Spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Friday, March 15, 2019:

Spectrum Horizons – The Commission will consider a First Report and Order that would adopt rules to make available 21.2 GHz of spectrum above 95 GHz for unlicensed operations and create a new class of experimental licenses for the 95 GHz to 3 THz spectrum range (ET Docket No. 18-21; RM-11795)

The Trump re-election campaign’s wireless open access proposal was a poorly vetted scheme possibly intended to score political points. It was squelched almost immediately after it became public, as shocked White House staff members complained that it contradicted the administration’s support for competing wireless networks. The twist? Open access wireless is actually a terrific idea.

For certain spectrum blocks in the 700 MHz band, licensees that fail to meet the Federal Communications Commission’s construction benchmarks keep the areas of the license that they serve, and the remaining unserved areas are returned to the Commission’s inventory for relicensing. This approach provides other parties with opportunities to acquire spectrum that is not adequately built out and to serve communities that might otherwise not receive service.

The Federal Communications Commission will soon decide whether to side with foreign satellite companies, and allow them to sell their rights to a swath of public airwaves to speed the deployment of 5G technology.  Such a sale to the nation’s biggest wireless providers could bring in as much as $40 billion—and now Congress is threatening to step in and prevent the FCC from allowing the satellite companies to pocket the money.

Rep Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is leading a group of progressive Democratic Representatives in calling on regulators to block the proposed $26 billion merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, arguing that the deal will hurt workers and the low-income consumers who rely on the two telecommunications giants' affordable offerings. Rep Tlaib and 36 Democratic Reps are sending letters to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim.

By now, most of you have already had two days of non-stop talk about 5G. So, I was trying to think of a way to mix things up—to keep it fresh. And I came up with an idea. I will deliver my remarks in Spanish. [Chairman Pai proceeded to deliver the remarks in Spanish. Below is a brief translation.]

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.