To extend broadband, Va. may reach out to untested technologies whose creators see the sense in sharing the risk of rollouts, the state’s new technology secretary said. When private providers aren’t delivering, the state should consider “advanced technologies that might be less mature” but whose owners may “take chances in the marketplace to show their capability” to close gaps between high-speed Internet haves and have-nots, said Aneesh Chopra. Now Advisory Board Co. (ABC) managing dir., Chopra, 33, will join the cabinet of Gov.-elect Tim Kaine (D), who takes office tomorrow (Sat.).
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Former FCC Comr. Rachelle Chong was nominated Thurs. to be the newest commissioner on the Cal. PUC. Chong would fill the vacancy left by the departure of former Comr. Susan Kennedy. Chong, a Republican, was on the FCC 1994-97 when the FCC was implementing the 1996 Telecom Act, setting up the first PCS wireless spectrum auctions, finalizing DTV rules and coping with new wireless and satellite services. Most recently, Chong was in private telecom practice as an attorney, mediator, arbitrator and expert witness. The appointment of a former federal telecom regulator to the state commission overseeing the nation’s largest telecom marketplace follows on the heels of a Tenn. state regulator, Deborah Tate, being appointed to fill an FCC vacancy. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) said Chong’s telecom background and “exceptional understanding of the regulatory environment” will be major assets to the PUC. Kennedy left the PUC to become Schwarzenegger’s chief of staff. Chong’s appointment must be confirmed by the Cal. Senate.
The FCC Wed. scheduled its long-awaited air-to-ground (ATG) 800 MHz auction for May 10. Companies led by Verizon’s Airfone, a prospective bidder, had asked the FCC to schedule an auction as soon as possible. The auction means that passengers on some commercial flights could have access to broadband through the ATG spectrum as early as next year.
The FCC’s long-awaited BRS/EBS order has been withdrawn from circulation so new Comr. Tate can get up to speed on its complex issues, industry sources said this week. The order involves leasing spectrum assigned to educational institutions for wireless broadband use. Meanwhile, lobbying continues. Motorola defended itself against the Assn. of Home Appliance Mfrs. (AHAM) charges that its recent data on the interference threat from microwave ovens and other IMS devices were based purely on “discredited” information and an NTIA study that tested old gear. A group representing ITFS license holders urged an end to secrecy on the terms of leases filed at the FCC.
Wireless tower operator Crown Castle said Wed. it will offer mobile TV to cellphones in the top 30 U.S. markets. The $500 million investment will use a national license for 1.670 GHz spectrum it bought during a 2003 FCC auction. Crown Castle also said it will rename its Mobile Media unit Modeo. The first markets, N.Y.C. and Pittsburgh, are slated to come online this year.
Industry sources expressed concern last week that the lack of a proceeding yet on the relationship between designated entities (DEs) and large spectrum holders could slow the long anticipated advanced wireless services auction (AWS), which is expected to occur as early as June. Chmn. Martin has yet to begin circulating an item on DE ties with large wireless carriers. A front page story in the Wall Street Journal last week focused additional attention on the DE issue.
NTIA released cost estimates for clearing federal agencies from spectrum that will be sold through the long-awaited advanced wireless service (AWS) auction, saying the expenses probably will be well below industry and congressional estimates. NTIA projected in a report the cost of 2,240 frequency assignments, across 12 agencies, will run $936 million. The Congressional Budget Office had estimated costs could run as high as $2.5 billion. The NTIA report cleared the way for an FCC auction of 90 MHz of AWS spectrum as early as June.
The FCC in a report to Congress released late Wed. agreed with the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety, representing law enforcement groups across the U.S., that the 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum set to go to public safety after the DTV transition should be adjusted to allow more ambitious broadband uses. But the Commission refused to support demands that public safety get an additional 6 MHz of spectrum.
NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher will leave the agency early next year, as expected. He had led the agency since shortly after the departure of Nancy Victory in Aug. 2003, though he wasn’t confirmed by the Senate until Nov. 2004. Gallagher is expected to be replaced, at least in an acting capacity, by his deputy John Kneuer, industry sources said.
Verizon Airfone officials met with Cathy Seidel, acting chief of the Wireless Bureau, last week to call for an April auction of 800 MHz spectrum to be used to offer wireless broadband on airliners. “There is significant demand for broadband services onboard commercial and general aviation aircraft, and prompt action by the FCC will enable consumers to benefit from these new services,” Airfone said in a filing about the meeting. The organization said that considering “the tasks that must be undertaken to plan and implement an effective auction,” an auction before May “is possible.”