As federal policymakers continue studying the lower 3 GHz band for possible reallocation for full-power, licensed use, the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) remains a critical focus, said Doug Brake, CTIA assistant vice president-policy communications, during a Technology Policy Institute webinar Tuesday. Advocates of licensed, unlicensed and satellite use said all need more spectrum as the Senate Commerce Committee prepares for Wednesday’s hearing on the topic (see 2502180058).
The FCC faces pressure to find a better, more market-oriented way to reallocate spectrum, but there are no obvious solutions in sight, auction experts said Tuesday. The discussion, during a Technology Policy Institute webinar, the first in its series on spectrum policy, comes as the fight over spectrum heats up, and the administration looks at the future of the lower 3 GHz, 7/8 GHz and other bands (see 2502100047).
Wireless carriers and cable operators are waging a new war over spectrum. Wireless groups launched a coalition, Spectrum for Broadband Competition, that accuses cable operators of trying to starve carriers of the additional full-power licensed spectrum they need as network data demands soar. The fight appears centered, in part, on the wireless industry’s pursuit of lower 3 GHz spectrum, a band that DOD uses widely and the 7/8 GHz bands (see 2502050038).
CTIA hopes the Donald Trump administration will continue the spectrum studies launched under the national spectrum strategy, though potentially with tweaks to account for earlier studies, said Doug Brake, CTIA assistant vice president-policy communications, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other leaders acknowledged in recent interviews that long-standing DOD objections to repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band and other military-controlled frequencies remain an impediment to GOP hopes of using an upcoming budget reconciliation package to move on spectrum legislation (see 2501070069). Lawmakers and lobbyists said DOD concerns could prevent Congress from including anything beyond a simple restoration of the FCC’s lapsed auction authority in a reconciliation package, an outcome that would fall short of wireless industry wishes for a refilled spectrum pipeline.
With President Donald Trump yet to lay out with any detail what course he will chart on spectrum, experts warned Tuesday that the current administration faces the same issues as the last (see 2411140042). With various band studies underway, launched under Joe Biden, there are no obvious bands left to reallocate for exclusive licensed use, experts said at the RCR Wireless Wi-Fi Forum.
House Commerce Committee leaders are cautioning that the Communications Subcommittee’s planned Thursday spectrum policy hearing isn’t necessarily an indication that the panel will seek early action on an airwaves legislative package. Some lawmakers and lobbyists instead said the hearing is aimed at educating the subpanel’s crop of new members on the complicated dynamics at play in the spectrum legislative debate. New House Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and other Republicans are eyeing using an upcoming budget reconciliation package to move on spectrum legislation (see 2501070069).
Federated Wireless CEO Iyad Tarazi expects relative stability on spectrum issues with the change in administrations, though he noted there are always questions. In a wide-ranging interview with us, he predicted that sharing in some form will be part of the rules for the lower 3 GHz band, one of the top focuses of carriers for exclusive, licensed use. A former Sprint executive, Tarazi became CEO of Federated in 2014.
Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth during his Tuesday Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing appeared to lean against repurposing portions of the 3.1-3.45 GHz band with commercial wireless use, an issue that stalled negotiations during the last Congress on spectrum legislation and is likely to be a flashpoint this year (see Ref:2501070069]). Senate Armed Services member Mike Rounds, R-S.D., was the only panel member who mentioned DOD’s spectrum priorities in the incoming Donald Trump administration during the hearing, which was at times rancorous and primarily focused on the nominee’s past behavior and statements.
The Joe Biden administration made strides toward a better-coordinated spectrum policy, on the heels of the fight over the C-band during the previous administration, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson blogged Tuesday. “Think about where the federal government was three years ago: We were just completing a bruising process working through the hard issues around 5G and radio altimeters. Collaboration between federal agencies on spectrum was fraught,” he said: “And the United States had no National Spectrum Strategy.” Now “we have built stronger processes and better working relationships among agencies to solve the many issues that come up in managing federal spectrum.” The administration released a national strategy and completed the first band study, of the lower 37 GHz band (see 2412030057), he said. In addition, it “released a National Spectrum R&D Plan, and secured funding for the lower 3 GHz and 7-8 GHz band studies.” Davidson also highlighted the administration's focus on AI. “Responsible advances in AI will bring enormous benefits and innovation,” he said: “But we will only realize the full promise of AI if we address the real risks it poses and ensure broad access to the opportunities it offers.”