Evolution in the Cellular Service

On October 2, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Wheeler circulated a draft Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that puts forth major changes to modernize and streamline the FCC’s rules and application processes for Cellular Service licensees. This reform would fulfill a recommendation in the Staff Report on FCC Process Reform by reducing regulatory burdens and fostering the deployment of new generations of Cellular Service across the country.

The draft Report and Order would transition the site-based Cellular Service to a geographic-based licensing regime. This shift would bring the Cellular Service into greater harmony with other mobile services, including PCS, 700 MHz and AWS. Under this approach, the FCC would eliminate or revise a large number of filing requirements, reduce licensee filing burdens by more than 60%, and eliminate barriers to the timely deployment of advanced services to the public. In the Further Notice, the FCC would propose and seek comment on additional issues relating to Cellular Service reform, including technical changes that could foster the deployment of wider-band technologies, such as LTE.