Carriers Making Final Cases at FCC on Rules for AWS-3 Auction
Lobbying is intensifying on services rules for the AWS-3 auction, with many meetings in the works, eighth-floor FCC officials said. The FCC is scheduled to approve parts of the rules at its March 31 meeting, so industry lobbyists likely have only through Monday to ask for meetings with commissioners and staff.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Offering any AWS-3 spectrum in paired 10 x 10 MHz blocks in the upcoming AWS-3 auction would be a mistake, T-Mobile executives said in meetings with Renee Gregory, aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and Wireless Bureau staff. “We noted in particular that the public interest would be better served by auctioning of the spectrum in 5 megahertz blocks, which will potentially increase auction participation by competitive carriers and increase auction revenues,” said an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/NqNszf). “Smaller blocks will also provide carriers maximum flexibility to complement their existing spectrum holdings. We argued that if the Commission believes there is value to bidders acquiring spectrum in a 10 megahertz block, it should limit the band plan to as few as possible in light of the significant countervailing benefits of making the spectrum available in 5 megahertz blocks.” T-Mobile said the FCC should license the spectrum in both cellular market area (CMA)- and economic area (EA)-sized blocks.
Verizon made the case that the FCC should offer paired 10 x 10 MHz blocks to the extent possible. Verizon reported on its comments in a meeting with Louis Peraertz, aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. “LTE equipment is optimized for 20x20 MHz, and wider bandwidths (10x10 MHz and higher) enable licensees to provide greater throughput to more customers,” Verizon said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1gKb9u6). “Conversely, smaller channels do not take full advantage of the efficiencies of LTE. For this reason, Verizon has deployed LTE on 10x10 MHz channels using its Upper 700 MHz C block and AWS-1 spectrum holdings.” The FCC shouldn’t require carriers to aggregate spectrum blocks to get 10 x 10 blocks, Verizon said. “Requiring carrier aggregation within the AWS-3 band to create a 10x10 MHz channel would limit the ability to aggregate other spectrum bands,” Verizon said. Verizon said all AWS-3 spectrum should be sold in EA-sized licenses, with package bidding allowed as part of the rules: “If the Commission were to adopt smaller license area sizes, such as CMAs, package bidding is all the more imperative.”
Based on reports on staff’s recommendations on services rules for the AWS-3 auction (CD March 11 p7), it appears “that the Commission staff has got this one exactly right,” said AT&T Vice President Joan Marsh on the carrier’s blog. “In the broadband world in which we now live, 10 x 2 [paired 10 MHz licenses] is now table stakes for an efficient LTE deployment,” she wrote (http://bit.ly/1p8qEAl). “We think the FCC staff got this band plan exactly right. And the proposed 10 x 2 MHz EA licenses may be the last big opportunity for the Commission to drive spectral efficiencies through auction structure, as the 600 MHz auction structure demands 5 MHz fungible blocks.” Marsh said one “quibble” is that the rules should allow package bidding for at least one of the 10 x 2 blocks. “We continue to believe package bidding addresses important exposure risks and can drive incremental revenue,” she said.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said early indications are the AWS-3 rules are good news for AT&T, Verizon and Dish Network Chairman Charles Ergen. “In the weeks that remain from the final order, Ergen might be able to convince the FCC to require AWS-3 interoperability with his AWS-4 spectrum which would be a big win for helping create an ecosystem for his existing spectrum,” Piecyk said.