Key Commerce Department challenges include addressing FirstNet’s “adequacy of funding, effective consulting, internal control, and staffing and other organizational issues” and addressing an increasing demand for spectrum, Deputy Inspector General David Smith said in his office’s semiannual report to Congress, released this week (see 1605310058). Smith is now the acting inspector general, and the Senate Commerce Committee held a nomination hearing last month for the administration’s nominee for a permanent IG (see 1605100057). The IG’s report referred to President Barack Obama’s directive to make 500 MHz of spectrum available by 2020. “To meet the 2020 deadline, NTIA needs to incorporate the lessons learned from its research and development activities into actual strategies that lead to results -- as well as identify the availability of, and more efficient use of, radio frequency spectrum,” the 64-page IG report said. “Also, the termination of the Federal Spectrum Management System presents a challenge to NTIA’s capability to manage spectrum, it will still be in need of a technological system that can modernize, automate, and integrate key spectrum management functions.” In the course of an audit, the IG “found FirstNet’s process to inform federal agencies about the benefits” of its network “and its initial efforts to address federal agency challenges reasonable given the limitations on federal consultation mentioned throughout our report.” The IG recommended the FirstNet CEO “identify and document non-subjective performance indicators and milestones and define and document how each will be measured”; “identify steps to mitigate the risk of low federal participation in FirstNet’s Federal Stakeholder Engagement Plan,” and “perform and document analysis of federal consultation and outreach efforts, including analyses specific to the 14 agencies that compose the Emergency Communications Preparedness Center.” There's an ongoing audit of FirstNet’s “processes for entering into, monitoring, and closing its interagency agreements,” the IG noted. Five of nine broadband stimulus grant recipients IG reviewed “had excess equipment, $3.5 million in total, including equipment outside the needs of completing the grant projects,” the report said. “Also, we found that NTIA’s processes for identifying and disposing of [Broadband Technology Opportunities Program]-funded excess inventory were inadequate for effective management of these awards.” It found that $600,000 “may have been improperly disposed,” it said. The IG report also said five entities were debarred for three years after allegations that an unnamed stimulus grantee “misused and mismanaged grant funds and that a whistleblower employee of the subrecipient was terminated for disclosing the misuse and mismanagement.”

The FCC needs to carve out an exception to Section 15.201 of its rules for unlicensed wireless microphones “in light of the unique applications of microphones compared to other types of devices for which the rule was created,” Sennheiser said in a filing at the FCC. The wireless mic maker reported on a meeting with officials from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology. The FCC approved new rules for wireless mics last August tied to the TV incentive auction and 600 MHz band repacking (see 1508060050). “Sennheiser discussed possible scenarios for modifying existing equipment to ensure operations would meet the new rules, and the equipment certification implications, using the clearing target band plan as an example,” Sennheiser said. The company said professional productions require interference protection from white space devices. “A pathway for this needs to exist for legitimate performing arts companies that do not meet the 50 microphone threshold for licensed operation,” it said. Sennheiser also said it proposed alternate frequencies in the 169-172 MHz band that could be used for wireless mics. "With regard to the 1.4 GHz band, Sennheiser noted that the 30 MHz spectrum limit was unexpected and not needed." the company said. "Use is limited to specific licensees and circumstances, and the frequency coordinator is well-situated to determine whether the number of channels requested by [a] licensee is necessary and appropriate." The filing was posted Wednesday in docket 12-268.

FirstNet’s concurrent pursuit of a partner to build a network using 700 MHz spectrum is likely to have an effect on the TV incentive auction because AT&T and Verizon are likely contenders for the FirstNet contract, said Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche Wednesday in a research note. Responses to the FirstNet request for proposals are due May 31, just as the reverse part of the auction gets started. Other analysts and observers disagreed whether Fritzsche is on target in her warning.

Parts of the rules for the TV incentive auction could make it less likely that small carriers will bid for 600 MHz spectrum once the forward auction gets underway, industry officials said. One complication for competitive carriers interested in bidding for reserve spectrum set aside for them in some markets is that they won’t know until the final stage of the auction whether a spectrum reserve will be available, officials said. A second challenge is that bidding is more complex than in past auctions, with a “no excess supply” rule that could prevent a company from exiting a market after making a bid. The FCC didn't comment.

Citi Research said the 126 megahertz clearing target for the TV incentive auction (see 1604290048) is higher than it had predicted. “More spectrum is available for sale than we previously expected, perhaps creating an opportunity for carriers to aggregate more spectrum or pay a lower price than we had estimated,” Citi wrote investors. “This is especially positive for Buy-rated T-Mobile.” Other stock analysts made similar comments late last week and so far this week. The high clearing target means the 600 MHz band will likely emerge as a very valuable band for the wireless industry, emailed Jim Patterson of Patterson Advisory Group. “More spectrum, combined with 5G and other network developments, should be enough to tip the scales in favor of new bidders or challengers looking for nationwide differentiation,” Patterson said. “The implications of this are very positive for bidders such as Comcast, T-Mobile, America Movil and NTT DoCoMo. It could place competitive pressures on Sprint, who has not selected to bid, as equipment and device manufacturers choose to move their development efforts to 600 MHz use cases.”

With the initial spectrum clearing target for the auction set at 126 MHz (see 1604290018), questions remain about the TV incentive auction. Analysts and other industry observers said Friday the outlook is improving. The FCC said Friday that, as some expected (see 1604270053), the 126 MHz is enough for the FCC to offer 10 paired blocks in most markets. The FCC also said the clock phase of the reverse auction will start May 31, the day after Memorial Day. A senior FCC official said the high target should ensure the supply of spectrum will meet demand. The official said the reverse auction is likely to run four to six weeks and is limited to 52 rounds.

The FCC Friday announced a 126 megahertz initial spectrum clearing target for the TV incentive auction, a figure on the high end of possible targets. As a result, 100 megahertz, or 10 paired blocks, of 600 MHz spectrum will be offered in the forward auction on a “near-nationwide” basis, the FCC said Friday in a public notice. The FCC also said the reverse clock auction will start May 31.

Communicating in noisy and active environments was a key challenge during a test of an LTE public safety network at a rodeo in Houston, said a FirstNet blog post Tuesday. The test was done by Texas and Harris County, one of five “early builder” public safety LTE network projects. FirstNet has a spectrum manager lease agreement with each project to provide early access the public safety spectrum in the 700 MHz band. Public safety officials did the test at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Stadium. The March 1-20 event had about 2.48 million visitors, with 75,508 on the most-attended day. Festival noise was a challenge, said Lynn Bashaw, FirstNet director-network operations. “For example, voice communications were severely impacted during the concerts and in the carnival ride areas,” he said. “In addition, when responders are working an incident, they must be able to communicate without holding a device and selecting features. Much work remains to optimize the performance, usability, and reliability of these mobile devices and accessories for use in a noisy and active public safety environment.” For the test, multiple vendors provided more than 90 handheld mobile devices to about 60 users out of about 600 public safety staff, Bashaw said. Public safety used push-to-talk and situational awareness applications, as well as tethering to laptops, he said. Harris County hasn’t finished its Band 14 LTE network for public safety, so the team rolled out a cell on wheels with a 100-foot mast, and installed three Band 14 LTE nodes at key locations around the venue and two low-power nodes for in-building coverage inside the facility hosting the command center, he said.

Considering the amount of time and money it takes to clear spectrum bands, the next White House administration likely won't deviate far from the current spectrum sharing approach, Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup said during an FCBA CLE Thursday: "There may be some tweaking, but I don't expect a major shift." Speakers all indicated the questions about spectrum sharing involve its degree and how to implement it, because the question of whether it will happen is settled.

The FCC’s 39-month timetable for the post-TV incentive auction transition is time enough, said Grundy Integration, RIO Steel & Tower and T-Mobile in a meeting at the FCC. The company representatives met with Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake, Gary Epstein, chairman of the Incentive Auction Task Force, and other FCC officials, said a filing in docket 14-252. “Representatives from the tower-climbing companies estimated that the average antenna installation project takes two to four weeks, though they emphasized that there is no typical installation,” the filing said. “A low-elevation, side-mounted, high-frequency antenna installation could be done in as few as five days. An extremely complex, high-elevation, top-mounted, low-frequency antenna installation could take six weeks or more, though the tower climbing experts characterized an installation of this complexity and length as "an outlier.” Both tower companies have the personnel to help complete the transition, they said. Equipment isn't an issue, they said. “RIO operates its own full turnkey tower fabrication facility,” the filing said. “This facility produces pole derricks called gin poles; complete tower structures, such as guyed towers up to 1,500 feet and self-support towers up to 450 feet; and the components necessary for tower modifications and strengthening. RIO can fabricate a gin pole in as little as two weeks once it has the design specifications.” T-Mobile, expected to be a major player in the 600 MHz auction, has said repeatedly that broadcasters should be able to complete the repacking within the 39 months mandated by the FCC and within the $1.75 billion budget established by Congress (see 1602180063). “Until we know how many stations will need to move and to what channels, it remains an exercise in futility to argue that the FCC set precisely the right deadline and that there should be no safety valve whatsoever for stations unable to transition in time,” an NAB spokesman said in response to T-Mobile.