The Rural Wireless Association's advocacy for reconsideration of geographic licensing for upper microwave flexible use service licenses in the 37, 39 and 47 GHz bands should have been brought in a timely filed petition to the spectrum frontier report and order, not in comments to a docket about developing auction procedures for the band, Hughes said in a docket 19-59 posting Tuesday. It said the RWA comments should be dismissed as a late-filed petition for reconsideration. RWA didn't comment.
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.
While still hoping to see up to 300 MHz of the C band freed up for 5G use, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly on Saturday said he's amenable to clearing 200 MHz now and a structure that sees more opened up in the future. He said at the FCBA annual retreat that his top priority is clearing the band as quickly as possible. Panels at the event in Hot Springs, Virginia, also covered topics ranging from cybersecurity to autonomous vehicles.
Industry groups sought changes to FCC-proposed competitive bidding rules for the upper 37, 39 and 47 GHz auction, slated to start Dec. 10 (see 1904120058). The auction will be the FCC’s third of high-band spectrum for 5G. The agency proposes to sell the spectrum in relatively large partial economic area licenses. Comments were posted late last week in docket 19-59.
The FCC will take up cable leased access rules and an NPRM on aviation safety, in addition to the declaratory ruling and Further NPRM on robocalls (see 1905150041), Chairman Ajit Pai blogged Wednesday. The FCC isn’t slated to tackle the 2.5 GHz educational broadcast service (EBS) band or a notice on the 5.9 GHz band, as some had expected (see 1905130054 and 1905140050). "We’ve certainly had monthly meetings with more items on the agenda, but with a major item to crack down on unwanted robocalls, this could be one of our most impactful meetings of the year," Pai said.
House Communications Subcommittee Democrats criticized FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on a range of actions during a Tuesday hearing. That fulfilled expectations House Commerce Committee's oversight of the majority-GOP commission would be more critical since Democrats gained a majority in the chamber (see 1905140060). Lawmakers' ire was tempered by other communications policy interests. Top House Communications members used the hearing as a venue to float legislative proposals on broadband infrastructure, C-band spectrum reallocation and 911 fee diversion.
A lawyer laid out the Wireless ISP Association's stance on the 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band, in a meeting with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. For existing EBS licensees, the FCC should “eliminate leasing, ownership and educational requirements, and should rationalize existing Geographic Service Areas by extending them to the county border,” said Stephen Coran of Lerner Senter. “With respect to unassigned EBS spectrum,” WISPA’s preference is for “an open eligibility auction designed with appropriate safeguards to ensure that one entity could not acquire all available spectrum in a geographic market,” Coran said, per a Tuesday filing in docket 18-120. Pai is expected to propose revised 2.5 GHz rules for a vote at the June 6 commissioners’ meeting (see 1905130054).
House Communications Subcommittee Democrats' widely expected airing of grievances against FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at a Wednesday oversight hearing is likely to be tempered by their interest in a range of telecom policy priorities and subcommittee Republicans' bid to deflect some of their colleagues' ire, officials and lobbyists told us. The hearing, which also includes the other four commissioners, will be the subcommittee's first on oversight of the agency since Democrats gained a majority in the chamber after the November elections. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.
The House Task Force on Rural Broadband is a positive step toward improving internet connectivity in unserved areas of the U.S., but will need to come up with concrete legislative recommendations to be an effective policy player, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., led formation of the group, which he announced Monday. President Donald Trump in late April agreed with top congressional Democrats to pursue $2 trillion in spending on broadband and other infrastructure projects (see 1904300194). The task force is one of several Capitol Hill pushes on broadband legislation, though some remain skeptical about the prospects for an overarching infrastructure funding bill.
Commissioners disagreed on the significance of an NPRM reallocating the 1675-1680 MHz band for 5G, approved 5-0 at Thursday's meeting. Ligado, which wants to combine the spectrum with other bands it controls, has pushed for the NPRM, but still has work to do before it can make 40 MHz available for 5G. The company is hoping for FCC action this summer on its broader license modification proposal, officials said. The band must be shared with weather satellites.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., confirmed Wednesday his office is in talks with Reps. Susan Brooks of Indiana and Tim Walberg of Michigan to be the lead Republican co-sponsors of a to-be-refiled version of the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act. The bill, filed during the last Congress, aims to identify spectrum for unlicensed use and free up mid-band spectrum for wireless industry purchase via an FCC auction (see 1802070054). Brooks and Walberg separately told us they haven't made a decision on co-sponsoring. Walberg already was believed to be a potential contender (see 1904230069). Then-House Communications Vice Chairman Leonard Lance of New Jersey was the bill's lead Republican sponsor last Congress but lost his bid for re-election in November. Refiling appears likely to be “pushed back a little bit,” behind other legislative priorities, Doyle said. The bill's timeline already had been delayed, though Doyle and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., insisted it's not on an indefinite hold (see 1903270071). Some have said the delay is due to a push for the wireless and cable industries to reach consensus on C-band language.