The FCC's C-band order, if not stayed, will mean "irreparable losses and competitive harm" to small satellite operators ABS Global, Empresa and Hispasat because they will be left with significantly less spectrum while their competitors will reap taxpayer-funded satellites and billions of dollars that should go to the Treasury, the three said Monday in an emergency motion for a stay. The SSOs told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (docket 20-1146, in Pacer) the stay must be granted by June 22, the order's effective date, or the big C-band satellite operators, their customers and wireless companies will start incurring clearing costs and doing auction preparation they will claim can't be undone fairly. Barring that stay, expedite briefing and argument so the spectrum auction set for Dec. 8 doesn't happen before the SSOs' appeal of the order is decided, they asked. The FCC emailed it's "confident that this misguided effort to delay the clearing of this critical band of spectrum to support 5G services will fail. These companies don't use C-band spectrum in the United States and have failed to show that they will suffer any imminent or irreparable harm from the procedures the FCC has put in place. In any event, their legal arguments are meritless." Its Wireless Bureau denied the SSOs' stay request last week (see 2006110041). Intelsat said it signed agreements with Maxar and Northrop Grumman for six new satellites for the C-band relocation -- four from Maxar, two from Northrop. It said it's in talks with satellite manufacturers about a seventh satellite for the C-band transition.
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.
Wireless ISPs and low earth orbit satellite providers participating in the upcoming Rural Digital Opportunity Fund phase I auctions must prepare more detailed responses for their short-form applications after the FCC added new questions for those bidding in the gigabit performance tier, said a public notice released Thursday on auction procedures. The FCC emphasized "the level of detail we expect to see in responses from service providers proposing to bid in the Gigabit performance tier" and clarified applicants should include information on upstream speeds. The agency will provide examples of information it seeks on "base station configurations and channel bandwidths, as well as traffic and propagation assumptions." It wants satellite providers to describe how their proposed networks will deliver the proposed performance tier and latency requirements "to all planned locations in a mass-market consumer service." Commissioners approved the item Tuesday (see 2006090031). Stakeholders disagree which tiers spectrum-based broadband providers should participate in (see 2006020036). “The Wireless ISP Association is "generally pleased" the PN "places no restrictions against any fixed wireless providers being able to apply to bid in the Gigabit performance tier," a spokesperson emailed. NTCA Senior Vice President-Industry Affairs and Business Development Mike Romano tweeted his support of added FCC scrutiny.
The FCC is seemingly confident the C-band band transition plan cost estimates due Friday won't be inflated. Eutelsat warned about possible abuse of relocation funding (see 2005150028) and Director-Regulatory Affairs and Spectrum Wladimir Bocquet told us some cost estimate ranges in the FCC's draft cost catalog were considerably high, particularly for launches and replacement satellites. Cable interests are asking for more time to review the satellite transition plans.
All signs are the citizens broadband radio service auction will start July 23 as planned, especially with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai concerned about a December C-band auction, industry and FCC officials said in recent interviews. The auction of priority access licenses was delayed once from June 25, because of COVID-19 concerns (see 2003250052). The agency announced Monday that 348 companies or individuals filed short forms to participate; 106 were deemed complete while others require additional work.
Broadband stakeholders differed on whether the FCC should reconsider letting wireless ISPs and DSL providers bid at the gigabit tiers in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund phase I auctions, in recent interviews. Some want more stringent evaluation of short-form applications. Others appreciate the hurdles the agency set for such providers. Commissioners vote Tuesday on an RDOF auction procedures public notice (see 2005190058).
Having approved Ligado license modifications, the FCC is expected to consider the 1675-1680 MHz band, on which the agency took comment last year. NOAA is preparing a report on potential effect on federal users of sharing the band, but it’s unclear whether it will be made public, industry officials said in interviews. Ligado asked for the NPRM and could combine it with its other spectrum, for 40 MHz for 5G.
Ligado’s path forward could be difficult even after the FCC approved an order granting its longstanding request for license modifications (see 2004200039), industry officials said in interviews last week. In conversations with investors, Ligado focuses on a deal with Verizon to pair its L-band spectrum with C-band spectrum from the upcoming FCC auction rather than relying on the industrial IoT (IIoT), industry officials said. Ligado critics said any terrestrial use of the band would be a concern. Also Friday, the company said NTIA concern about FCC OK is groundless (see 2005290057).
C-band satellite operators and wireless interests joined in opposition to small satellite operators' ask for a stay of the FCC's C-band order while they challenge it in U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 2005180036), according to docket 18-122 postings Thursday. A delay to the C-band repurposing for terrestrial 5G deployments counters FCC goals and the public interest in getting the spectrum to new uses, Intelsat said. CTIA said the SSOs haven't shown irreparable injury absent a stay or that their alleged losses couldn't be remediated. The SSOs also ignore "the massive harm that a stay would cause to CTIA members and other prospective bidders (who have invested significant time and resources to prepare for the auction) and American consumers," it said. The SSOs forfeited their right to challenge the proposed modifications of their licenses by filing what they called "a protest" that lacked the specific allegations of fact and affidavits it needs, Verizon said. Also filing against the SSO stay were SES, Telesat and Eutelsat. Backing SSOs ABS Global, Hispasat and Empresa is PSSI Global Services. PSSI said it and the SSOs will prevail in their opposition to the order based on the "substantial and irreparable" harms it's already causing, and the FCC didn't give adequate notice of the fundamental changes to their licenses. As of Thursday early evening, the SSOs hadn't filed suit with the D.C. Circuit. Eutelsat said it also is opting for accelerated relocation of its C-band operations, as have multiple other C-band operators (see 2005260037).
Prospects for advancing legislation on allocating proceeds from the FCC’s coming auction involving of spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band have become increasingly doubtful after more than two months in which negotiations were largely in stasis due to Capitol Hill's shift in priority to the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers and communications sector officials said in interviews. Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., and Democratic backers of C band remain interested in pressing forward. Republicans on the House and Senate Commerce committees believe the time for pursuing legislation has largely passed given FCC moves to advance the auction. Wireless and satellite interests cited concerns with the FCC's order in petitions for reconsideration filed Wednesday (see 2005270031).
With the FCC auction of priority access licenses (PAL) to start in July, and companies using the general authorized access (GAA) tier, speakers on a FierceWireless webinar Thursday saw growing interest in the citizens broadband radio service band. Speakers from three of the five FCC-authorized spectrum access system (SAS) administrators, CommScope, Federated Wireless and Google, said they are demonstrating CBRS will live up to the hype.