The FCC is expected to release a public notice as early as today (Fri.) establishing an auction starting in 6 months of 2,400 MHz of spectrum divided among multiple locations, including spectrum returned by NextWave. Major wireless carriers made a last-min. push to open all licenses to all carriers and do away with designated entities (DE) restrictions. But those efforts largely fell flat in recent days, sources said.
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Reaction was generally positive to the FCC’s adoption Thurs. of new band plans for the wireless, educational and satellite industries. “The hard work by the Commission and relevant stakeholders will lead to huge benefits for the public in receiving advanced wireless services under flexible use conditions, whether the user seeks mobile, portable or fixed services as optimal,” said Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) Pres. Andrew Kreig.
The broadcasters’ analog spectrum band could be a windfall for wireless broadband, and other untethered services, witnesses told the Senate Commerce Committee on Wed. The Committee hearing on the DTV transition seemed to focus less on TV and more on the wireless and broadband services that would emerge once broadcasters relinquish the current analog spectrum band.
Nextel and Sprint made last-min. alternate rebanding proposals for the ITFS/MMDS band last week, as FCC staff prepared to put the order on the sunshine agenda for Thurs.’s meeting, cutting off lobbying of the Commission. The proposals were part of a last-minute flurry of visits to the FCC with the Commission expected to vote a report and order, and further notice of proposed rulemaking.
NextWave asked the bankruptcy court overseeing its reorganization for permission to sell at auction its FCC license rights in 6 markets outside its Northeast “footprint,” including 10 MHz of its 30 MHz in N.Y., the company said Mon. The other licenses are for Denver, Portland, Ore., Sarasota, Fla., Tampa, and Tulsa. The reserve price of the 6 licenses offered at auction is $1.083 billion, according to publicly available records. NextWave said it would sell only its C2 block spectrum in N.Y. It planned to retain 20 MHz in other bands that would allow it to file a plan in answer to a request for proposal by the N.Y. Dept. of Information Technology & Telecom for design and construction of a citywide wireless network.
The FCC scheduled a vote June 10 on a modified version of revised ITFS-MMDS spectrum rules. Details emerged Thurs. as the Commission prepared to release its sunshine agenda, shutting off further lobbying. The report and order includes a compromise eliminating any changes to the “open eligibility” rule -- which was pushed hard by the education groups that control ITFS spectrum, sources told us. FCC will also release a notice of further rulemaking asking many questions about future use of the spectrum.
The FCC is strongly considering delaying an order on ITFS spectrum rules due at the Commission next week, according to officials at the Wireless Communications Assn. conference in Washington Wed. The FCC has faced a firestorm of protests the past week, since word broke an order was steaming forward that would take 18 MHz of spectrum away from ITFS as part of a rule on the MMDS/ITFS spectrum allocation. The Commission must decide today (Thurs.) whether the order will be on the sunshine agenda for the June 10 Commission meeting.
The Ad Hoc MMDS Licensee Consortium (AMLC), contradicting Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) statements, told the FCC some companies would be very supportive of a carve-out creating a new 12 MHz band of spectrum -- taken in part from the ITFS band -- to be sold at auction for wireless broadband and other advanced services.
The high-profile investment of wireless pioneer Craig McCaw in ITFS spectrum has raised the stakes as the FCC considers a proposal to revise the rules for ITFS/MDS spectrum. McCaw is expected to have more to say about his plans and the business he’s building in a speech Wed. at the Wireless Communications Assn. meeting in Washington. McCaw met with FCC Chmn. Powell in April to talk about his views on ITFS. He’s viewed as being a force behind a pending FCC proposal to take 6 MHz from ITFS, combine it with another 6 MHz, and offer the spectrum for sale through auction for advanced services.
European Union (EU) countries should be required to implement radio spectrum trading and liberalization to spur more efficient use of spectrum, a report submitted this week to the European Commission said. However, it said, given the likelihood of wide divergence among member states in introducing spectrum trading, countries should be given wide latitude in deciding how their systems will work so long as national spectrum management regimes are coordinated across the EU. The report was prepared by Analysys, DotEcon and Hogan & Hartson. It’s up for discussion at a July 15 European Commission workshop in Brussels.