FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners placed blame for recent hiccups in work to free up spectrum for commercial 5G use squarely on the Commerce Department and NOAA, during a Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Pai used the panel to announce pending FCC action to improve the agency's broadband coverage data collection practices, which have come up repeatedly in Capitol Hill communications policy hearings (see 1905150061). Senators also used the panel to probe FCC actions on other communications policy items, including GOP commissioners' public support for T-Mobile's proposed buy of Sprint.
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.
Plaintiffs made initial arguments at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear challenges to the FCC’s wireless infrastructure changes that were aimed at speeding build out of small cells and 5G. Court watchers said what the 9th Circuit will do is difficult to predict, though it may prove unfriendly to President Donald Trump’s FCC.
The C-Band Alliance (CBA) is proposing a sealed-bid combinatorial second-price auction process for clearing 180 MHz of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band. The auction design -- now being discussed with the FCC -- is the last of the major components of its band-clearing plan put before the commission, the CBA told us Tuesday. That follows its transition (see 1904090067) and band plan.
The Wireless Bureau, in cooperation with the Office of Economics and Analytics, released rules on the reconfiguration of 39 GHz licenses, for auction starting Dec. 10. The FCC will sell licenses in that band, plus licenses in the upper 37 and 47 GHz bands in the agency’s third and largest high-band auction. The public notice in Thursday's Daily Digest also sets a timeline. “As part of the reconfiguration process, each 39 GHz incumbent will submit its selection of one of three Initial Commitment options,” the PN said. Each incumbent may “accept modified licenses based on the FCC’s proposed reconfigured holdings, … accept modified licenses based on an acceptable alternative reconfiguration submitted by the incumbent that is consistent with Commission requirements” or “relinquish spectrum usage rights under all its 39 GHz licenses in exchange for an incentive payment and eligibility to bid on new licenses.” The filing window for participation is July 9-15. The initial commitment window is Aug. 13-15.
Ligado supporters see the 40 MHz of lower mid-band spectrum it wants to offer as the fastest path available for getting more mid-band spectrum in play for 5G. The company needs FCC help: an order modifying its license allowing it to deploy terrestrial equipment and services on what are now L-band frequencies. Time could be running out, industry officials said. The satellite firm exited bankruptcy in December 2015 and will soon need to start another round of financing to remain viable. It hopes for FCC action this summer.
Citigroup saw surprising some results of the 24 and 28 GHz auctions, released Monday (see 1906030063). “Verizon extended its leading position in the 28 GHz band while T-Mobile and AT&T bought nationwide footprints at 24 GHz,” Citi's Michael Rollins told investors. “US Cellular was a surprisingly sizable bidder in both auctions, largely within its existing footprint. Starry was also a meaningful winner.” Rollins said that “broad-based participation by three of the four national carriers, US Cellular, and Starry reinforce prospects for positive business cases for millimeter wave spectrum.” T-Mobile won nationwide spectrum at 24 GHz “despite public comments about the usability of mmWave spectrum outside of dense urban areas," the analyst said. New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin said wireless players can now freely negotiate deals, at least until the next auction starts Dec. 10. “Results seem to support the view that mmWave has very limited utility,” Chaplin wrote: “There were dozens of sophisticated participants and dozens more that didn’t show up; we would assume they are all similarly well placed to assess the utility of mmWave as Verizon and AT&T.”
New America's Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge urged the FCC to make more use of use “use-it-or- share-it” rules to encourage carriers to make spectrum available on the secondary market. Industry groups instead backed rule liberalization to encourage more secondary market deals. Comments in docket 19-38 posted through Tuesday. In March, commissioners approved 5-0 an NPRM (see 1903150067) on how changes to spectrum partitioning, disaggregation and leasing rules “might further the agency’s goals of closing the digital divide and increasing spectrum access for small carriers and in rural areas.”
Bidirectional sharing, a top Pentagon policy priority, got some support in comments on an FCC public notice, launched in response to a requirement of Ray Baum's Act (see 1905010205). DOD sees bidirectional sharing as important to its future as it gives up more spectrum (see 1806250049). The department's concept is that under bidirectional sharing, federal agencies could use spectrum in remote areas that otherwise is going unused. Carriers and other wireless groups say any such sharing must be voluntary. Comments were due Friday in docket 19-128 and posted through Monday.
Industry commenters continued to push for tweaks to proposed competitive bidding rules for the upper 37, 39 and 47 GHz auction, slated to start Dec. 10 (see 1904120058). In initial comments, the Rural Wireless Association and Wireless ISP Association pressed for a more significant change -- smaller license sizes than the partial economic area licenses already agreed to by the FCC (see 1905170014). Replies were posted through Friday in docket 19-59.
Bidding has concluded in Auction 102, the FCC’s sale of 24 GHz spectrum for 5G, said an FCC release Tuesday. Along with Auction 101 -- the 28 GHz auction completed in January -- the FCC “has now completed its first set of high-band airwaves auctions to make spectrum available for 5G wireless, Internet of Things, and other advanced spectrum-based services,” the announcement said. “The successful conclusion of our nation’s first two high-band flexible, mobile-use spectrum auctions is a critical step,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in the release. Bidding in Auction 102 ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday, and raised more than $2 billion in gross bids, it said, adding that bidders won 2,904 of the 2,909 licenses on offer. Auction 101 raised $702.6 million in gross bids with bidders winning 2,965 of the 3,072 licenses offered. A public notice with detailed results for Auction 102 will be available “in a few days” the release said. Auction 101’s results have remained nonpublic but a PN on them will also be released “soon,” the announcement said. Auction 103, which involves spectrum from the upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands, will start Dec. 10.