CBRS

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai indicated that the 2.5 GHz auction will follow on the heels of the 3.5 GHz auction, slated to start in June. “With almost 200 megahertz, this is the largest contiguous band of terrestrial, flexible use spectrum below 3 GHz in the United States,” Pai told the Citizens Broadband Radio Service Alliance Wednesday. Given the timetable in a recent Office of Economics and Analytics auction report (see 1909300064), that could put the start of the 2.5 GHz before the end of the CBRS sale and Sept. 30. Work continues on CBRS, Pai said. “We can’t let up, because our work is not done.” Spectrum access system administrators “need to report back to us to let us know that the dynamic sharing is working without any interference problems, so we’ll be monitoring that closely,” he said: “If the sharing regime works as we expect, we can continue to fine tune the system, adjusting protection zones and power levels.” An order approved by commissioners in July rewriting rules for the band 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band, including an eventual auction (see 1907100054), is partly effective Nov. 25, with other parts 184 days after publication, says Friday's Federal Register.

Comments are due Oct. 28, replies Nov. 12 on a public notice FCC commissioners approved 5-0 last month (see 1909260040) on rules for an auction of the licensed part of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. The auction is to start June 25. The docket is 19-244, said Wednesday's Federal Register.

Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, met an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to oppose cellular market area (CMA) bidding in June's citizens broadband radio service auction. A notice approved 5-0 in September proposes bidding by CMA, rather than by county, in the top 172 markets. Rosenworcel expressed concerns (see 1909260040). Calabrese asked whether Rosenworcel had received "any explanation concerning the rationale” for CMA bidding, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-244. “The proposed CMA rules appear to be a duplicitous reversal of the hard-fought compromise that the Commission adopted in last year’s Order.” Questions remain about the auction despite rule rejiggering (see 1910170045).

Many questions remain about the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band and how many carriers will bid in June’s auction of priority access licenses, industry officials said. FCC officials remain optimistic. One wild card is the regulator's looking at a private C-band auction before the PALs auction, which could siphon interest in the shared band (see 1910100052).

The Wireless ISP Association told an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai the group hopes the FCC soon will waive requirements that 3650-3700 MHz licensees complete the transition to Part 96 citizens broadband radio service rules by April 17 (see 1812040002). That deadline “would not allow many WISPA members to complete the transition in time given delays in equipment certifications,” WISPA said in docket 18-353, posted Thursday: “The upcoming winter months will make hardware change-outs more challenging.” The agency sought comment on the request, made by WISPA and the Utilities Technology Council last year. CTIA and NCTA opposed blanket waiver (see 1812260035).

Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche sees industry enthusiasm about the citizens broadband radio service, after the firm held a conference on the topic Tuesday. “Enthusiasm for the spectrum and its multifaceted use cases was shared by many participants representing different layers of the ecosystem,” the analyst told investors Wednesday. “We believe we are in the early innings in learning how CBRS spectrum and shared use deployment model will revolutionize wireless network deployments in the future. As one of the few mid-band spectrum [bands] now available for commercial use, CBRS has garnered the attention of service providers (i.e.: wireless and cable) but also new players like technology companies and enterprises for their own specific use cases.”

The FCC’s proposal for allowing cellular market area-level bidding in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service auction changed considerably from the original proposal by Chairman Ajit Pai, based on a side-by-side comparison. Commissioners approved a public notice 5-0 Thursday. Officials said then (see 1909260040) clarifying language was added at the request of Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and questions at the request of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The issue has been important to smaller players who prefer county-level licenses. The rules would permit larger licenses if conditions are met in the 172 largest markets. “We clarify that under this proposal, prices ... would be determined on a county-by-county basis, consistent with the basic clock mechanism,” says language in a new paragraph: “Prices in a particular county would depend upon whether the aggregate demand for blocks in that county exceeds the supply, regardless of whether the demand comes from bidders bidding on a CMA level, on a county level, or both.” The draft says simply: “We seek comment on this proposal for CMA-level bidding generally and on the specific implementation procedures we propose.” The final version adds more than 100 words of questions. “We seek comment on how this proposal, including the proposed implementation procedures ... would affect auction participation by bidders that seek licenses for individual counties,” the notice now says: “We also seek comment on whether there are modifications that should be made to our proposal for CMA-level bidding that would assist auction participation by smaller entities interested in county-sized licenses.” The PN was in Monday's Daily Digest in docket 19-244.

Telecom sector supply chain security and spectrum legislation drew enthusiastic support from House Communications Subcommittee members and witnesses during a Friday hearing, as expected (see 1909260056). They gave no clear guidance during on how they want to proceed on the seven measures the panel examined. Lawmakers focused much of their attention on the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR-4459) and the Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently Act (HR-4462), though they also showed interest in other measures.

FCC members approved 5-0 a public notice Thursday seeking comment on an auction of priority access licenses (PALs), the licensed part of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. As expected, Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks raised concerns (see 1909230056) but voted to approve after each got changes to the notice. The auction is to start June 25.

A proposed public notice on the 3.5 GHz auction could see questions at the commissioners’ meeting Thursday. Several parties have been at the FCC asking for changes and Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks are still reviewing their votes and have questions about how the auction will work in practice, industry and FCC officials said. The most controversial aspect is that the notice would allow bidding in some cases on relatively large cellular market area (CMA) licenses.