Auctions

Leading off our August agenda will be 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity. We’ll finalize the rules for the auction of airwaves in the 28 GHz band and the auction of the 24 GHz band, which will follow immediately afterward.  These will be the first auctions of high-band spectrum for 5G services, but they won’t be the last.  Specifically, I’m excited to announce my plan to move forward with a single auction of three more millimeter-wave spectrum bands—the 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands—in the second half of 2019.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission’s wireless bureau fired a wide range of questions at Dish Network about the carrier’s wireless network buildout plans. Importantly, the FCC’s Donald Stockdale stated that “I am contacting you to request updates and more detailed information on your buildout plans for the 53 megahertz of low- and mid-band spectrum that is apparently lying fallow in these bands.” The implication of Stockdale’s questions is that the FCC may begin to take action against Dish for collecting spectrum licenses but not using them.

As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to vote July 12 on opening up the C-Band for wireless broadband, House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-LA) is calling for care and handling of noncommercial broadcasting. Chairman Cole has written FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to advise caution as the FCC ponders remaking the band to allow wireless use, either by dividing up the band or allowing for sharing.

The scramble among mobile carriers to amass airwaves for fifth generation (or 5G) wireless networks is picking up steam — and the frenetic pace will continue, even as industry players promise to begin rolling out 5G networks to consumers as soon as 2019. Regulators are rushing to make more spectrum available for what the industry promises will be super-fast speeds and quick response times perfect for applications like virtual reality and self-driving cars.

The Supplementing the Pipeline for Efficient Control of The Resources for Users Making New Opportunities for Wireless (SPECTRUM NOW) Act has been introduced to ensure there is enough money to fund efforts to get federal spectrum users to give up spectrum or share spectrum with commercial users. Sens Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) in the Senate, and Reps Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Rep Brett Guthrie (R-KY) in the House have introduced the bipartisan bill.

Broadcasters are warning the Federal Communications Commission not to weaken protections for current spectrum users, like broadcasters, in its race to free up more spectrum for wireless broadband. While that sounds like it could be a 2014 advisory on the potential impact of the broadcast incentive auction, it was actually the National Association of Broadcasters calling on the commission to require "detailed" technical proposals for sharing C-band spectrum rather than simply "assume that technical solutions will appear that will allow incompatible services to share spectrum."

Wireless carriers want the Federal Communications Commission to add a vote on opening up the 3.5 GHz (CBRS) band at its July meeting, and an auction of that spectrum by 2019, according to a letter from CTIA President Meredith Attwell Baker. "The wireless industry urges the Commission to move forward in July on key mid-band spectrum opportunities—the 3.5 GHz band and the 3.7-4.2 GHz band—to address the United States’ international deficit with respect to mid-band spectrum availability," She wrote to the FCC.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai says he is currently setting the regulatory wheels in motion to secure a 90-day extension of the challenge window for the map the FCC will use to allocate over $4.5 billion in mobile broadband subsidies. In a May 30 letter to Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chairman Pai signaled that was part of his commitment to ensure the map would be high quality, a map whose accuracy will be improved by the challenge process. The FCC put out the map of areas eligible for Mobility Fund Phase II money over the next decade as part of its move to redirect wireles

[Speech] What is the Federal Communications Commission doing to help seize the opportunities of next-generation wireless networks? I strongly believe that the market, not government, should drive innovation and investment in the wireless sector. But the FCC has a role to play in promoting competition by maximizing carriers’ willingness and ability to invest in their networks, making it easier to deploy the physical infrastructure necessary for networks to function, and freeing up spectrum for wireless services.

[Commentary] Even as wireless carriers are already rolling out 5G trials across the US, to keep pace with activity happening internationally and bring this transformative network to fruition in a timely fashion, policymakers must make a few more key moves. First, states and municipalities must streamline policies to infrastructure deployment. Next, and equally important, is that the federal government – namely, the Federal Communications Commission – must do its part as well.