FCC's January Meeting Could Be Busy
The Jan. 30 FCC meeting is shaping up to be busy, including likely action on the C band and possibly 6 GHz, based on early indications. The agency has seven weeks to get ready, versus less than three weeks between the November and December meetings. Key staff are being asked to avoid taking time off headed into the meeting because Chairman Ajit Pai anticipates a heavy agenda. This period is typical and gives staff time to celebrate the holidays.
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The C-band item is expected to be "higher level" proposal with an auction public notice and other notices and orders to come later, industry and FCC officials said last week. Pai said Thursday the FCC is moving forward with a schedule that would allow an auction to start next year (see 1912120063). Officials said that likely means the first item would have to be voted in January, or February at the latest.
Pai is expected to push early in the new year on orders implementing the $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and recently announced $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America. Like C band, both require early action to complete in 2020, agency and industry officials said. The commission didn’t comment Friday.
Industry lawyers said Pai’s staff seems comfortable with waiting until February on the C band if they need more time, and most commissioners and staff agree working through the legal underpinnings of an auction is complicated. The FCC is watching closely to see if Congress acts, and if it doesn’t, February may be more likely, lawyers said.
The issue if new legislation doesn't pass soon is whether the FCC must rely on existing Communications Act authority, said a former FCC spectrum official: The debate is whether the authority could come from Section 309(j)(A)-(E), which lays out authority for awarding spectrum licenses by competitive bidding, through Section 309(j)(G), which lays out additional authority for incentive auctions, or from Section 303, which details the power over wireless licensees, or a combination. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel highlighted those concerns to reporters Thursday.
“I doubt a legislative solution is possible so it’s going to be full speed ahead for the FCC to use its authority and find a solution,” LightShed Partners’ Walter Piecyk said. “The chairman has elected a public auction, so now it’s on him to make it work, to ensure his 5G legacy.”
“To achieve his goal of starting the C-band auction in 2020, it is crucial that Chairman Pai launch relevant items as soon as possible,” said Cooley’s Robert McDowell. “Constructing spectrum auctions always seems to take longer than initial estimates, so there’s no time to waste. It makes sense that the January meeting would be a very busy one.”
“The FCC has an opportunity to ring in the new year with actions that would enable providers to climb to new heights in deploying high-speed rural broadband,” emailed Louis Peraertz, Wireless ISP Association vice president-policy: “Sharing spectrum in the remaining 200 MHz of the C-band, 850 MHz of high-power unlicensed 6 GHz spectrum, and technology-neutral rules for cost-effective deployment in RDOF would be a strong foundation.”
Spectrum has again “taken center stage,” at the FCC, said Doug Brake, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy. “C-band requires some thoughtful design to see not just an early auction, but actually get the incentives right,” he said: “It’s important the commission moves quickly, but its ultimately a successful transition of the spectrum that matters, so no sense rushing.”
A lawyer with a client participating in the C-band proceeding said the general expectation is for a January draft order that will spell out the structure of the auction and how the agency will bring along the C-band operators with some kind of incentives. Prospective bidders will want to know and understand if they will be working with incumbents moving willingly. The draft order likely will say winning bidders make pro rata incentive payments to C-band authorization holders, he said.