Auctions

In written testimomny before the Senate Committee On Appropriations' Subcommittee On Financial Services And General Government, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai outlined the commission's priorities for the next year:

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) confirmed that anxiety over Chinese telecom giants’ wireless advances could creep into House lawmakers’ must-pass defense policy legislation. “There might be a couple things on 5G that we include,” said Chairman Smith.

As the head of the Federal Communications Commission, I’ve been working for the past two-plus years to advance a market-based strategy to promote US leadership in 5G. As part of what we call our 5G FAST Plan, the FCC finished its first 5G spectrum auction in Jan, and we’re holding a second right now that’s already generated almost $2 billion in bids. The recipe for US leadership in wireless technology is proven and simple: Free up airwaves to accommodate the increase in wireless traffic. Get rid of the red tape that slows the deployment of wireless infrastructure.

Nearly five dozen rural, wireless internet service providers (WISPs) signed letters sent to the Federal Communications Commission to "express [their] enthusiastic support for the Commission to make available new Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licenses to educators via priority licensing windows." The small ISPs also "strongly oppose auctions of EBS spectrum before educators have had an opportunity to obtain new EBS licenses."  In an April 25 letter to the FCC, six rural operators argued for a requirment that EBS spectrum licensees and their partners have a local presence and adhere to

While there was a great need for more spectrum for advanced wireless systems, finding unencumbered frequencies has always been a long-standing battle. Thankfully, then came along the innovation of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) framework and requisite technology. [March's] announcement that you are working on 5G CBRS specifications, called CBRS Alliance Release 3, proved a lot of people wrong.

As most of you know, a few weeks ago, I was at the White House for an event with President Donald Trump to highlight our government’s efforts to promote US leadership in 5G. To me, there were three key takeaways from this event. First: 5G is critical to our economy, security, and quality of life, as evidenced by the personal engagement of the President.

The future success of 5G is dependent, first, on those in the right positions — be it the private wireless sector, their financial backers, or those of us in government — ensuring ample resources are available for it to flourish. From a regulator’s perspective, this includes clearing and reallocating spectrum, especially in the mid bands, where the technology can operate. Second, it also means addressing any challenges posed by both foreign governments and providers who may have malicious intent.

All those TV station employees wondering whether they dodged a bullet in the 2017 broadcast incentive auction can now search for that information. The Federal Communications Commission has made that information public, plus more data on the reverse auction, after placing a two-year hold on publicizing which broadcasters got outbid. The information shows that there were 858 stations willing to give up spectrum, or a little under half of the 1,800 stations the FCC was interested in getting bids from.

When President Donald Trump unveiled his administration’s plan for “winning the race” to 5G, he neglected to mention that the US is building its network using a technology that’s inferior to what the rest of the planet will likely adopt.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2019: