Spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission’s upcoming 2.5 GHz spectrum auction is generating some excitement among smaller rural US operators because of the FCC’s decision to offer flexible-use, county-based overlay licenses. The auction, which will start July 29, will be for licenses in the 2.5 GHz band where no one currently owns the spectrum. Top executives at several smaller operators have said that they were encouraged by the FCC’s format for Auction 108 because it will be amenable to rural operators.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) announced the launch of the 5G Challenge in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DoD). ITS, the US’s Spectrum and Communications Lab, supports the Department of Defense 5G Initiative through a combination of its subject matter experts in 5G and its research, development, test, and evaluation laboratory infrastructure in Boulder (CO).

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s response to a question about the 12 GHz band during an FCC oversight hearing March 31 is giving hope to the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition. The 5G for 12 GHz Coalition (which includes the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society) has been urging the commission to change the rules for the 12 GHz band so it can be used for two-way 5G communications.

In this analysis, Opensignal takes its first look at the impact of AT&T and Verizon's C-band launches on the 5G mobile experience. We analyzed the 5G speeds seen on the US carriers when connected to mid-band 5G spectrum, using T-Mobile’s 5G experience on the 2.5 GHz band for comparison because T-Mobile is using 2.5 GHz for a similar purpose to C-band.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Assistant Secretary of Commerce Alan Davidson met on March 29 to discuss spectrum policy efforts, the first monthly FCC/NTIA coordination meeting since the leaders launched their Spectrum Coordination Initiative. The leaders also announced that they have launched a joint task force which met this week to begin discussing the details of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the agencies.

Verizon’s deployment of mid-band spectrum for 5G is delivering boosts to download speeds for users connected to C-band, according to new analysis from Opensignal –  getting the carrier closer as it works to catch up to speed leader T-Mobile. Verizon and AT&T both started activating C-band spectrum in the 3.7 GHz range on January 19.

There’s a lot of money flowing to 5G network buildouts right now as US wireless operators race to expand their 5G coverage. In fact, it’s likely that 2022 to be the peak year for 5G spending by US wireless operators. Stefan Pongratz, vice president at Dell’Oro Group, said that the company expects US wireless capital expenditures to grow at a double-digit rate in 2022 and then taper off in 2023 and 2024. One reason behind this is that both AT&T and Verizon are ramping up their mid-band 5G deployments in the C-band and the 3.45 GHz spectrum bands.

The upcoming Auction 108 of 2.5 GHz spectrum is likely not going to raise a ton of money. But at least it will clean up the spectrum band, closing the many gaps where the spectrum is lying fallow and not being used at all. The auction will begin on July 29, 2022. While some auctions, such as the C-band auction held in 2021, aim to make billions of dollars to fill federal coffers, not all auctions are strictly focused on profit.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that July 29, 2022, will be the start of bidding in Auction 108 for 2.5 GHz licenses. This auction will be for “white-spaces” of the 2.5 GHz band where no one owns the spectrum. T-Mobile is particularly interested in Auction 108 because it already owns or leases much of the 2.5 GHz spectrum across the United States, and it wants to fill in the gaps in its coverage. The auction will offer about 8,000 new county-based overlay licenses.

The 5G for 12 GHz Coalition announced the addition of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society—one of the most respected voices in shaping communications policy.