Spectrum

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) upped the ante in what has been an ongoing scuffle between communications regulators and the wireless industry with aviation stakeholders – as the agency issued a warning over potential interference to airplane safety systems from upcoming 5G deployments in C-band frequencies.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted twenty additional 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses to serve Alaskan Native communities. To date, 292 applications received through 2020’s FCC Rural Tribal Priority Window have been granted, paving the way for new advanced wireless services – including wireless broadband – for underserved rural Tribal communities. In Alaska, 99 applications have now been granted.

The National Spectrum Consortium, made up of hundreds of companies with a vested interest in freeing up more wireless spectrum, has launched an effort to work with the government to do just that. The consortium has launched the “Partnering to Advance Trusted and Holistic Spectrum Solutions (PATHSS) Task Group,” whose goal is to collaborate with the Department of Defense to find more midband to share.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the November 2021 Open Commission Meeting:

T-Mobile continues to update its network to 5G, but Sprint's 3G network has a few more months before it's taken offline. The carrier originally planned to shut down its antiquated network on Jan. 1, but it appears one of the company's partners needs more time with Sprint's 3G network. The 3G network will stay up until Mach 31, 2022, T-Mobile said.

As the shift toward 5G wireless connectivity continues, we're getting closer to the end of 3G. In 2002, Verizon was the first to launch a 3G network in the U.S., during a time when the BlackBerry was the top smartphone to own and we were five years away from the arrival of the iPhone.

Earlier in 2021, NTIA issued a 5G Challenge Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on behalf of the Department of Defense, requesting information on how to use Prize Challenges to accelerate the development of the open 5G ecosystem and support Department of Defense missions.

Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (including Public Knowledge, New America, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Access Humboldt, Center for Rural Strategies, Tribal Digital Village, the Institute for Local Self Reliance, and the Schools, Health, Libraries & Broadband Coalition) filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission in response to the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on regulatory fees for 2021. The filing outlines why the Commission should reject its flawed and confusing proposal to require unlicensed spectrum users to pay regulatory fees.

The 3.45 GHz auction, which started October 5, completed 23 rounds on October 14, with bids tallying more than $4 billion. Demand started out high at the beginning of the month, but Auction 110 observers saw a large drop in demand on October 8. Actions over the past week suggest the auction is at risk of closing. If demand reaches supply before the minimum price of $14.8 billion is reached, the auction will fail, warn analysts at New Street Research. If things go south in a hurry, the outcome could be known by October 20.

The Federal Communications Commission, backed by the Department of Justice, told the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that it was reasonable for the FCC to reclaim a swath of 5.9 GHz licensed vehicular communications spectrum for unlicensed WiFi and it had the authority to do so.