U.S. broadband capital expenditures rose 2 percent in 2017 to $76.3 billion, said USTelecom's annual report Thursday. The group credited the FCC's recent "internet freedom" and tech transition orders and congressional "tax reform" with helping to reverse a two-year capex decline that "began" when the FCC "moved to impose common carrier" regulation on broadband providers in 2015. The report confirms FCC "policies to promote broadband deployment are working," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "Investment is pouring back into this space," said Commissioner Brendan Carr at a USTelecom event.

The Wireless ISP Association told the FCC members will be left out if the agency approves only county-sized priority access licenses in the citizens broadband radio service band. The proposed rules appear headed to a 3-1 vote at Tuesday's commissioners' meeting (see 1810160068). WISPA representatives met aides to all commissioners. WISPA asked the order be changed to approve at least two census-tract-sized PALs per market. “While county-based PALs may be acceptable to larger WISPA members, the majority of WISPA members are small broadband providers that would be able to participate in the auction in greater numbers and with better opportunities for success if the Commission auctioned PALs by census tracts,” the group said Wednesday in docket 17-258. “Because many counties contain urban cores where large companies could easily satisfy their build-out obligations, the rural areas surrounding those urban areas would, in many cases, be left unserved with PAL spectrum.” Auctioning PALs by county “would give an insurmountable advantage to large cellular carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Union Cellular (a regional provider serving our area),” said Lariat, a WISP. CTIA repeated support for county-sized PALs, as did the Competitive Carriers Association (see here and here).

The Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act could generate up to $2.86 billion in rural wireless broadband investments, the Competitive Carriers Association said Wednesday. The bill aims to identify spectrum for unlicensed use and free up mid-band spectrum for wireless industry purchase via a future FCC auction (see 1802070054). CCA and other telecom groups back HR-4953/S-1682, which have bipartisan support. A CCA-commissioned study, by Telecom Advisory Services, said an estimated short-term infrastructure investment of up to $2.86 billion would happen if it becomes law. Telecom Advisory Services President Raul Katz said he used in calculations the investment and economic impacts resulting from the 2016 600 MHz band incentive auction and other recent auctions, plus other recent spectrum transactions like Verizon's purchase of Straight Path, as benchmarks. “If enacted before other auctions, including the 3.5 GHz and 3.7-4.2 GHz bands, this bill could have an even greater impact,” said CCA President Steve Berry. "This study confirms that passage of the AIRWAVES Act could result in billions of additional dollars for rural broadband buildout and substantially increase GDP across various economic sectors," said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., one of S-1682's lead sponsors, in a statement. Fellow lead S-1682 sponsor Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said she will "keep working to move this legislation forward in order to turn the potential positive economic impact of this bill into a reality."

Paul Allen, 65, co-founder of Microsoft, died Monday from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He owned Vulcan Spectrum, which was active in the 2008 wireless spectrum auction. Allen also was an early investor in AOL and invested in Charter Communications, RCN and DreamWorks SKG. He's survived by his sister, Jody.

Executives from Midcontinent Communications gave FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr a tour Thursday of the company’s facilities in North Dakota and spoke with him about the citizens broadband radio service band and other issues. “Midco shared its views on the 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands, next generation or 5G fixed wireless technology, and Midco’s preference for county-sized spectrum licenses,” said a filing Sunday in docket 18-120. “Midco also discussed its desire for the rural bidding credits for the priority access license auction in the 3.5 GHz band.” Midco said in written testimony at a Senate hearing last week (see 1810120051) it's testing residential fixed wireless speeds of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload using 3.65 GHz and CBRS spectrum.

Dish Network filed applications to bid in both upcoming high-band auctions. Comcast and Charter Communications didn’t file at all, nor did any major tech players, based on a further review of applications. Cox did file. The FCC released its list of companies that filed short-form applications for both auctions Wednesday, including those accepted and those requiring changes (see 1810100073). The four major national wireless carriers filed, as did U.S. Cellular. There was a smattering of requests by smaller carriers, plus by telcos Frontier and Windstream.

No one should feel entitled to citizens broadband radio service licenses, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told a Schools, Health & Libraries Association conference Thursday. O’Rielly told us he sees little room for additional compromise on the order headed into the Oct. 23 commissioners' meeting, though he is open to new ideas. “I’ve been working on this for a year, I’ve talked to all the parties multiple, multiple times,” O’Rielly said in an interview: “We’ve found" a place "I’m very comfortable with.” If anyone has new ideas, O’Rielly said, he will take a look.

The FCC Wednesday released the names of companies that filed applications to bid in the agency’s first high-band auctions. Among those with applications to bid in the 28 GHz auction, which will occur first, are AT&T Spectrum Frontiers, Verizon, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Frontier Communications and Windstream. AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Cox, Starry Spectrum Holdings, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Windstream headline those with applications to bid in the 24 GHz auction, which will follow.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel has big concerns about the 3.5 GHz order set for a vote by commissioners Oct. 23, aide Umair Javed said at an FCBA event Wednesday. Erin McGrath, aide to Mike O’Rielly, defended the order's approach.

Public interest groups, wireless ISPs and some industrial players are expected to make a push at the FCC over the next two weeks for changes to the revised geographic sizes for priority access licenses in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. Chairman Ajit Pai last week circulated revised rules, as crafted by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 1810020050). The draft would auction PALs on a countywide basis rather than by census-tracts, the approach of Obama-era rules.