FCC members OK'd rules for a C-band auction, at their ongoing meeting Friday morning. The vote was along party lines, 3-2.

House Communications Subcommittee leaders are eyeing an early March markup for the Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure and Emergency Notification for Today’s (Resilient) Networks Act (HR-5926) and at least some of the seven other public safety communications measures it will examine Thursday (see 2002200060), industry lobbyists told us. Communications and public safety stakeholders endorsed several of the measures in written testimony. HR-5926 didn’t get universal praise. The hearing begins at 10:30 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.

With an FCC vote Friday, more filings posted Tuesday in docket 18-122 as parties made closing arguments for changes to C-band auction rules. Chairman Ajit Pai has been in India with President Donald Trump. Pai is on his way back to the U.S. as planned to deal with late changes, industry and FCC officials told us. The sunshine period barring further lobbying took effect Friday. A key Hill lawmaker on C-band issues said he's resigned to the FCC's approach but will continue to pursue legislation that would institute a competing plan.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., urged the FCC to “resolve” consideration of Ligado's L-band license modifications. She urged all federal agencies to “come to the table” on reassessing their spectrum needs to help bolster the U.S. position in the race against other countries for dominance in 5G development. FCC proceedings on a C-band auction plan (see 2002250076) and TV white spaces NPRM (see 2002250068) also came up at Tuesday's American Consumer Institute event.

The FCC draft proposal for the C band, set for a vote Friday, wrongly forecloses sharing with point-to-multipoint operations, wireless ISPs and tech groups told the commission in meetings last week. Most filings posted Monday in docket 18-122 deal with issues previously raised. The FCC should have at least sought comment on sharing, said Google, Microsoft, the Open Technology Institute at New America and the Wireless ISP Association. The agency could delay some issues for future consideration in the interest of broader support for key parts of the plan (see 2002210046:). The draft “mischaracterizes the weight of comments in the record by stating that ‘an overwhelming number of commenters across industries oppose the proposal’” for sharing, the tech interests said: Sixteen commenters "argued for the proposed spectrum sharing.” WISPA and the others had meetings with aides to all five commissioners, posted Monday. NAB sought tweaks, to “allow satellite customers to comment on each satellite operator’s transition plan before approving it” and the commission should require the clearinghouse to “resolve disputes beyond reimbursement. ... The Commission should seek information not only from space station operators, but from other stakeholders, to confirm that the transition has been successfully completed.” CTIA said the FCC is on the right track. “Make clear that earth station operators that elect to transition to fiber rather than maintaining satellite reception must complete their transition by the relevant accelerated relocation deadline,” CTIA asked: “This modest clarification will provide earth station operators, bidders, and the administrator of the Relocation Payment Clearinghouse with added certainty regarding the relocation process, thereby better enabling a smooth post-auction transition.” Aviation industry groups said the order should be modified to guarantee safe operation of radio altimeters in nearby spectrum. The draft “proposes simply to monitor the situation,” said the Aerospace Industries Association, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, Air Line Pilots Association, Airlines for America, Aviation Spectrum Resources and others: “There is a lot more that the Commission can and should do now with the inputs and active involvement of both the commercial wireless and the aerospace and aviation industries.” It should “expressly provide that, as new entrants coming into the spectrum, flexible use licensees shall not cause harmful interference to adjacent band radio altimeters and they should be responsible for resolving any such interference,” they said. Charter Communications urged addressing “the potential for harmful interference at the band edge” between the C band and the citizens broadband radio service band.

America's Communications Association hires Mike Jacobs as vice president-regulatory affairs; he came from ITTA, which is closing (see 2001150052); at ACA, Jacobs succeeds Mary Lovejoy, who left the cable association in June for the FCC, where she's attorney-adviser, Office of Economics and Analytics Auctions Division ... T-Mobile amends Executive Vice President-Corporate Services David Carey’s employment to end automatically July 1, with position termination April 30-July 1 ... Nick Martin, ex-Forbes Tate Partners, becomes communications director, office of Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. ... WarnerMedia Entertainment integrates content acquisitions team across entertainment networks and direct-to-consumer business under Michael Quigley, executive vice president-content acquisitions, with Senior Vice Presidents Jonathan Melber for content acquisition, HBO Max, and Royce Battleman, for content acquisition, HBO, Cinemax, TNT, TBS and truTV; while Chris Grunden and Leslie Cohen add responsibilities for film acquisitions for HBO Max ... Taxpayers Protection Alliance adds Targeted Victory Vice President Nathan Leamer, ex-FCC, to board ... Center for a New American Security names Charles Clancy, Mitre; Jessica Cussins Newman, Future of Life Institute; and Chris Whitlock, Deloitte to Artificial Intelligence and National Security Task Force ... Content & Connectivity Human Resources appoints Kara Anderson, ESPN, and Jennifer Dunn, AMC Networks, to board.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai could face dissents on parts of the C-band order set for a vote Friday. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is considered the most likely to dissent, but Commissioner Geoffrey Starks also has concerns, industry and FCC officials said. Pai could push the most contentious parts of the order, including aggregation limits, to another order, to get a 5-0 vote on the key parts of the proposal. Approval is less of a question, with Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr indicating they support the plan.

Seams are showing with the C-Band Alliance (CBA) that could affect selection of C-band relocation coordinator. Rather than as one alliance, the FCC's draft order should treat Intelsat, SES and Telesat as separate companies, Intelsat said in a docket 18-122 posting Wednesday. Meanwhile, Alaska carriers are pleased and Hawaii doesn't have concerns about being carved out of the FCC's C-band plan for the continental U.S.

Despite the broader focus on the C band and other mid-band spectrum, the FCC doesn’t appear to be moving toward action soon on the L band, industry and FCC officials said. But Ligado isn’t going away. As a result of recent financial developments, the FCC has until late 2020 to reach a decision. A lawyer close to Ligado said the company reached agreement with creditors on refinancing its debt, which buys time: The amendments extend Ligado’s cash runway and allow Ligado to defer its Inmarsat payments. All the FCC action at this point is in Chairman Ajit Pai's office and the Office of Engineering and Technology, officials said.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a compilation of comments Wednesday supporting his proposal for converting 280 MHz of C band spectrum to 5G through an auction later this year. Whether the order will include aggregation limits is emerging as a key issue on the eighth floor at the FCC. FCC Democrats Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks both appear to favor some limits, while Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is a hard no, industry and FCC officials told us.