O'Rielly Asks Trump to Intervene on Opening More DOD Spectrum for 5G

The commission is moving aggressively to make more spectrum available, in the D-block and 3.5 GHz band, and is studying 3.3-3.55 GHz, O’Rielly wrote Trump Wednesday. It was posted Thursday. “We are also exploring whether to convert 75 MHz of spectrum at 4.9 GHz for commercial wireless services,” O'Rielly said: “These steps are simply not enough to address the exploding demand for spectrum for 5G services.”

“The only potential source of such large swaths of mid-band spectrum for 5G commercial wireless services is within the allocations held by U.S. Federal departments and agencies,” O’Rielly wrote: “Federal users can reduce their spectrum holdings without putting at risk their vital missions. Nonetheless, these same entities, especially the Department of Defense, which is the largest holder of the most ideal mid-band spectrum, are exceptionally reluctant to part with one single megahertz.” With the agencies, he wrote, “every excuse, delay tactic, and political chit is used to prevent the repurposing of any spectrum.” O’Rielly said it takes years to repurpose frequencies.

“The last couple of months I’ve been ramping up the focus on the next pipeline,” O’Rielly said in an interview. “You’ve seen a bunch of tweets, you’ve seen comments I’ve made. I’ve been aggressive in trying to figure out what is coming next.” O’Rielly said he has always been “willing to push the envelope, to take the tough stances.”

The White House and the FCC didn't comment.

O'Rielly Interview

O’Rielly said the commission is making progress, “but not enough, we’ve got more work to do.” He agrees with carriers they need more spectrum. “Why to the president and why such a forceful approach?” he asked. Agencies are using all the tools they have to not give up spectrum, he said. “The only person who can get through that stonewalling, bureaucratic mess is the president,” the commissioner said: “He is personally the only person who can change the equation.”

It's unusual for an individual commissioner to write the commander in chief, and “I haven’t done that before,” O’Rielly said. Pai “has a lot on his plate” and O’Rielly said he didn’t call him before sending the letter. Pai “and I have talked about the substance of the issue multiple times,” he said. "We didn’t have a chance to talk” about the letter. “I’m sure we will at the right time.” O’Rielly said his focus is on bands beyond just 3.1-3.55 GHz. “I don’t want to box in what the administration, specifically the president, might want to do in this space,” he said.

Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams said it’s unusual for a regular commissioner to send such a letter. “This is something he has been talking about for a while,” Williams told us of O’Rielly. This FCC “is being aggressive in making spectrum available."

The Competitive Carriers Association shares O’Rielly’s concerns. “Mid-band spectrum will be key to connecting rural America and provides real opportunities for carriers of all sizes,” emailed President Steve Berry. “Competitive carriers must have access to this critical resource before they can enhance and expand their networks, and it will justify substantial new investments.”

It's "long overdue for action on the 3 GHz band," said CTIA President Meredith Baker. "We need the administration to quickly clear a significant portion.”

Stakeholders React

“This is an important initiative and the commissioners are right to press for action,” said Mark Jamison, a University of Florida professor who helped the Trump administration constitute the current FCC: “The letter looks like commissioners coordinating and dividing responsibilities in a time of overwhelming workload.” That has been a hallmark under Ajit Pai.

“Mike has historically pressed hard to find ways to have federal users of spectrum relinquish it for private sector uses,” Cooley’s Robert McDowell told us. O’Rielly “knows that the president is in a unique position to make that happen,” he said: “Adding his important voice to the chorus of others calling for similar reforms could help spark some action.” McDowell is out of the hospital after fighting COVID-19 (see 2003250057).

The letter reflects “exasperation with the slow pace of spectrum reform on the federal side during a surge of spectrum reform on the non-federal side,” said the Mercatus Center's Brent Skorup. “Typically, the FCC discusses federal spectrum reform with the NTIA and” the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, he said: “Few agencies want to upgrade their legacy wireless systems that work fine, but DOD is notoriously resistant to NTIA and IRAC reform recommendations.”

“Federal agencies have unfortunately been unwilling to relinquish assets like spectrum,” said Deborah Collier, Citizens Against Government Waste vice president-policy and government affairs. Collier noted DOT’s fight against sharing the “long-unused” 5.9 GHz band. For a robust, nationwide 5G network, "federal agencies must be willing to do their part, and allow underutilized spectrum resources to be reallocated,” Collier said.

The FCC is making gains, but progress has been slow, said Tom Struble, R Street Institute tech policy manager. The FCC and DOD “obviously have very different missions, with the former trying to maximize productive use of spectrum and the latter trying to maintain national security, and these missions are often hard to reconcile,” Struble said. “In the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems clear that the biggest threat to the American people isn't armed conflict with hostile foreign powers, but the economic turmoil sweeping the nation.”