The 3.5 GHz Auction Is Finally a Go!

At the February 2020 open meeting, the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote on procedures for the 3.5 GHz Priority Access License, or PAL, auction. Having taken the lead on the issue, I'll admit that it has been a long road to get here, but this important step represents one of the last actions the FCC needs to take to make these critical mid-band licenses available for 5G and other next-generation wireless services. Ultimately, this auction will provide the first new, mid-band licenses for 5G (albeit with inferior power limits), and it is expected that, given the importance of mid-band's capacity and propagation, it will provide a spectrum foothold for those deploying these next-generation networks. Yet, since this CBRS structure is the first of its kind to incorporate licensed and unlicensed-like opportunities, it is of interest to a wide variety of users.