Spectrum

It’s been a long time coming, but T-Mobile has found a buyer for the 800 MHz spectrum it inherited from Sprint.

Future G networks will require more dynamic, agile support for the management of radio spectrum on a fine-grained basis. The radio access network (RAN) technologies necessary to enable Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) have progressed significantly over the past 20 years, but the challenges of realizing the potential for DSA requires the co-evolution of technologies, business models, and regulatory policy. This paper presents a multidisciplinary research effort to develop the building blocks needed to advance DSA.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr wrote to members of the Senate Commerce Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee about reinstating the FCC's spectrum auction authority, which lapsed in 2023. He wrote, "Passing legislation that establishes a new pipeline of mid-band spectrum is vital to our economy and national security. If Congress accomplishes this goal, the FCC will implement Congress’s decision. Specifically, the FCC will make any and all of the spectrum allocation and license changes necessary to comply with the law passed by Congress."

In recent years, a new dimension of International Relations has begun to emerge. It involves not only the traditional actors of diplomacy, but also fosters dialogue between states and the private tech industry. This new form of interaction is referred to as “Tech Diplomacy” or (increasingly) Techplomacy. This emergent way of practicing International Relations was spurred by the unprecedented influence induced by the giant Technological Companies.

The Federal Communications Commission announces an auction of 200 licenses in the 1695– 1710 MHz, 1755–1780 MHz, and 2155–2180 MHz spectrum bands (collectively, the “AWS-3” bands), and seeks comment on the procedures to be used for the auction. This auction is designated as Auction 113.

On March 4, the House of Representatives' Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY), held a full committee markup to consider twelve bills in total––the committee's first legislative markup of the 119th Congress. "This Committee has a rich, bipartisan history, which we will continue in that spirit with the bills we are considering today," said Rep Guthrie in his opening remarks.

Brendan Carr, newly minted chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has been plenty busy making his mark in the telecommunications regulatory landscape. Here's a look at the most notable events that have transpired during Carr's first 30 days—and what we can expect in the months to come:

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved proposed rules to bring unused 5G-grade spectrum to market by taking the first step to reauction advanced wireless service (AWS)-3 spectrum licenses in the agency’s inventory. To lay the groundwork for this reauction, the FCC’s proposed rules would update the AWS-3 service rules to reflect legislative and regulatory developments since the spectrum was originally auctioned in 2014.

If everything goes their way, U.S. wireless carriers could see somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 MHz of spectrum flowing into the spectrum pipeline over the next four years. Based on previous transactions, that spectrum could be worth a cool $160 billion.

US cable companies Comcast and Charter Communications have long suggested that they will build their own small-scale public wireless networks using their 3.5GHz CBRS spectrum holdings. Doing so, according to the companies, will help them reduce their MVNO payments to Verizon.