The Wireless ISP Association wants changes to draft rules for the 2.5 GHz band to ensure WISPs will bid for the band in an eventual auction. WISPA President Claude Aiken spoke with an aide to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel about proposed changes, said a filing Monday in docket 18-120. WISPA asked the FCC to offer small business and rural provider bidding credits, as it traditionally does in auctions. WISPA “expressed strong disappointment with the Draft Order’s proposal to auction spectrum in two blocks, one of 100 MHz and the other of 16.5 MHz” and prefers smaller blocks that would be less expensive for WISPs. The order is teed up for a commissioner vote next Wednesday (see 1906190063).

The Wireless ISP Association, backed up by Google, made a case for sharing with repacked satellite earth stations C band spectrum that's not reallocated for licensed use The two unveiled a new study at an event Tuesday by Virginia Tech professor Jeff Reed on a methodology for sharing the band while protecting earth stations. FCC officials told us the sharing plan may not get much traction there, where a C-band plan is taking shape.

Wireless ISP Association President Claude Aiken said it backs most aspects of the draft 2.5 GHz band reallocation order on July's agenda (see 1906190063), but using small business and rural provider bidding credits would encourage more participation by small providers in or near rural areas. His comments came in a phone call with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. In the docket 18-120 ex parte posting Friday, WISPA also said it's disappointed with the proposed spectrum block sizes, with the 100 MHz band being likely beyond what a small provider could pay and the 16.5 MHz block being too small on a stand-alone basis. The FCC should at least cleave the 100 MHz block into 60- and 40-MHz blocks, with one bidder able to buy both in a county, it said.

Consensus is starting to emerge on the C band, with the different proposals getting closer together, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said at the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Global Summit Thursday. The FCC needs to get as much as 300 MHz available for 5G “as soon as possible,” O’Rielly said. “My first priority is speed,” he said.

Top Senate Communications Subcommittee and the Congressional Spectrum Caucus members floated a pair of 5G-centric spectrum bills Tuesday and Wednesday. House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chair and CSC Co-Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., released her C-band-centric draft Wireless Investment Now in (Win) 5G Act Wednesday, as expected (see 1904230069). The measure would set up a tiered system for satellites companies to benefit from an FCC-administered auction of spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band in which freeing up additional spectrum would increase satellite companies share. Satellite companies would receive none of the auction proceeds if they clear less than 100 MHz on the band, 10 percent for 100-199 MHz, 35 percent for 200-299 MHz, 75 percent for 300-399 MHz, 90 percent for 400-499 MHz and 100 percent if they clear all 500 MHz. The Win 5G Act draft doesn't allow additional funding to relocate C-band users off sold spectrum but does allow auction proceeds to be shared with earth station operators. Any proceeds not allocated to satellite operators or earth station operators would go to a new Rural Broadband Deployment Fund. Matsui and three other lawmakers refiled Tuesday the Supplementing the Pipeline for Efficient Control of the Resources for Users Making New Opportunities for Wireless (Spectrum Now) Act. The bill, first filed last year (see 1806060060), would require a plan for repurposing the 3450-3550 MHz band before an expected auction next year. It would require NTIA to consult with the FCC on whether bands can be made available on an unlicensed basis if they can't be auctioned. It would also give federal agencies additional flexibility in using money from the spectrum relocation fund to subsidize spectrum research and development. Agencies would be allowed to get more funding than they otherwise could. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Senate Communications ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, led the Senate version. Matsui and fellow CSC Co-Chair Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., led the House one.

Verizon got the partial waiver it was seeking to adopt a temporary, 60-day lock on 4G LTE handsets to ensure bona fide customers buy the handsets. Verizon faces special restrictions because of rules for the 700 C-block spectrum the carrier bought at auction. “We deny Verizon’s request for a declaratory ruling, because we are not persuaded that Verizon’s interpretation of section 27.16(e) is accurate,” the bureau said. “We do, however, find that the limited waiver of the unlocking requirement that Verizon requests would serve the public interest and therefore grant Verizon’s request for a partial waiver.” The bureau said strict compliance with the unlocking requirement would be “inconsistent with the public interest because it facilitates and may even encourage fraud.” In March, the bureau sought comment on the request (see 1903050057). The order noted rural carriers, T-Mobile and others objected. NTIA suggests “we consider requiring Verizon to unlock its handsets as soon as the first payment is successfully processed or immediately upon purchase ‘in situations where the fraud risk is low, such as in the case of long-time customers who acquire new handsets for use with existing service,’” the bureau said: “Verizon, however, responds that 60 days is the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose of the temporary unlocking, in order to allow for the amount of time it takes to receive and process customer payments, to identify fraud via checks from accounts with insufficient funds or stolen debit or credit cards, and to obtain information.” Tuesday's order was on docket 06-150.

Reliability of an online content delivery network (CDN) to replace GOES rebroadcast (GRB) weather data from NOAA is being questioned by some in the weather and satellite community as the FCC seeks comment on proposed allocation and service rules for the 1675-1680 MHz band. Weather interests also raised red flags about possible interference issues (see 1906210056).

Every C-band receive location in the U.S. could be connected to fiber as a replacement for satellite delivery of content for about $1 billion, “demonstrating that it is cost effective to clear all 500 MHz of C- band spectrum” for 5G, T-Mobile filed in comments posted Monday in FCC docket 18-122. T-Mobile submitted a study by Roberson and Associates supporting that proposal. Officials from T-Mobile and the consultant also reported on meetings to present the study. The filing opposes the C-Band Alliance’s proposal.

Approving T-Mobile buying Sprint is “one of the most critical steps the FCC can take” to promote mid-band 5G, Chairman Ajit Pai said Friday at the New York State Wireless Association conference. Earlier, wireless officials complained here in New York City that some cities continue to resist 5G despite FCC and state pre-emptions.

The FCC posted the draft order reallocating the 2.5 GHz band for auction and lifting educational requirements for the educational broadband service spectrum. Officials said Wednesday it's likely the item that gets the most attention headed into the meeting. Groups that promote greater use of EBS slammed the order after it was posted. Other July 10 meeting items also were released Wednesday: 1906190067 and 1906190044.