As Window Opens, FirstNet Prepares to File for Renewal of 700 MHz License
FirstNet is expected to file soon an application for renewal of the nationwide 700 MHz license it received in 2012, which expires Nov. 15, government officials told us. FirstNet Authority officials say renewal of the license is a top priority for the public safety network, being built by AT&T (see 2208170043). Industry experts said renewal likely won’t be a problem, though it would make sense for FirstNet to apply as soon as possible.
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Under FCC rules for its universal licensing (ULS) system, renewals can’t be filed earlier than 90 days before the expiration of a license, so the window opened only last week, public safety officials said.
“The FirstNet Authority intends to make the filing within the permissible filing window at the FCC,” a spokesperson said Friday. AT&T referred questions to the authority. The agency places spectrum license renewal applications on public notice and provides a process for interested parties to submit their views, industry and FCC officials said. The agency is expected to follow its standard process, plus the Spectrum Act and other rules, as it processes the application, officials said.
The Spectrum Act, which created FirstNet, provided licensing for an initial 10-year term. The act says “prior to expiration of the term of the initial license … or the expiration of any subsequent renewal of such license, the First Responder Network Authority shall submit to the Commission an application for the renewal of such license.” In the application, the authority must “demonstrate that, during the preceding license term, the First Responder Network Authority has met the duties and obligations set forth under this chapter.” The law limits renewal to a term “not to exceed 10 years.”
“Renewing the Band 14 license should be a top priority and I would expect that to happen soon,” said Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner: “I am sure the FCC will renew the license post-haste.”
“Congress directed the FCC to allocate the band to FirstNet, so assuming there aren't any glaring problems, my instinct is that this isn't going to be a major issue, just something that needs to get done,” emailed American Action Forum Technology and Innovation Policy Director Jeffrey Westling.
ULS license renewals usually get little attention, but FirstNet’s application could be more complicated and may attract more notice, said a lawyer with wireless carrier clients.
The FCC transferred the Band 14 spectrum to FirstNet in November 2012, years before the start of construction. Then-FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn said at the time (see 1211190062) the transfer was “another critical milestone on our journey towards deploying a nationwide mission critical wireless network” and the license is “a tangible reminder of our need to be good stewards of the invaluable spectrum resources.”
Some 95% of public safety Band 14 spectrum has been deployed nationwide by AT&T, which is ahead of schedule, FirstNet officials said last week. AT&T was awarded a 25-year contract in March 2017 to build the network (see 1703300050). The authority is to pay AT&T a total of $6.5 billion for its initial work in building out the network.
In AT&T’s last earnings call in July, CEO John Stankey credited FirstNet in part for the carrier’s success adding customers. “A lot of our strength in the wireless business is coming from our success in our enterprise business,” he said: “It's coming from increases in the public sector, in our success of what we've done with FirstNet.”