Incompas CEO Chip Pickering and others from the group met with FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington to seek action on allowing fixed-wireless use of the lower 12 GHz band. Incompas and other proponents had hoped for movement early in 2024 (see [Ref:2312270045). Incompas also met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443 said. “Taking immediate action to make 500 megahertz of spectrum available in the lower 12 GHz for fixed wireless service offers the promise of reliable and affordable connectivity for U.S. consumers and increases the ability of the Commission to address the digital divide as it will allow current license holders offering fixed wireless solutions to apply for federal broadband deployment programs, like NTIA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program,” Incompas said.

NTIA Tuesday released its implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy. Under the plan, studies for the 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands, top priorities of wireless carriers, will begin this month and be completed in October 2026 (see 2403120006). FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr criticized the plan, saying in “the best case” the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands won’t be available until 2028. Others had a more positive take.

EchoStar, RS Access and Go Long Wireless entered into an agreement with the Cherokee Nation to make 100 MHz of lower 12 GHz spectrum available to the tribe for fixed wireless. EchoStar’s Dish Network earlier offered to make the band available in tribal areas as the FCC looks at revising rules for the band (see 2309110061). The companies said they are looking to sign similar agreements with other tribes. “Under the terms of the agreement, the Cherokee Nation (or another participating Tribal entity) would be assigned free and clear 100 MHz of spectrum (12.2-12.3 GHz) and could use as much of that 100 MHz band as it needs for fixed wireless service, with the [multichannel video distribution and data service] licensee and the Tribal entity having a mutual right to use each other’s unused spectrum as needed for their own operations across the entire 12.2 GHz band,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443. The approach “would help close the longstanding digital divide for underserved and hard-to-reach Tribal lands, while simultaneously respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination,” the filing said. In a call last week with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington, tribal broadband advocates discussed the potential significance of a proposal giving tribes access to the lower 12 GHz band. The advocates made similar points in an earlier meeting with Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 2402140035).

Tribal broadband advocates discussed the potential significance of a proposal giving tribes access to lower 12 GHz spectrum in a call with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. Dish Network made the proposal (see 2309110061). The advocates noted the importance of conveying the licenses to tribal governments. “Because Tribal lands are held in trust, they cannot serve as collateral for loans,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-443. FCC licenses “are accepted by banks and other lending institutions as collateral,” the groups said: “Holding a license, not merely permission to use spectrum, is therefore not merely a matter of semantics or even a matter of Tribal sovereignty. Holding a license opens doors to needed capital to build the network.” Among those on the call were Public Knowledge, Tribal Broadband and the Open Technology Institute.

The Senate confirmed FCC Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to new five-year terms Saturday, providing stability for the agency and assuring a 3-2 Democratic-controlled commission through the end of the current administration. Two big, contentious items are already in the pipeline -- a net neutrality NPRM at the commissioners' Oct. 19 open meeting and a Nov. 15 statutory deadline to issue digital discrimination rules, with a commission meeting also scheduled for that day. If the Senate hadn't acted, Starks would have had to leave in January and the FCC would have been back to a 2-2 split between Democrats and Republicans.

FCC commissioners approved a multipart item on the lower and upper parts of the 12 GHz band 4-0 during Thursday's open meeting. FCC officials said a few questions were added, but there were no major changes from the draft (see 2305170039).

The FCC’s multipart draft on the 12 GHz band is expected to be approved Thursday with limited changes, said industry officials tracking the proceeding. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed a draft order, Further NPRM and NPRM on the broader band (see 2304270077) addressing both the lower and upper parts of the band.

RS Access CEO Noah Campbell spoke with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr about the 12 GHz item, set for a vote Thursday, (see 2304270077), said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-443. “Campbell urged the Commission to seek comment on potential non-ubiquitous mobility in the lower 12 GHz band, and to preliminarily conclude that a high-powered fixed wireless service is compatible with the current co-primary users in the band,” the filing said.

CTIA expressed general support for FCC’s proposal to allocate flexible, exclusive-use licenses in the upper 12 GHz band, in meetings with staff for Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed an NPRM on the 13 GHz spectrum for next week’s FCC meeting (see 23042700774). “While access to the 13 GHz band does not diminish the need to identify and allocate the critical mid-band spectrum in the lower 3 GHz, mid-4 GHz, and 7/8 GHz bands, adoption of the draft NPRM would play a complementary role in supporting rapidly growing consumer and business needs for next-generation mobile broadband services,” said a CTIA filing Friday in docket 20-443: “CTIA also expressed support for the draft NPRM’s proposal to enable to providers to transmit at high power levels, which would be key to unlocking the benefits of the 13 GHz band.” Qualcomm also supports the FCC proposal to consider the 13 GHz band for “mobile broadband or other expanded uses,” said a filing posted Monday. A Qualcomm representative met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the item and “pointed to the need for 6G spectrum in the 7.125-15.35 GHz frequency range, especially as the United States seeks a leadership position in wireless technology and innovation in the next mobile technology generation.”

Representatives of the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge urged FCC action on pending 6 GHz issues, in a video call with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr. “We reiterated our strong support for rapidly making the full benefits of expanded unlicensed spectrum capacity for next generation Wi-Fi 6E/7 available to consumers,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295: The groups also asked about the status of the 12 GHz proceeding “and, in particular, whether the Commission will continue to consider alternatives to mobile 5G sharing in the band if coexistence is not possible.”