBS licenses available outside tribal areas, but would allow current licensees to use the spectrum as they want without educational-use requirements.
The spectrum is the “single largest band of contiguous spectrum below 3 GHz” available for 5G, Pai blogged Tuesday: “But much of this public resource has been unused for decades. That’s partly because the technology that policymakers conceived many years ago for this band hasn’t materialized as some thought, and partly because arcane rules hampered providers from putting the spectrum to its highest-valued use.”
Pai said his proposal emphasizes flexible use of the 2.5 GHz band. “Making this valuable mid-band spectrum available for new mobile services will allow for more efficient and effective use of these airwaves and will advance U.S. leadership in 5G,” he said: “My colleagues have expressed a strong interest in bringing mid-band spectrum to market, and this order represents a prime opportunity.”
The chairman said agency members also will vote in July to finalize the “procedures, terms, and conditions” for the upper 37, 39 and 47 GHz auction to start Dec. 10. “Among the many key details outlined in this Public Notice, this will be an incentive auction,” Pai said: “Each of the bands available will be licensed on an unpaired basis in 100-megahertz channel blocks, and the winning bidder may provide any services permitted under a fixed or mobile allocation.”
Pai didn’t circulate an NPRM on the 5.9 GHz band, one of the biggest target bands for Wi-Fi advocates. Pai pulled a draft NPRM last month after Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao objected. The band is allocated to auto safety, specifically dedicated short-range communications that automakers largely haven’t deployed.
“We worry that DOT is trying to pre-emptively limit the FCC’s options in a way that undermines Pai’s statements that he is open to considering not only sharing the band with Wi-Fi, but also moving vehicle safety signaling to a different band,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Consumers will benefit most from both better auto safety and next-generation Wi-Fi with 5G capabilities,” Calabrese said: “As an independent agency and the expert on communications, the FCC is in the best position to determine allocations of spectrum.”
“It is unfortunate if DOT is forcing another delay,” said Joe Kane, tech policy fellow at the R Street Institute. At a recent DOT conference on 5.9 GHz, “they blamed regulatory uncertainty for the relative lack of deployment to date,” he said. “If that's really the holdup, I'd expect them to want the FCC to put the item on the agenda.” Automakers also need the FCC to take action so they can deploy vehicle-to-everything technologies, Kane said. Whether the FCC is open to an extended delay “will depend on the politics,” he said. “There’s a lot of momentum at the FCC for reassigning 5.9 because the car companies simply haven’t done enough to justify the allocation," said Richard Bennett, network architect and free-market blogger.