House Panel to Examine Incentives for Federal Spectrum Relocation

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., is “convinced we can upgrade federal systems while freeing spectrum, thereby promoting both our nation’s safety and economic well-being,” said his prepared remarks. “As we look at the budgetary pressures facing the country, is there a way to somehow share with federal agencies some of the value generated from spectrum they relinquish?” Walden’s opening statement said. “If we work together to harness the strengths and assets of our agencies and the private sector, we can meet the needs of government, advance our leadership in the mobile wireless world, and create jobs in the process."

House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., plans to tell federal witnesses that their agencies “have a responsibility to ensure efficient use and maximum benefit” of their spectrum, according to a copy of her prepared remarks. The economic value of auctioning spectrum in the 1755-1850 MHz band “cannot be understated since it will go a long way toward providing a down payment for the construction of FirstNet and address our nation’s spectrum crunch,” Eshoo will say. Eshoo will also highlight the importance of reallocating spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unlicensed use: “I hope that NTIA, [the Department of Transportation] and the FCC will work with industry stakeholders on a path forward for connected-vehicle technology, while recognizing the immediate economic and consumer benefits of expanding Wi-Fi in the 5 GHz band,” she plans to say.

The wireless industry’s top priority is to ensure new bands of spectrum are cleared “by a date certain and auctioning them for exclusive use,” Brenner plans to tell lawmakers. Qualcomm is also focused on pursuing authorized shared access agreements with federal users in spectrum bands like 3.5 GHz, according to his prepared testimony. The industry is seeking “ideal” unlicensed spectrum in “contiguous bands, adjacent to an existing unlicensed band, such as 5.4 GHz,” he plans to say. Qualcomm was supportive of the president’s memorandum “to resolve the practical issues” to free up 1755-1780 MHz, Brenner plans to say, and Qualcomm plans to work with the newly called for Spectrum Policy Team. Earlier this month the Obama administration committed $100 million to spectrum sharing and pushed cooperation between federal agencies and industry (CD June 17 p1).

Lawmakers must look to repurpose spectrum bands held by federal users, Guttman-McCabe plans to say. “A properly executed relocation plan can result in a win-win-win for Federal users, the wireless industry, and the American public,” he will say. Repurposing federal spectrum in the 1755-1780 MHz band for commercial use is the “most logical frequency band to start,” his prepared testimony said. Allocating the band for commercial use would “fit seamlessly into the current mobile broadband spectrum portfolio … allow for more efficient equipment development and facilitate a more cost-effective migration of existing and developing technologies into the band,” he will say.

Guttman-McCabe will also call on lawmakers to pair the 1755-1780 MHz band with the 2155-2180 MHz band, and will quote a Brattle Group report that valued the paired auction of the two bands at $15 billion. Relocation of federal users from the 1755-1780 MHz band would cost approximately $4.7 billion, according to his prepared testimony. It is “vitally important” that the FCC maximizes the amount of spectrum that is brought to auction, Guttman-McCabe will tell lawmakers. Even so, the resulting spectrum will “only provide a portion of what is needed for the industry to meet consumers’ and businesses’ need for wireless bandwidth,” he plans to say.