Spectrum

A Q&A with Benton Senior Fellow Gigi Sohn.

The Federal Communications Commission remains intent on repurposing airwaves to handle surging Wi-Fi data traffic, despite opposition from power companies and first responders who say it could interfere with their communications systems. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defended the agency’s plan to allocate more spectrum to meet exploding Wi-Fi demand at a recent Senate appropriations panel hearing. The agency may finalize its proposal later this year or early in 2020, commission watchers say. “I truly believe that American consumers can have the best of both worlds,” Chairman Pai told lawmakers.

Dish Network will locate its new wireless headquarters with at least 2,000 full-time employees in Colorado and T-Mobile will significantly build out a statewide 5G network, particularly in rural areas, under agreements the Colorado Attorney General’s office announced today. The companies agree to pay up to a total of $100 million if they fail to meet these commitments. Because of the substantial benefits that Coloradans will gain from these commitments, the Attorney General’s Office will end its participation in a multistate lawsuit it joined in June to halt the T-Mobile and Sprint merger.

Two stories from the Federal Communications Commission caught our eye this week. One gained lots of headlines. The second is a bit of inside baseball but could turn out to be big news down the line. Both impact the deployment of broadband and closing the digital divide. FCC commissioners have voted to approve T-Mobile's acquisition of Sprint.

Donald Trump’s push to roll out 5G internet as quickly as possible has sparked a series of disputes over who should get access to parts of the telecoms spectrum, involving groups as large and varied as Facebook, Google, AT&T and National Public Radio. The Federal Communications Commission has pushed forward with a string of spectrum sales in the past few months as it rushes to fulfil the US president’s pledge to “win the race” to establish superfast internet across the country.

As the big wireless companies roll out super-fast 5G technology, they're facing a significant crunch in airwave spectrum to cover the whole country. There's a possible swath of airwaves that they're eying to solve the problem, but other communications industry players don't want to surrender the space easily. The years-long battle, which is now playing out at the Federal Communications Commission, pits some of the most powerful players in Washington, D.C. on opposite sides.

Senate Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy (R-LA) lit into Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for even considering private spectrum deals with foreign owned satellite companies, which say they can free up C-Band spectrum for 5G faster than an FCC auction. Chairman Kennedy told Chairman Pai that his mind could be changed, but he was currently biased for a public auction so that the American taxpayer, not "Luxembourg" (where some of the satellite operators are based) should reap the profits from repurposing some of the band for 5G.

Our major companies should have a workforce that looks like America, from entry-level positions to the board of directors. As I have long advocated, diversity is more than just best practices – it is good business. I appreciate how this principle is reflected in the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between T-Mobile and the National Urban League, National Action Network, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and UnidosUS.

A number of civil rights groups have struck an agreement with T-Mobile-Sprint to expand on the companies' diversity initiatives significantly if the two close on their merger.

The Federal Communications Commission formally approved the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. The vote comes months after the Justice Department greenlit the deal. Now, the T-Mobile-Sprint deal faces one more battle. A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general are still trying to block the deal through a multistate lawsuit, and representatives from the two companies said that they won’t close the merger until that is resolved.