C Band Replies See Clashes Over Clearing; FCC Seeks Comment on Other Plans
Parties in proposed reallocation of some C band for 5G said each of their plans is the only one that makes sense, in docket 18-122 comments posted Friday. The Wireless and International bureaus and offices of Engineering and Technology and of Economics and Analytics said in a public notice Friday they were seeking comment on the band-clearing plans put forward by AT&T; America's Communications Association, the CCA and Charter Communications; and the Wireless ISP Association, Google and Microsoft. Comments are due Aug. 7 and replies Aug. 14.
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There has been considerable recent eighth-floor lobbying. Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler met with aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said an ex parte posting. America's Communications Association, the Competitive Carriers Association and Charter Communications recapped a meeting with Commissioner Brendan Carr about their joint plan to clear 370 MHz.
The FCC under Title I of the Communications Act can use its ancillary authority to relocate earth stations from the band's lower 200 MHz and require licensees in that cleared portion to cover earth stations' costs for relocation or fiber replacement, the Wireless ISP Association said. It repeated its push for the WISPA/Broadband Access Coalition joint plan.
Satellite operators' enforceable transmission rights include their tracking, telemetry and command operations in the C band, and new flexible use in the band needs to protect current and applied-for satellite TT&C operations in perpetuity, Inmarsat said. It also should provide protection for current and future use of emergency TT&C operations in the 4198-4200 MHz range, the company said. It uses that frequency range for TT&C operations for its Inmarsat-5 satellites and plans to use it for its Inmarsat-6s, the first to be launched in 2020.
The C-Band Alliance argued against small satellite-operators Hispasat, ABS Global and Claro having enforceable C-band rights to protection from 5G interference (see 1907180053). The three companies said most commenters agree they do. They said the CBA ignores the "serious, long-term" economic harm they face from reallocation, and that its arguments against their having interference protection rights are "less than flimsy."
There's consensus earth station registrants are licensees under Title III of the Communications Act and need to be part of any band clearing process, T-Mobile said. Letting satellite and earth station operators compete in a reverse auction ensures control of the band isn't just in the hands of a few satellite companies, it said.
No, law, precedent and FCC policy goals clearly show earth stations aren't licensees and can't take part in an auction, Verizon said, calling T-Mobile's band-clearing plan unlawful. It said authority to modify licenses or market access grants includes reducing the amount of spectrum the licensee can access since that wouldn't disrupt or fundamentally change operations.
There's no consensus on such auction issues as the agency's authority to modify licenses and the rights of license holders, said AT&T. The carrier's plan -- with the FCC modifying satellite operators' licenses to create a partitioned authorization for flexible terrestrial use that they must sell in private auction -- would allow reallocation without having to resolve those issues, the company said.
The FCC needs to maintain interference protection rights for registered C-band earth stations as terrestrial use of the band grows in intensity and to ensure compensation for earth station operators that give up interference protection rights or see transition-related costs, Comcast said. It said the agency has clear authority to compensate those displaced earth station operators.
Point-to-multipoint operations in the band radiate high-powered signals in all directions, increasing difficulty of frequency coordination and potential for interference to incumbents, the Satellite Industry Association said. WISPs have access to more than 10 GHz of licensed and unlicensed spectrum, and more is coming via the 3.55-3.7 GHz band and potentially the 2.5 GHz, 4.9 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, SIA said. No justification has been demonstrated for such operations in the C band, the group said.