NAB, CTIA Say FCC Commencement of Operations Rule Provides Balanced Approach
The FCC provided clarity on when operations start once a licensee starts to deploy in the spectrum, CTIA and NAB said, and the FCC determined a provider “commences operations” when it conducts site commissioning tests.
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The FCC defines commencement of operations "to include site activation and commissioning tests using permanent base station equipment, antennas and/or tower locations as part of its site and system optimization in the area of its planned commercial service infrastructure deployment,” the FCC said in its order, released Thursday. “It is at this juncture that a wireless licensee moves from construction to testing its system, and needs unfettered access to its licensed spectrum to optimize its network in advance of launching commercial service to customers.”
The rule also provides a limited exception to permit 600 MHz band wireless licensees to do first field application testing before site commissioning testing. But the FCC turned down a wireless industry request that operations are deemed to commence with the early stages of predeployment. “Permitting wireless carriers to displace incumbent secondary and unlicensed users at the first RF transmission or in the earliest stages of pre-deployment would be inconsistent with the balancing of interests we established as part of the transition plan for the 600 MHz Band,” the agency said.
Scott Bergmann, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs, said the FCC mostly got the rules right. “We are particularly pleased that the Commission recognized that wireless licenses will need access to spectrum to perform essential market testing,” he said in a statement. “This approach is critical to making efficient network deployment plans and enabling providers to rapidly deploy advanced wireless broadband services to benefit American consumers.”
The FCC crafted a “balanced order,” an NAB spokesman said. “The decision will ensure that wireless carriers cannot displace incumbent services until they have taken meaningful steps towards deployment, while also providing a limited exception to allow carriers to conduct testing under certain circumstances.”