The FCC posted Friday its notice of inquiry concerning the upper C band and the NPRM asking questions in preparation for an AWS-3 auction, both of which commissioners approved 4-0 on Thursday (see 2502270042). As indicated during the meeting, the NPRM now contains a section on a possible tribal priority window that wasn’t proposed in the draft.
A notice of inquiry on the upper C-band and an NPRM on a proposed AWS-3 auction saw calls for changes from the drafts that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr circulated. However, industry officials said they expected only limited tweaks, with a vote scheduled at Thursday's open meeting.
Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, urged FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to make a tribal priority window part of future FCC auctions of AWS and upper C-band spectrum. “The success of the 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window has demonstrated the transformational impact of policies that provide direct spectrum access to Tribal Nations,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 13-185. The 2.5 GHz window, established under Republican Chairman Ajit Pai’s “leadership in 2020, was an unprecedented federal policy that enabled over 300 federally recognized tribes to obtain spectrum in rural areas,” Nygren said. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance asked the FCC to add questions on tribal windows to the C-band notice of inquiry and AWS-3 NPRM before commissioners, both set for votes Thursday (see 2502060062). “One of the great challenges in addressing the lack of modern communications technologies that Tribal Nations and the Commission face together in their joint efforts to address their broadband challenges is the lack of access to spectrum and spectrum licensing opportunities,” said a filing posted Friday. The 2.5 GHz window “dramatically increased the number of Tribal Nations holding spectrum licenses from 18 to at least 319.”
EchoStar, RS Access and Go Long Wireless reached an agreement with the Navajo Nation that allows it to use as much as 100 MHz of the 12.2 GHz band for wireless if the FCC approves fixed wireless use of the spectrum. The agreement was filed Monday at the FCC in docket 20-443. The companies hold nearly 90% of multichannel video distribution and data service licenses nationwide “and they stand ready to extend the agreement provided herein on the same terms to any Tribal entity,” the filing said. “This approach would help close the longstanding digital divide for hard-to-reach Tribal lands, while simultaneously respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.” The agreement is "a direct spectrum assignment to participating Tribal entities, empowering them to deploy the spectrum as they see fit,” the companies said.
Addressing tribal issues is important, but it shouldn’t slow the rollout of the $9 billion 5G Fund that FCC commissioners approved in August, the Competitive Carriers Association said in comments posted Friday in docket 20-32. Commissioner Brendan Carr dissented on the 5G Fund item, which included a Further NPRM on tribal issues (see 2408290022). Tribes and their associations commented on the importance of cooperation with tribal governments (see 2410170045).
Commnet Wireless and NTUA Wireless asked for additional six-month extensions of pending deadlines to remove Huawei and ZTE components from their networks under the FCC’s rip-and-replace program. The carriers, which serve the Navajo Nation, requested the extension in a series of FCC filings, posted Tuesday in docket 18-89. Commnet said in one of the filings it faces a Jan. 27 completion date. “Commnet is unable to meet this deadline due to factors beyond its control, and we thus assert that the grant of a six-month extension as contemplated by the Commission’s rules is warranted and would serve the public interest,” the filing said: “Commnet continues to work diligently to complete its plan to remove, replace and securely dispose of equipment, however, even after receiving our previous extension, we also continue to face challenges with repeated delays caused primarily from zoning and permitting restrictions that have severely delayed our overall progress.”
Tribal-area wireless provider Smith Bagley told the FCC the Navajo Nation this week adopted a legislative resolution supporting the carrier’s April request for a waiver of Lifeline rules. The provider asked the FCC to temporarily provide expanded monthly tribal Lifeline benefits of $25 to $65.75 to make up for the loss of funding following the expiration of the affordable connectivity program (see 2404080030). During the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith Bagley “added 100 Gigabytes of data each month for Tribal ACP customers to use while their Tribal lands were closed down and they were forced to stay home,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 11-42. Now that ACP has lapsed, Smith Bagley “can no longer provide the additional 100 Gigabytes of data to Tribal homes,” the filing said: “With minor adjustments, it has returned to its pre-COVID rate plans, which means that high data use customers must purchase additional bundles of data when needed.”
The FCC unanimously approved an order Wednesday creating an alert code for missing adults and an NPRM on proposed revisions for the robocall mitigation database. At their open meeting, commissioners also voted on an item that protects consumers from AI in robocalls (see 2408070037). “We do not have a tool on par with Amber alerts to raise awareness and assist with recovery efforts of those 18 and older,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said of the new Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) alert code. “I think it would make a difference if we did. Because while only one third of those who go missing are adults, they account for 70% of people who are never found.” Though originally scheduled for Wednesday morning, the meeting’s start time was pushed back nearly three hours due to flight delays that affected Rosenworcel, she said.
Tribal officials asked about outreach, funding and data privacy connected with the FCC’s proposed missing and endangered persons (MEP) alert code during a virtual tribal consultation and listening session Monday (see 2405240043). The agency's Office of Native Affairs and Policy conducted the event. Speakers were broadly supportive of the MEP code but expressed concern about some of the proposal's details. Funding should go from the FCC directly to native groups so they can implement the new code, Sally Fineday of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe said. Reycita Billie, the Navajo Nation Police Department's missing and murdered indigenous people liaison, said the agency should focus on communicating with the public about the new code. “Public education is very important to our community members,” she said. Many members of the public aren’t clear about their options when a loved one is missing, she said. The FCC should consider privacy and data sovereignty issues when any information is collected or shared in connection with the MEP code, a speaker from Washington state said. “How are we ensuring that tribes maintain control of it, that they have access to it, have the ability to edit, delete or share as tribes see fit?” he asked. Michelle Beaudin, a council member for the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe in Wisconsin, said the FCC should also create MEP wireless emergency alerts. “I believe there's so many more people that have their phones versus the TV or radio,” she said.
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren urged the FCC that it continue providing Lifeline funding for tribal households should the affordable connectivity program end. In a letter Friday in docket 21-450, Nygren said the Navajo Nation backed a Smith Bagley petition seeking an increase in tribal Lifeline support (see 2404080030). The temporary increase in support would "keep broadband affordable for tribal households, many of which are located in remote areas and are among the most in need of ACP and Lifeline support," Nygren said.