Spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission will allow Low-power Televisions (LPTVs) and translators a way to stay on the air if T-Mobile asks them to exit their spectrum before the first special displacement window for seeking new channels opens, likely in early 2018. LPTVs had said T-Mobile contacted some stations about possibly wanting to light up the spectrum they bought in the incentive auction by the end of the year, which they pointed out was before they were going to get a chance to try and find new channels. The LPTVs also threatened to try and block the repack if the FCC did not give them some help. Help, the FCC's Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau signaled, is on the way.

[Commentary] Ask the usual suspects when the first 3.5 GHz smartphones are expected to hit the market and things get eerily quiet. A projected timeline from the CBRS Alliance showed the organization expects at least one handset to be approved by December 2017. But an alliance spokesperson also noted that such timelines are subject to change. Apparently, Verizon asked Apple for 3.5 GHz CBRS support in the next iPhone. When questioned on the topic, Verizon declined to comment on that or when it expects any handset, iOS or Android, to support 3.5 GHz. Neither Apple nor Samsung chose to comment, although ZTE told FierceWirelessTech that it does not have plans to introduce a phone with the 3.5 GHz CBRS band this year. However, carriers have shown interest in this band in 2018, and ZTE will be working with them on their requirements, according to a company statement. Of course, Qualcomm has announced 3.5 GHz support in the U.S. in the Snapdragon X20 modem. However, it’s not commenting on carrier or OEM roadmaps. Why so much mystery about when handsets are going to support this band when everybody is so excited about the opportunities the 3.5 GHz CBRS band promises?

Wireless carrier T-Mobile has big plans for its newly acquired 600 MHz spectrum — a nationwide 5G network deployment by 2020. However, there’s a hitch. The repack of the TV band needed to clear the spectrum for wireless use won’t be finished until the middle of that year. So, the wireless carrier is trying to speed up the repack by enticing some stations to move their new channels earlier than required.

The Federal Communications Commission has closed the docket on the proposed sale of the post-auction assets of Hero Licenseco's KBEH Oxnard (CA) to KWHY-22 Broadcasting, Los Angeles (CA) accepting the withdrawal of the license transfer application by the parties. Hero had proposed to sell its license and must-carry rights after also submitting the winning bid to sell the spectrum of KBEH in the broadcast incentive auction.

The FCC opened a docket on the sale, asking for comment on that first-of-its-kind proposal to sell the license of a station that no longer had spectrum—the FCC had allowed such auction winners to retain their license and must-carry rights, which the stations signaled they planned to use by sharing spectrum with another station and so staying on the air, though the FCC did not mandate they do so even after signaling that was their intention. KBEH struck such a sharing deal with KWHY, which remains the case, apparently, after the sale was called off.

Verizon scored another win on the spectrum front, securing early approval from US federal antitrust authorities to move ahead with plans to acquire 28 GHz spectrum from NextLink Wireless. A brief note posted on the Federal Trade Commission's website indicated federal regulators granted Verizon early termination of the waiting period implemented on deals under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. That means the carrier now has the green light to proceed with its NextLink transaction.

The issue of license transfer from NextLink to Verizon is now before the Federal Communications Commission. Back in February, Verizon wrapped up its deal to acquire fiber assets from XO Communications. But that transaction also included an agreement to lease millimeter wave wireless spectrum from XO affiliate NextLink Wireless, with the option to buy “under certain circumstances.” And it seems Verizon was eager to get the ball rolling on a NextLink acquisition. NextLink gives Verizon access to a significant number of 28 GHz spectrum licenses in and around major cities across the country, including New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington (DC), Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Miami, and Portland.

What’s the next Wi-Fi frontier? And how can we tap into it for public good? A key band of airwaves that companies are seeking is the unused spectrum in lower frequencies that sit between TV channels. The spectrum in the gaps between bands of airwaves reserved for broadcast television offers prime real estate for companies seeking to bolster connectivity. Those unused bands of airwaves, known as “TV white spaces” (TVWS), are a target for Microsoft in particular. The company recently introduced a program to bring free Internet access to rural families to help bridge the “homework gap” in Charlotte and Halifax counties in southern Virginia.

In 2016, New America’s Open Technology Institute also urged the Federal Communications Commission to allow schools to leverage TVWS to give students lacking broadband at home remote access to the school’s high-capacity broadband, which would be subsidized by the federal E-Rate program.

Licensed spectrum remains perhaps the most important building block in the wireless industry. As a result, nationwide carriers like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are eager to both obtain suitable spectrum holdings across the country, and to use those spectrum licenses in the most effective way possible. But where exactly do these nationwide carriers own spectrum? And what type of spectrum do they own? And how much?

To answer these questions, FierceWireless has once again partnered with Allnet Insights & Analytics, a wireless spectrum research and analysis firm, to map out exactly how much spectrum each of the four Tier 1 nationwide US wireless carriers currently owns. Also included in this list is Dish Network, which for the past several years has been quietly accumulating a war chest of spectrum that today almost rivals that of T-Mobile. These maps and charts include all pending spectrum transactions filed before April 30, 2017 (the FCC reviews all license spectrum transactions). Importantly, these maps and charts also include the results of the FCC’s recently completed incentive auction of TV broadcasters’ unwanted 600 MHz licenses. For complete details on the results of that auction, click here. Allnet Insights' data also includes the spectrum AT&T is getting access to through its partnership with FirstNet.