Spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted an emergency Special Temporary Authority request filed by the Navajo Nation to use unassigned spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band to provide wireless broadband service over its reservation as part of its emergency COVID-19 pandemic response. The Nation is located within parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The temporary grant of authority is effective for 60 days.

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on Thursday, April 23, 2020, which is scheduled to commence at 10:30 am. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and related agency telework and headquarters access policies, this meeting will be in a wholly electronic format and will be open to the public on the Internet via live feed from the FCC’s web page at www.fcc.gov/live and on the FCC’s YouTube channel. 

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai circulated to his colleagues a draft order that would approve with conditions Ligado’s application to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band that would primarily support 5G and Internet of Things services.

Intelsat is seeking backers for a bankruptcy loan that would keep the satellite service in business under Chapter 11 court protection while it’s waiting for billions of dollars in proceeds from a government spectrum auction. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would allow Intelsat to address its $14 billion debt load as federal regulators head toward an auction of C-Band satellite spectrum. Intelsat needs to spend $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion to prepare its spectrum for sale, and it could net up to $4.8 billion for handing over its C-Band by certain deadlines.

Some people are already thinking about what the sixth generation of wireless technology will look like. They are envisioning speeds 10 times greater than the fifth generation now beginning to reach consumers, and more bandwidth to handle new data-hogging devices including autonomous cars and unmanned factory equipment. The International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency that coordinates global wireless standards, set up an initiative in 2018 to identify and research the post-5G technologies that are expected to emerge in 2030 and beyond.

All eyes are on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on whether he’s about to unveil a potential order to approve a long-pending application from Virginia-based satellite company Ligado Networks, which wants to light up 5G operations in some airwaves it currently holds. Lawmakers have nudged him for months to make a call on this industry request, but the Pentagon and other parts of the Trump administration have cried foul and said Ligado’s plans would disrupt their own critical operations in nearby airwaves — charges Ligado disputes.

With the coronavirus pandemic binding Americans to their home internet service, policymakers are moving to bolster the WiFi networks those homes use. WiFi use has already been exploding as consumers connect more devices to their home broadband networks, a trend that's only accelerated with the coronavirus. Yet it's been years since the spectrum dedicated to carrying that load has been expanded. The Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve a plan to augment WiFi capacity. The changes the FCC has in store for WiFi won't be immediate.

On March 19, 2020, Reps Darren Soto (D-FL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), and Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ) wrote Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to urge his full consideration of policies that would protect Americans' access to communications services by ensuring that no one gets their cell phone, landline, or internet access disconnected during the COVID-19 national emergency.

I write to express my sincere appreciation for the extraordinary leadership you have shown on all communications policy matters, especially regarding 5G advanced wireless services, and to seek your direct assistance on an issue of great importance to our nation. I believe that only you personally, with your unique ability to cut through the bureaucratic stonewalling, can free the necessary
spectrum bands to provide our wireless providers the means to succeed.

T-Mobile deployed additional 600 MHz spectrum in two days after getting it on loan from Dish Network and others amid the COVID-19 crisis, according to analysis by Opensignal. This doubled capacity and 4G LTE speeds in major markets, showing a successful example of collaboration within and between the wireless industry and government during the pandemic. In 32 markets, T-Mobile boosted the amount of 600 MHz spectrum for 4G twice - increasing first from 10 MHz to 20 MHz, and then again to 30 MHz.