Spectrum

Many local officials, engineers and wireless consultants contend that changes Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai advocates to limit local regulation of small-cell permitting, design, fees and other charges used to access cities’ public rights of way won’t do anything to close the digital divide.

Many people are worked up over so-called small cells, the next generation of wireless technology that telecommunications firms and cell-tower builders want to place on streetlights and utility poles throughout neighborhoods nationwide. The small cells come with a host of equipment, including antennas, power supplies, electric meters, switches, cabling and boxes often strapped to the sides of poles. Some may have refrigerator-sized containers on the ground. And they will be placed about every 500 or so feet along residential streets and throughout business districts.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) announced a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on legislation reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission and spurring the deployment of next-generation wireless services. The legislation, RAY BAUM’S Act (H.R. 4986), will be voted on in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The legislation would:

[Press release] I want the United States to win the 5G race. I outlined the Federal Communications Commission’s strategy for 5G leadership and delivering next-generation wireless connectivity to American consumers using a three-part approach: forward-thinking spectrum policy, modernized rules for infrastructure deployment, and light-touch network regulation.Today, I’m unveiling a lineup for the FCC’s March 22 open meeting that builds on this momentum.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday March 22, 2018:

The Federal Communications Commission announced that Straight Path Communications and Verizon Communications have paid a civil penalty of over $600 million dollars to the US Treasury in connection with a January 2017 settlement that Straight Path entered into with the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau—prior to the sale and transfer of its licenses to Verizon.

Commissioner Brendan Carr of the Federal Communications Commission announced a new plan to advance 5G deployment in the U.S. A key obstacle is our country’s outdated infrastructure regulations, which were written for previous generations of wireless technology. To ensure the U.S. is 5G Ready, he announced that the FCC will vote at its March 22 Open Meeting on a plan to streamline the federal historic and environmental review procedures that apply to wireless infrastructure deployments. 

The Plan

To seize the potential of next generation wireless, I want to focus on three things that require our attention: new bands, new models and new business cases.

First, to power 5G networks we need new spectrum bands.  We have open dockets proposing new possibilities in the 3.5 GHz, 3.7-4.2 GHz, 6 GHz, 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 32 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, 42 GHz, 47 GHz, 50 GHz, 70 GHz, 80 GHz, and above 95 GHz bands, among others.

Second, to power 5G networks we need new models for spectrum access. We need innovative ways to make more room on the road.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) released the following statement on the announcement from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai on proposed spectrum auctions: "The race to 5G is a sprint, not a marathon, and the proposed spectrum auctions will help ensure the United States remains at the forefront of this emerging technology.

[Speech] What is America’s strategy for seizing the 5G future? Make no mistake about it: I want the United States to be the best country for innovating and investing in 5G networks. I want American entrepreneurs to push the boundaries of the possible and American consumers to benefit from next-generation technologies. To accomplish this—and consistent with our market-based philosophy—the Federal Communications Commission is pursuing a wireless strategy built on three pillars: (1) spectrum, (2) infrastructure, and (3) light-touch network regulation.