The FCC auction of licenses in the 37, 39 GHz and 47 GHz bands opened Tuesday, with $715.3 million in gross proceeds after the first two rounds. The FCC is making 3,400 MHz of millimeter-wave spectrum available through the auction for 5G. The auction “shows that America is continuing to lead the world in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “With this year’s high band auctions and continued focus on releasing critical mid-band spectrum next year, we will maintain our leadership in the emerging 5G economy,” said CTIA President Meredith Baker. Three rounds are scheduled for Wednesday.

Mobile service isn't a functional substitute for fixed broadband, at least not yet, the Communications Workers of America answered an FCC notice of inquiry (see 1910230065) for its annual report on deployment of advanced telecom services. Comments posted through Tuesday in docket 19-285. "Mobile broadband cannot deliver performance as consistent as wireline services," said CWA. It said "5G technology has the potential to provide high-speed Internet, [but] it is premature to consider it a full substitute for wired broadband today." Just because some users rely on a mobile device to stream video, do online research or seek employment when no fixed broadband alternative is available "does not mean that mobile and fixed services are now suddenly functional equivalents," the Wireless ISP Association said. USTelecom (here) and NCTA (here) back the FCC proposal to retain 25/3 Mbps for fixed download and uploads. CTA wants "the prompt and dependable expansion of next-generation broadband networks" to support the IoT, and calls for widespread deployment of mobile broadband networks. "The possibility that the FCC may consider mobile internet access as part of meeting universal deployment of advanced telecommunications capability is troubling because the capabilities of mobile service do not yet meet those of wired broadband access and many services are subject to data caps, which disproportionately hurt consumers with lower incomes," said the American Library Association. "The record is clear," Public Knowledge, Common Cause and Next Century Cities said: "Mobile and fixed broadband continue to be complementary services and are not substitutes for each other." PK and co-signers want the benchmark increased to 100 Mbps downstream.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued Tuesday citations that could involve later fines if the problems aren't remedied. The actions are against ISPs for alleged failure to disclose, under net neutrality rules, things such as network management practices, performance and commercial terms. Those cited include International Power Systems (see here), Stoneham Cooperative Telephone (see here), RipFlo Network (see here), Reynolds Cable TV (see here) and MicroTek Solutions (see here). They didn't comment. Also cited, among others, were ISPs in Iowa (see here); Mississippi (see here); South Carolina (see here); Maryland (see here); Montana (see here); South Dakota (see here); New York (see here); Illinois (see here); Texas (see here and here); a Georgia city and a company in the state (see here and here); Michigan (see here); Pennsylvania (see here); California (see here); and West Virginia (see here).

Congressional leaders appeared very close to an agreement Monday afternoon on Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization legislation, Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists told us. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., also confirmed to reporters Monday they were nearing a deal. The House is set to vote Tuesday on the House Commerce Committee-cleared Television Viewer Protection Act (HR-5035). That bill would make permanent STELA's good-faith retransmission consent negotiations requirement and continue to allow importing distant signals under the compulsory license (see 1911200048). The potential compromise between HR-5035 and other STELA bills draws language from the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act (HR-5140), which would make permanent STELA's distant-signal compulsory license language but limit its scope to cover only trucks, RVs and households in short markets. Graham and others said Hill leaders are seeking to jettison language added during House Judiciary Committee markup of HR-5140 by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., that expands beyond the originally proposed 120 days the limited extension of the distant-signal license for categories of subscribers that would be removed from the license (see 1911210052). Lofgren wanted the initial window to be six months. A satellite company could then apply for a theoretically unlimited number of 90-day extensions as long as it files a notice with the Copyright Office proving it acted “reasonably and in good faith” to provide coverage to all markets.

Thomas Susman is the name of the strategic adviser for the American Bar Association Governmental Affairs Office (see 1910020003).

U.S.-based satellite licensees and international satellite entities sparred in comments in docket 19-105 over whether the FCC should collect regulatory fees on all space stations that communicate with earth-based stations, not just U.S.-licensed ones. They responded to a Further NPRM on possible tweaks to regulatory fees (see 1908280021). “Such an assertion of FCC authority would be both unlawful and ill-advised,” said Telesat Canada. The FCC “has long recognized that its authority to assess space station regulatory fees is limited to those it has licensed under Title III of the Communications Act.” Imposing such fees on foreign licensed satellites isn’t supported by the facts and inconsistent with sound public policy, said Eutelsat. “Expanding the Commission’s regulatory fee regime to include all entities that have received U.S. market access will help to create a more equitable regulatory environment,” filed EchoStar, Hughes Network, Intelsat and SpaceX. Non-U.S. licensed space station operators “benefit from the Commission’s regulatory activities while leaving the U.S. operators to subsidize them by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees,” said SpaceX. The agency should also adjust the fees for entities overseen by the International Bureau, said the North American Submarine Cable Association (NASCA) and the Submarine Cable Coalition. “In prior years and rulemakings, the Commission expressly recognized that submarine cable system regulatory fees are excessive considering the regulatory activities the IB performs on submarine cable system operators’ behalf,” said NASCA. “Efforts by submarine cable interests to shift additional costs onto satellite service providers are unsupported and must be rejected,” said the Satellite Industry Association. Calculating regulatory fees for VHF stations by calculating the population inside a station’s contours instead of designated market area should also be changed, said NAB and Maranatha Broadcasting. “This burden on VHF stations is unjustified and should be rectified in this proceeding,” said Maranatha.

Eligible telecom carriers must enhance engagement with tribal communities to address challenges deploying broadband there, Gila River Telecommunications Inc. (GRTI) told the FCC. Comments were posted through Friday in docket 10-90. GRTI said "the time for discussing whether broadband will be delivered to Indian Country must end. The next phase of engagement must focus on the development of concrete plans for each tribal community to gain broadband access." It recommends elevating the Office of Native Affairs and Policy to a separate office independent of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau and having it report directly to the chairman and commissioners. GRTI wants ONAP to develop a voluntary process to engage tribal governments and ETCs with service areas including tribal lands that haven't deployed broadband to determine when it makes sense for tribal governments to take an ownership stake in the ETC. The Alaska Rural Coalition asked the FCC to answer its 2011 petition for reconsideration on "unique challenges facing Alaska carriers." It wants the FCC to allow carriers to substitute informal engagement with strategic performance benchmarks, as "formal outreach [hasn't] proven particularly effective." USTelecom has legal concerns about members' First Amendment rights and a current requirement ETCs market their services "in a culturally sensitive manner," which can interfere with effective dialogue. The Oceti Sakowin Tribal Utility Authority said the tribal engagement process "is currently form over substance." The National Tribal Telecommunications Association wants additional enforcement of the tribal engagement rule.

Three Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls proposed or restated plans Friday to guarantee universal broadband access and other tech and telecom priorities. Many of the leading Democratic candidates have proposed multibillion-dollar funding for broadband deployments, with a special focus on increasing service to rural consumers (see 1909040061). Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wants to ensure “every American household will have affordable, high-speed internet by the end of his first term” if he's elected president. “Our tax dollars built the internet and access to it should be a public good for all, not another price gouging profit machine for Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon,” he said in the plan. He would “instruct the FCC to regulate broadband internet rates” and “work with Congress to codify net neutrality protections into law to prevent a future FCC from repealing them once again” as it did in rescission of 2015 rules. Sanders committed to “appoint members of the FCC who will use [Communications Act] Title II authority to promote competition, choice, and affordability for broadband service.” He would establish “a dedicated, accelerated last-mile fund through the Department of Agriculture’s [Rural Utilities Service] to provide capital funding to connect all remote rural households and businesses and upgrade outdated technology and infrastructure, prioritizing funding for existing co-ops and small rural utilities.” Sanders also wants to pre-empt all state-level laws “that limit or bar” municipal broadband. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., “will work to codify strong net neutrality principles and make immediate progress in her first 100 days by using federal contracting requirements to encourage broadband providers to honor net neutrality principles and promote a free and open internet,” her campaign blogged. Klobuchar would also “push for” legislation similar to her Social Media Privacy and Consumer Rights Act (S-189) “to require companies to notify users within 72 hours when their data has been breached and offer meaningful remedies for people whose data has been compromised.” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also wants to “guarantee access to broadband.” He would “close the digital divide once and for all by making unprecedented federal investment for broadband in rural areas and Indian Country, updating and increasing flexibility in existing federal programs to better serve rural needs, automatically enrolling low-income families into the FCC Lifeline program, investing in rural cooperatives, and passing his Community Broadband Act to push back on efforts by [ISPs] to restrict or prohibit municipal and cooperatively-owned broadband that could lower costs and improve access” (see 1703280022). Free Press Policy Manager Dana Floberg lauded the Sanders and Klobuchar plans.

Two dozen advocacy groups asked the House Communications Subcommittee that held an FCC oversight hearing Thursday (see [1912050043]) to ask the regulator to address their concerns about telecom network resiliency, in a letter Wednesday to Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio. The groups said "increasing numbers of Americans lack basic, reliable voice telephone service as providers allow their legacy networks to rust and degrade. Lack of maintenance and lack of emergency preparedness have contributed to lengthy outages in periods of natural disaster." They sought a "comprehensive investigation into national network reliability." They criticized industry for its history of urging policymakers to "ignore worries over critical infrastructure by promising us a shiny future of fiber and 5G." Recent communications problems from California wildfires raised concerns failures could be worse during an earthquake (see 1911200002), the letter said. Signers included Public Knowledge, Common Cause, the Greenlining Institute, National League of Cities, The Utility Reform Network. The FCC didn't comment Thursday.

Streamlining evaluation of applications for siting communications facilities on National Forest Service lands and expanded categorical exceptions for environmental reviews were among suggestions the U.S. Forest Service got on updating its permitting practices for communications and broadband infrastructure, in comments posted this week at regulations.gov. CTIA said the agency could streamline the evaluation by incorporating a 270-day clock for communications uses applications, having a system for tracking applications for communications uses, and setting up a 30-year term for communications use authorizations with automatic renewals at recurring 10-year intervals. The Wireless Infrastructure Association also backed codifying that deadline and increasing lease terms to 30 years. WIA said expanding the exemptions to include modifications of less than 20 acres would streamline the application process while helping foster collocations on existing facilities. The Western Governors' Association backed the service's proposal to revise directives to expedite requests for collocating communications uses in or on existing communications facilities and giving the current categorical exclusion more authority for special use authorization. Crown Castle supports expanding the scope of categorical exclusions. The New Mexico Broadcasters Association said the agency needs to avoid adding new review process requirements or facility sharing rules.