Auctions

Quadrennial Review: The Commission may have to acknowledge that the current media marketplace can no longer be defined solely by traditional media voices stovepiped into discrete categories, such as television and radio. If done properly, this action will allow the Commission to jettison its myopic vision that broadcasters experience little competition in favor of one that recognizes the fulsome competitive forces in the current marketplace. 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 15, 2019:

It's great to be with the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE). I’d like to briefly walk through the latest developments on three key issues where our interests overlap: the transition to ATSC 3.0, the next-generation broadcast television standard; the post-incentive auction repack; and interference involving FM translators.

On March 15, we’ll aim to make progress on many of the issues core to the Federal Communications Commission’s mission: promoting US leadership on 5G, closing the digital divide, advancing public safety, modernizing our media rules, helping rural consumers, and more.

During the second year of the Trump Administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) has made great strides in supporting America’s bright future. In January 2019, OSTP welcomed the confirmation of Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier as its new Director. Other highlights:

I’m constantly meeting with the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) and its members for a very practical reason. Actually, make that two practical reasons: One is the race to 5G and the other is the broadcaster repack stemming from the FCC's incentive auction.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the February Open Commission Meeting has been rescheduled and will take place on Thursday, February 14, 2019. Chairman Pai also announced the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting. These items were originally circulated for the January meeting but were withdrawn due to the lapse in appropriations.

T-Mobile announced the launch of the Coolpad Surf, a 600MHz mobile hot spot that’s aiming to bring service to rural areas. It’s the first mobile hot spot to support Band 71, or 600MHz LTE, which T-Mobile recently won the spectrum license for from the Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Incentive auction last April. A number of phones have been released with Band 71 support since then, including the iPhone XS and XR, Samsung Galaxy S9, and the OnePlus 6T.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics report that there were no bids, withdrawals, or proactive activity rule waivers placed in round 176 of Auction 101, the FCC’s auction of licenses in the 27.5–28.35 GHz (28 GHz) band. Therefore, bidding in the FCC’s first auction of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (UMFUS) licenses has concluded under the simultaneous stopping rule. Auction 101 raised (in gross bids) a total of $702,572,410 with a total of 2,965 28 GHz UMFUS licenses won.