If Congress authorizes the full-power licensed use of the upper C-band, an FCC auction appears unlikely before 2026 at the earliest, industry experts told us. The conventional wisdom is that it takes about a year between the initial preparation stages and an auction. But FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has promised to move quickly on spectrum and had put a notice of inquiry on the agenda for his first meeting as chairman, they also said (see 2502050057).
Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan said he remains worried about what the U.S. Supreme Court will decide on the USF's constitutionality, though he also expressed optimism that the program will survive the Consumers' Research challenge (see 2504140039). Donovan spoke during a Free State Foundation webcast this week, hosted by former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly.
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday established a pleading cycle on Verizon’s proposed $1 billion buy of wireless licenses from UScellular. The companies announced a deal in October (see 2410180004). Verizon would get 39 licenses from the smaller carrier, in the cellular, AWS-1, AWS-3 and PCS bands. Petitions to deny are due July 7, oppositions July 22 and replies Aug. 1 in docket 25-192, the bureau said. The licenses cover 618 counties across 19 states, or about 8% of the U.S. population, it said. “Post-transaction, according to the Applicants, Verizon Wireless would be attributed with a maximum of 372 megahertz of spectrum, including up to 72 megahertz of below-1-GHz spectrum.”
CTIA representatives urged the FCC to move quickly to launch the AWS-3 reauction during a meeting with staff from the Office of Economics and Analytics and the Wireless Bureau. They “discussed the strong consensus in the record supporting the use of the Clock-1 auction format and reiterated that changes to geographic licensing are outside the scope of the authority delegated by the Commission to OEA and [the Wireless Bureau] for purposes of the Auction 113 Public Notice,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 25-70.
As the subject of two FCC probes, EchoStar has received backing from various industry groups and others, but it also faces new questions about how well it's complying with the terms of its 5G network buildout. That's according to docket 25-173 and 22-212 comments, which were due Tuesday in a pair of public notices: one on whether EchoStar is using the 2 GHz band for mobile satellite service (MSS), consistent with its authorizations, and the other seeking further comment on VTel Wireless' recon petition regarding an extension of EchoStar's 5G network buildout deadlines (see 2505130003).
Verizon representatives expressed general support for FCC rules covering an AWS-3 reauction (see 2504290007) in a meeting with agency staff, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 25-117. “We urged the FCC to move swiftly to get the AWS-3 spectrum in its inventory back into the marketplace after lying fallow for too long,” Verizon said. The meeting included personnel from the Office of Economics and Analytics and the Wireless Bureau.
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., on Thursday night criticized spectrum language included in the House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). The House cleared HR-1 Thursday 215-214 with provisions that would restore the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority through Sept. 30, 2034, and mandate that the federal government reallocate at least 600 MHz of airwaves for commercial licensed use (see 2505220064). “There is strong bipartisan concern about handing over this spectrum,” Lujan said. “Yet House Republicans are moving ahead at President [Donald] Trump’s directive, prioritizing billionaires over the urgent need to invest in broadband access.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is defending cuts to the agency’s workforce and other actions in written testimony ahead of the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee’s planned Wednesday hearing on commission oversight. Carr also urges Congress again to restore the FCC’s lapsed auction authority, as House GOP leaders aimed to pass, as soon as Wednesday night, their One Big Beautiful Bill Act budget reconciliation package with spectrum language included. The House Appropriations Financial Services hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2358-A Rayburn.
HERSHEY, Pennsylvania -- FCC officials speaking Saturday at the FCBA's annual seminar expressed confidence that the agency will regain spectrum auction authority. Chief of Staff Scott Delacourt said the commission expects at least one auction, AWS-3, within the next year and is taking steps to ensure it can support that auction, such as preparing necessary IT, he said. Commissioner Nathan Simington said Congress sees midband spectrum as a priority, so a significant auction should be teed up by year-end.
HERSHEY, Pennsylvania -- As the FCC eliminates regulations, it will likely employ the good-cause exception to notice-and-comment rulemaking to do so quickly, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Friday.