CTIA stressed the importance of high-frequency spectrum to wireless operators and urged the FCC to finalize rules for numerous bands, in a filing in docket 14-177 in response to a second Further NPRM on spectrum frontiers. “Millimeter wave spectrum will play a vital role in supporting the successful roll-out of next-generation products and services for American consumers, particularly as we race with other nations to lead in 5G, and the Commission’s efforts in this proceeding have been instrumental in achieving that goal.” The FCC should “promptly seek comment on auction procedures to allow the rapid auction” of the 24, 28, 37/39 and 47 GHz bands, it said. Also in CTIA’s crosshairs -- allocation of the 29, 31, 32, 42 and 50 GHz bands. The FCC should also “prioritize the identification, allocation, and licensing of additional spectrum for exclusively licensed terrestrial flexible use,” the group argued. The 26 GHz band should be “allocated for flexible, exclusive use licensing, as international entities have focused on this band for the deployment of 5G services,” CTIA said. Separately, CTA said the FCC should both make more spectrum available and lay out a timetable for future auctions. “These next generation services and applications will improve consumers’ lives, make industry more efficient, power smarter cities and government, foster American leadership, and create new jobs,” CTA commented. Making "this spectrum available brings opportunity for investment, innovation and competition, all of which the Commission must be mindful when finalizing the [millimeter wave] band service rules,” the Competitive Carriers Association said. If the agency gets the rules right, CCA members could “develop next-generation technologies,” from 5G to the IoT “on an equal playing field with the largest carriers,” it said.
Sprint and Cox Communications said they signed a multiyear business agreement as part of a settlement of patent litigation between the two, which will help Sprint further densify its network. “Sprint’s Densification and Optimization toolkit includes a variety of solutions from traditional macro towers to small cells including Sprint Magic Box, airpoles, strand mounts and repeaters,” the carrier said Thursday. “Through this agreement with Cox, Sprint will significantly accelerate deployment of that toolkit throughout Cox’s national footprint.” Sprint noted it has spectrum holdings of 204 MHz, including more than 160 MHz of 2.5 GHz in the top 100 U.S. markets. Sprint Chief Technology Officer John Saw said his company will look for other ways to work with the cable operator.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved transfer of spectrum licenses from Straight Path Spectrum to Verizon, giving the buyer a larger toehold in the high-frequency spectrum important to 5G. The Competitive Carriers Association sought to block the deal (see 1708110051). The licenses include 735 millimeter wave spectrum licenses in the 39 GHz band, 133 licenses in the local multipoint distribution service bands at 28, 29 and 31 GHz, nine common carrier point-to-point microwave licenses and one nonexclusive nationwide license in the 3650-3700 MHz band. Verizon got Straight Path and the licenses last year after a bidding war with AT&T and needed approval for the license transfers (see 1705170012). “After carefully evaluating the likely public interest effects of the proposed transfer, we find that the likelihood of any public interest harms arising from the transfer is low,” said the order, released Thursday. “Verizon’s post-transaction spectrum holdings across the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands do not raise particular competitive concerns in light of the current state of the marketplace as well as the recent availability of additional millimeter wave (mmW) spectrum.”
The FCC should stick with rules as they are for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance President Kalpak Gude told an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. DSA said it opposes both longer license terms and bigger geographic licenses for priority access licenses (PALs) that are the licensed component of the band. In October, commissioners agreed to seek comment on revising the rules (see 1710240050). “The current three-year terms are better connected to return on investment than the ten-year terms as mentioned in the NPRM, and that renewability is counterproductive to the goals the Commission has articulated for the band,” DSA said in docket 17-258. “Both changes would create a need for more regulatory oversight in terms of build-out requirements and enforcement. Shorter terms with no right of renewal will allow for a much more market driven structure.”
Intelsat and Intel are continuing to press for an NPRM that would that would open parts of the C-band to terrestrial 5G operations, said an FCC docket 17-183 ex parte filing posted Tuesday on a meeting with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. The companies have talked with an array of commissioners about the proposal (see 1801090043).
AT&T’s decision to sell 600 MHz licenses it bought in the incentive auction (see 1801080017) doesn’t have negative implications for T-Mobile, the top bidder in the auction, Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche emailed investors Friday. “After reviewing T’s [AT&T’s] bidding activity, it is clear to us that T made a strategic decision to stop bidding on 600 MHz licenses during Stage 1 Round 22,” Fritzsche said. “We suspect this was driven by T’s confidence it was going to win the FirstNet contract, along with 20 MHz of 700 MHz and $6.5 [billion] that came with it, and opted to deemphasize its auction bidding activity.” The outlook remains bright for T-Mobile, she wrote. “Based on our conversations with spectrum experts this past week -- we remain even more enthused about [T-Mobile’s] spectrum portfolio and the opportunity it has to run with the 5G message.”
The FCC is one of six finalists for an award recognizing achievements in analytics for its incentive auction, said a news release from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. The Franz Edelman Award for Achievements in Operations Research and Management Science “recognizes corporate, non-profit, and governmental organizations” that used “operations research and related tools to solve complex problems,” it said. “This auction would not have been possible without the use of operations research tools to solve complicated design and implementation challenges,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Other finalists include Turner Broadcasting System, which developed TV audience advertising targeting software.
Ruckus hopes the FCC will move soon to finalize approvals for devices that can use the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, as well as approvals of the first spectrum access system (SAS) administrators and environmental sensing capability (EMC) operators, Dave Wright, director-regulatory affairs and network standards, told us. “There is a tremendous amount of existing investment, momentum and anticipation in the band,” Wright said in an email. “Any further delays risks stalling the ecosystem.” There have been reports of movement on rules for the band (see 1801020046). “Ruckus is encouraged by both the quantity and quality of the comments that have been submitted to this NPRM, especially considering that the filing deadline was between Christmas and New Year’s,” Wright said. New commenters “representing a variety of industries such as transport, energy, and rural providers” weighed in, he said. Comments on priority access licenses “echo the previous positions that had been taken,” but others “offered fresh thoughts on secondary market mechanisms (leasing and partitioning) and performance requirements,” he said. “We expect these ideas will receive additional attention in the reply phase.”
Samsung Electronics America said Wednesday Verizon picked it to supply the carrier with commercial 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) network solutions. They plan to launch commercial 5G in Sacramento in the second half of this year, Samsung said. “The industry has been discussing 5G connectivity for years, and through our joint collaboration with partners like Samsung, we are beginning to make it a reality for our customers," said Ed Chan, Verizon chief technology architect. "Sacramento is an ideal place to begin deploying 5G broadband services, providing a progressive environment for creating future use cases.” The two did trials in seven cities. Lessons learned include that a single 5G radio can reach the 19th floor of a multi-dwelling unit, Samsung said. The tests proved line of sight, partial LOS and non-LOS connections work and environmental factors “including rain and snow” haven't interrupted services, Samsung said. Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., lauded the announcement as a sign of “continued progress in our work to bring 5G broadband access to Sacramento. The digital economy requires that all consumers have access to next generation technology, which is why the integration of 5G commercial services at the local level is so important.”
The FCC should allow stations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that requested permission to transition early to their new post-incentive auction channels (see 1712010052) to do so, said antenna manufacturer Electronics Research Inc. (ERI) in a letter posted Wednesday in docket 16-306. Allowing the stations to transition in “phase zero” of the repacking rather than their assigned Phase 3 would be “a very reasonable course” that would “save the individual stations the considerable expense of reconstructing their pre-auction facilities, which would be used for only a very brief period,” and minimize re-scanning for consumers, ERI said. It's prepared for the increase in demand the early transition would cause, and it won’t affect the company’s ability to meet other repacking demands.