Wireless Spectrum Auctions

The FCC is pressing satellite operators in the C band to accept a compromise, under which they would be compensated for leaving the spectrum, but with a fixed fee, regardless of how much money comes in through an auction. Staff for Chairman Ajit Pai presented that scenario to the operators last week and reportedly held briefings for Congress' Appropriations and Commerce committees, said industry officials close to the proceeding. The FCC didn’t comment. Industry officials told us the incentive fee is expected to be only $5 billion total to be split among licensees. A trio of senators meanwhile bowed new C-band legislation Tuesday.

The FCC certified the first four spectrum access system administrators for full-scale commercial launch of unlicensed use of the citizens broadband radio service band. The four are CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google and Sony. The development was expected as a critical next step for the band (see 1912260040). The four, plus Amdocs, were cleared last year to start initial commercial deployment in the 3.5 GHz spectrum. “The FCC has made it a priority to free up mid-band spectrum for advanced wireless services like 5G” and this is “the latest step to achieve that priority,” said Chairman Ajit Pai. Priority access licensees and general authorized access (GAA) users will share the band, with the administrators managing use of the band. Its first commercial use is in the GAA tier, with the FCC auction of PALs to start June 25. The Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology issued the approvals Monday. “With more than 25 customers offering commercial services and another 50 in development, Federated Wireless is extremely pleased with the momentum the market has achieved since[initial launch] in September, and we are eager to continue driving the next wave of services including private 5G,” said Federated Wireless CEO Iyad Tarazi: “2020 will be an extremely active year for all of us who have worked so hard to bring the promise of CBRS to reality, and we are fully committed to working closely with all of the customer segments that stand to benefit from the new business and service models being developed and deployed today.” After years of work, "full commercial deployment of CBRS shared spectrum is a real thing, not a dream,” emailed Louis Peraertz, Wireless ISP Association vice president-policy: “If it works in this complex band, other forms of sharing -- such as in the C-Band, 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz bands -- can and should go forward. We cannot wait to see what it will do for the band and for other spectrum.” Full commercial deployment “is the final stage in the commercialization process that started in 2013 when the FCC began pursuing an innovative shared spectrum model in the 3.5 GHz band,” the CBRS Alliance said: “The success of this initiative is the result of unprecedented public-private partnerships between industry and government organizations.”

The C-Band Alliance's "vast and unique knowledge" and operating expertise are why it should be named clearing coordinator overseeing the operational aspects of clearing and transitioning C-band spectrum to 5G, it said in an FCC docket 18-122 posting Friday. Also in the plus column is all the preparation its satellite members have done planning for a transition to 5G from fixed satellite service, it said. Each satellite operator "uniquely understands its own operations, each also understands what must be done to clear a portion of the C-band for 5G use," it said. CBA said it backed the FCC or a third party being "a 'traditional' independent transition facilitator," doing such administrative functions as oversight of fund distribution. In a posting recapping meetings with FCC personnel including General Counsel Tom Johnson, CBA, Intelsat and SES said they discussed agency authority to require C-band auction winners to agree to pay for accelerated clearing as a condition of their participation, and to receive an initial license conveying terrestrial mobile rights. CBA said it met with staffers including Nick Degani, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai senior counsel, about its ability to facilitate a C-band transition and how it should be compensated for that work. It met with staffers including Office of Economics and Analytics acting Chief Giulia McHenry and Wireless Bureau Chief Donald Stockdale about how space and ground clearing of the band need to be done jointly and clearing the first 120 MHz is nearly as much work as clearing the next 180 MHz. The consortium said steps to be done to clear that first tranche in 18 months include reassigning Alaska traffic into the lower 120 MHz, which in turn will involve site visits to remote areas for re-pointing or installing new antennas; finalizing development of a switchable filter for 120 MHz for vessels; migrating services on international satellites that have services landing in the lower 48 states to the lower 300 MHz; deploying antennas and other equipment at receive earth station sites needed to move customers; migrating all video managed platforms above 3.82 GHz; and installing 34,000 filters designed specifically for 5G operations in the first 100 MHz in all antennas located in 46 of the top 50 partial economic areas and surrounding areas.

C-Band Alliance Executive Vice President-Advocacy and Government Relations Peter Pitsch and others briefed Senate Commerce Committee aides Thursday on what Intelsat Vice President-Investor Relations Dianne VanBeber called “the value to the” U.S. government “of efficiently clearing” the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. They focused on a Brattle Group analysis detailing how the FCC could use an accelerated clearing fee paid by C-band auction winners to satellite operators that have to relocate (see 2001170027), she told us. CBA argues the FCC has broad authority under Communications Act Title III to require companies buying licenses in a C-band auction to pay for clearing the band as a condition (see 2001160059). Handouts included an overview of CBA’s proposal. That outline argues “getting C-band spectrum cleared more quickly not only means more money, faster, for the U.S. government, but also supports Congress’s goal of unleashing 5G deployments, creating high-tech jobs and staying competitive against China.” CBA said its proposal has the “same goal” as the Utilizing Strategic Allied Telecommunications Act (S-3189), “to counter Chinese companies’ dominance in building 5G.” The bill would create a $500 million fund to accelerate global adoption of trusted and secure telecom equipment (see 2001140067). The measure would also require the FCC to direct at least $750 million, or up to 5 percent of annual spectrum auction proceeds, to create an NTIA-managed open radio access network R&D fund to spur software-based wireless technologies. Lawmakers remain interested in addressing how to allocate proceeds from the coming auction (see 1912240001). Divisions that prevented congressional leaders from reaching agreement have been unresolved (see 2001090021).

“Look at the ‘5G race’ and predictions of doom with a jaundiced eye,” Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld plans to tell the Senate Commerce Committee during a Wednesday hearing on 5G workforce and deployment issues (see 2001160050). Feld is a late addition to the witness roster for the Senate Commerce hearing, as is NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, National Association of Tower Erectors Chairman Jimmy Miller and Fiber Broadband Association CEO Lisa Youngers will also testify. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 216 Hart. “Globally, the demand for new mobile services is driving rapid deployment of 5G without the need for Congress or the FCC to alter the balanced policies that have served us so well over the last three decades,” Feld says. “While framing deployment of 5G as a ‘race’ with other nations is a potentially useful metaphor to emphasize the importance of 5G as an area of policy, we should not confuse this with a literal race to see who can deploy the greatest coverage most quickly.” Congress “resisted the urging of wireless networks to radically preempt states or to eliminate allocations for unlicensed spectrum” when it adopted “new innovations such as incentive auctions,” Feld said. Lawmakers “must take necessary steps to ensure the timely deployment of 5G to all Americans. But these steps should reflect the policy of careful balance that has served us so successfully for the last three decades. By ignoring the hype and fear-mongering, Congress can address the genuine obstacles to 5G deployment.”

The 5G Spectrum Act, even if it doesn't become law, could benchmark how satellite communications incumbents get compensated for clearing part of the C band, FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly told reporters Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview. S-2881 "does have weight," especially as there seemingly has been a general shift from Capitol Hill resistance to any incentives, said. If satcom incumbents receive a percentage of the $40 billion in auction proceeds, as the legislation says (see 2001090021), debate will likely center on between 30 and 50 percent, though compensation could be a hard number for incumbents, or a combination of percentage and hard number, he said.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel warned the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday the U.S. isn’t leading the world on 5G and can’t without more mid-band spectrum. Rosenworcel asked the committee to develop C-band legislation. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said the FCC isn’t necessarily behind, though a winner won’t be known for some time.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., led filing Tuesday of the Utilizing Strategic Allied Telecommunications Act. They want to encourage investment in U.S. 5G developments and incentivize alternatives to telecom equipment manufactured by Huawei and ZTE. The bill would require the FCC direct at least $750 million, or up to 5 percent in annual spectrum auction proceeds, to create an NTIA-managed open radio access network R&D fund to spur movement to open-architecture, software-based wireless technologies. The measure would also create a $500 million multilateral telecommunications security fund to accelerate global adoption of trusted and secure telecom equipment. It would aim to increase U.S. participation in international standards-setting bodies and require the FCC report to Congress on recommendations. “Every month that the U.S. does nothing, Huawei stands poised to become the cheapest, fastest, most ubiquitous global provider of 5G, while U.S. and Western companies and workers lose out on market share and jobs,” Warner said in a statement. Four senators signed as original co-sponsors: Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Lawmakers are again talking about advancing legislation to help fund U.S. communications providers removing Chinese equipment determined to threaten national security (see 2001080002).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai urged tribes to pursue 2.5 GHz licenses when a six-month tribal opportunity opens Feb. 3. Tribal officials told us the level of attendance at the Tuesday workshop where Pai spoke shows they're interested. In July, the agency revised rules over partial dissents of Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. The FCC gave only the tribes a shot at seeking licenses before auction.

The FCC plans to prioritize bids for high-speed, low-latency broadband networks in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, said a draft rulemaking for docket 19-126 released Thursday. RDOF is one of several items that circulated from Chairman Ajit Pai. So far, it's shaping up to be the most watched item, and legislators expressed some related concerns.