Auctions

The Federal Communications Commission held its monthly open meeting on July 10. We gave a preview of the meeting a few weeks back. There were eight items in total in the action-packed agenda, but we’re going to unpack a few of the actions that are especially relevant to open, affordable, high-capacity broadband in the U.S. 

The Federal Communications Commission established procedures for the third auction of high-band, flexible-use licenses suitable for 5G. This auction of airwaves in the Upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz spectrum bands will be the largest spectrum auction in our nation’s history, offering licenses covering up to 3,400 megahertz. These bands of spectrum are suited for the development of 5G, the Internet of Things, and other advanced spectrum-based services, so that Americans can be the first to benefit from the next generation of wireless connectivity.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to modernize the outdated regulatory framework for the 2.5 GHz band to make this swath of vital mid-band spectrum available for advanced wireless services, including 5G.

Public Knowledge joined the Benton Foundation and 20 other rural, education, and public interest groups in a letter urging Congress to ensure that the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to reallocate spectrum in the 3700 to 4200 Mhz band (the “C-Band”) benefits rural and low-income Americans struggling to access broadband. In the letter, the groups argue that permitting foreign satellite operators to privately sell the public’s airwaves will achieve little more than windfall profits for satellite operators.

Examines reverse auction designed by the Federal Communications Commission to fund deployment of broadband infrastructure in high-cost, mainly rural areas. We assess the effectiveness of the auction's three main objectives: 1) To attract new providers that are willing to provide broadband service in unserved areas; 2) To expand the acceptable service speed and latency levels to achieve public interest objectives; 3) To lower costs of providing service through competitive bidding.

Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA), vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, released the “WIN 5G Act”. This draft legislation proposes a consensus-based, compromise approach to rapidly and equitably reallocating spectrum between the frequencies of 3.7 GHz-4.2 GHz, commonly referred to as the “C-band”.

The Federal Communications Commission granted Verizon a partial waiver of FCC rules which prohibits Upper 700 MHz C Block licensees from “locking” handsets that are used in the band. In order to allow Verizon to better combat identity theft and other forms of handset-related fraud, this waiver will permit Verizon to lock a customer’s handset for 60 days from the date it becomes active on Verizon’s network. The FCC denied, however, Verizon’s request that the commission issue a Declaratory Ruling finding the handset unlocking rule already permits such temporary locking.

On May 13, Sens Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai with a straight-forward request: don't allow wireless companies to operate in a 24 GHz band until vital weather forecasting operations are protected. 

Ligado Networks LLC’s plan to develop some of the nation’s most valuable airwaves is being undercut by disagreements between US regulators over the deployment of 5G technology—miring the company’s business in a holding pattern and pressuring its finances. Ligado, the wireless venture formerly known as LightSquared Inc., has waited more than 1,200 days for permission to repurpose a swath of wireless spectrum that has emerged as a sticking point as federal agencies debate whether and how to build out proposed 5G networks.

The Federal Communications Commission recently published a plan to auction off unused wireless spectrum originally set aside for schools. Only about half of this chunk of spectrum, now known as the Educational Broadband Service (EBS) has been licensed to schools or educational organizations. Education groups and the wireless industry have been asking the FCC to license the rest for years. Under the new plan, schools and educational organizations that already have EBS licenses will be able to keep them or sell them to commercial carriers.