CBRS

The FCC shouldn’t offer census-tract-sized licenses as part of the licensed tier of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, CTIA said in a meeting with Erin McGrath, aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “The current licensing scheme for the CBRS, with 74,000 separate license areas based on census tracts and an average population of 4,400 per area, is significantly smaller than the license areas used for comparable spectrum in the rest of the world,” CTIA said in docket 17-258. “Census tract licensing would have significant drawbacks, including that it would create administrative complexity for the Commission, licensees, and Spectrum Access System Administrators; raise significant interference concerns; reduce the value of the spectrum; and raise the cost of designing and deploying networks, thereby harming rural investment.”

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The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy cited potential harms from a USTelecom forbearance petition seeking FCC relief for ILECs from wholesale unbundling discount and resale duties. The office said many CLECs are "very concerned" the FCC may grant nationwide relief. "A blanket grant of forbearance in every market could have a devastating impact on small businesses that rely on unbundled network element (UNEs) to serve customers," said SBA advocates' filing on meeting aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, posted Thursday in docket 18-141. Many CLECs heavily invested in deploying fiber networks using revenue from UNE-based services, and then moved customers to their own facilities over time, creating competitive pressures and incentives for incumbents to do likewise, the advocates said. They "urged the FCC to study the impact forbearance would have on small businesses, competition and the deployment of next generation networks." SBA also addressed robocalling, infrastructure deployment streamlining and 3550-3700 GHz band issues. On the citizens broadband radio service, SBA sided with advocates of census tracts for the priority access licenses that will be part of the band. SBA has concerns that adopting larger geographic licenses could “foreclose competition and result in decreased service in rural areas.” Uniti Fiber said UNEs "enable the company to expand its service offerings and network to new customers," and it "relies especially heavily on dry copper loops" and "dark fiber interoffice transport," regarding meetings with Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Brendan Carr, and an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (here, here, here). It said "the loss (or increase in price) of these inputs will have a significant impact" on its ability to make new deployments and maintain existing services. Blackfoot Communications, an ILEC/CLEC leasing UNEs from CenturyLink, said eliminating its access to UNE loops or increasing their price "would have an immediate and direct adverse impact on businesses in Montana and Idaho," given lack of alternatives. UNEs support Blackfoot's fiber and fixed-wireless expansion, it told Wireline Bureau staffers. It urged the FCC to look at the UNE specifics of each regional Bell. CenturyLink, another ILEC/CLEC, "views purchasing UNEs as a short-term strategy which is part of a larger transitional process," said a filing on a meeting it and USTelecom had with bureau staffers.

The FCC adopted a one-touch, make-ready policy and other pole-attachment changes in a broadband infrastructure order and declaratory ruling approved 3-1 by commissioners at a Thursday meeting. The item also said the agency will pre-empt state and local legal barriers to deployment, including express and de facto moratoriums that prohibit entry or halt buildout. "No moratoriums. No moratoriums. Absolutely no moratoriums," said Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who also noted some targeted edits to OTMR parts of a draft. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel agreed with OTMR in concept but partially dissented over "deficiencies in our analysis."

Using the shared 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band moved another step closer Monday, as the CBRS Alliance announced selection of the first eight labs to test equipment that will be used in the “OnGo” band. Gear must be able to “interoperate with other ecosystem components” and communicate with a spectrum access systems that will control the band as well as “operate within the provided operating parameters for LTE systems with in the 3.5 GHz band,” the alliance said: More labs are likely to be certified this year. The first eight include: Dekra, Nokia Global Product Compliance Laboratory, Sporton International, TUV Sud and Nemko San Diego. This all "further indicates the explosive growth of this technology,” said Alan Ewing, alliance executive director. "The OnGo Certification program ensures that FCC regulations for operating in shared spectrum are met -- expediting formal FCC certification -- and allows manufacturers to conduct the initial phase of functional testing,” the group said.

As the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band enters the test phase, the FCC Friday sought proposals for short-term, limited geographic deployment by conditionally approved spectrum access system (SAS) administrators. The Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology must assess and test each SAS before final certification, said the notice in docket 15-319. “This is intended to ensure that, through robust, rapid testing in a variety of real-world scenarios, the SAS is operating in compliance with Commission rules.” The real-world tests “will complement the testing done in a controlled laboratory setting by providing a real-world environment to assess certain aspects of compliance with the Commission’s rules that cannot be effectively verified under laboratory testing,” the FCC said. Tweeted Commissioner Mike O’Rielly (see 1807250055): “As I hinted was coming at @HouseCommerce hearing, @FCC announces today another step to making 3.5 GHz band operational for licensed & unlicensed use. I look forward to early commercial SAS markets, hopefully later this year.”

Any plan for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band that doesn’t include census-tract-sized priority access licenses (PALs) likely faces a divided vote at the FCC. Commissioners indicated potential disagreements during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday (see 1807250043). Chairman Ajit Pai said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly gave him analysis of proposed changes for rules for the band but no firm recommendations.

Microsoft and RTO Wireless agreed to use TV white spaces and citizens broadband radio service spectrum to bring fixed and mobile wireless broadband to about 290,000 people in rural Maine and New York, the companies said Tuesday. It’s part of Microsoft’s Airband Initiative that seeks to extend broadband to 2 million rural Americans by July 4, 2022, they said. New York GOP U.S. Reps. Tom Reed, Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney and Chris Collins applauded the partnership.

NTIA is starting a feasibility study for the 3450-3550 MHz band, though making the spectrum available for commercial use is no slam dunk, said Paige Atkins, outgoing (see 1807230049) associate administrator-spectrum, at the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday. NTIA is targeting the band as the next candidate for wireless broadband, Administrator David Redl announced in February (see 1802260047), noting DOD needs to find another location for military radar systems in the segment of frequencies that carriers may use for 5G.

Officials from 182 fixed wireless broadband providers said the FCC should retain census tracts for at least some of the priority access licenses sold as part of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. The FCC is expected soon to take up revised rules for the band (see 1807160057). “Reject options that take census tracts off the table and propel rural broadband access backwards instead of forwards,” the companies asked Monday in docket 17-258. “Without census-tract-sized licenses, we will have virtually no ability to acquire protected spectrum in this band. That would be an intolerable outcome that would harm our rural broadband businesses and inhibit our ability to grow, but worse it would harm the millions of consumers for whom mid-band spectrum is the key to high-speed fixed broadband access.” Wireless ISPs invested in the band under the current rules "by deploying software-defined radios in the 3650-3700 MHz band that can be easily upgraded to operate in the entire 3550-3700 MHz band, reaching more rural consumers within months," the WISPs said.