FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has moved more slowly on wireless issues than expected since being confirmed to another term as a commissioner and designated last year as permanent chairwoman. On Wednesday, the FCC acted on the next steps on a 2.5 GHz auction. But other wireless items haven’t advanced as quickly as some hoped.
The FCC took the next step on the next 5G auction Wednesday, seeking further comment on competitive bidding rules for a 2.5 GHz auction. The FCC imposed a tight deadline, with comments due Feb. 23. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has been under pressure to announce a start date for the auction, which many see as the lowest of low-hanging fruit ready for FCC action (see 2112100045). The notice asks whether use of “an ascending clock auction format -- a multiple-round auction with bidding for frequency-specific blocks -- would address certain concerns and suggestions raised by commenters with respect to both the single-round and simultaneous multiple-round (SMR) auction formats.” In a notice approved in January 2021, the agency sought comment on both a single-round and traditional SMR format (see 2101130067). Carriers disagreed sharply. T-Mobile and Verizon urged an SMR auction, while AT&T wanted one finished in a single round (see 2105040077). “To date, the Commission has used an ascending clock auction format in situations in which multiple frequency blocks of similar spectrum were offered, where a clock auction could be conducted more efficiently than could an SMR auction with license-by-license bidding,” the FCC said. A footnote cites the 28 GHz and 24 GHz auctions. The notice asks whether upfront payments and bidding eligibility proposed for the auction “remain reasonable and appropriate” under a clock auction format. The FCC said it doesn’t want “further comment on other procedures proposed” last year. Under the proposed approach “the clock price for a license would increase from round to round if more than one bidder indicates demand for that license,” the notice said: “The bidding rounds would continue until, for all licenses -- that is, all categories in all counties -- the number of bidders demanding each license does not exceed one. Once bidding rounds stop, the bidder with demand for a license becomes the winning bidder.” Commissioners approved the initial notice 5-0 during former Chairman Ajit Pai’s last meeting. The Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireless Bureau released the notice without a commissioner vote.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled an agencywide task force Tuesday that will "focus on creating rules and policies to combat digital discrimination" and "promote equal access to broadband," said a news release. Headed by Office of Workplace Diversity Director D'wana Terry, the group will "oversee the development of model policies and best practices" for states and local governments to "ensure ISPs do not engage in digital discrimination." The Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act directed the FCC to adopt rules combating digital discrimination and promoting equal access to broadband. The agency will also "revise its public complaint process" for consumers that may be facing digital discrimination, the release said. The steps must be completed by November 2023.
The FCC will soon adopt rules that "crack down on revenue sharing” and exclusive access arrangements between broadband providers and building owners in multi-tenant environments said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2201210039). The record the FCC received last year on broadband access in MTEs “made one thing very clear,” Rosenworcel said: “The agency’s existing rules are not what they could be.” Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington encouraged NTIA to prioritize unserved areas in its new broadband programs. Other panelists urged the FCC to revise the USF.
Lawmakers are frustrated that interagency spectrum policy infighting that became endemic during the Trump administration continues to be an issue one year into Joe Biden’s presidency, despite early hopes for a shift (see 2010260001). Some on and off Capitol Hill believe the Biden administration’s handling of the high-profile C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065) has stirred an increased appetite for enacting a legislative solution. Others want to hold off on legislation for the time being in hopes recently installed NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other officials will be able to quickly nip the squabbling.
House Transportation Committee members and witnesses at a Thursday Aviation Subcommittee hearing criticized breakdowns in the federal interagency spectrum coordination process as a primary cause of the C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065). FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told lawmakers he believes “we are in a much better place than we were” in mid-January, before the wireless carriers and the agency reached agreement to temporarily defer turning on C-band 5G service around some airports. Lawmakers wondered if the situation will deteriorate again when cellular carriers lift those temporary restrictions.
California’s net neutrality law survived an appeal by ISP associations at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel’s Friday opinion that the FCC can’t preempt states after giving up its own broadband authority could affect ISP challenges of Vermont net neutrality and New York state affordable broadband laws, said legal experts.
FCC commissioners unanimously approved an NPRM on adoption of broadband consumer labels, as directed by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (see 2201260049), during their Thursday meeting. They also approved an order amending the definition of tribal libraries to clarify their eligibility for E-rate, the revocation of China Unicom Americas' Section 214 authority to operate in the U.S., and an order on reconsideration upholding a fine against a Texas company for signal jamming.
A draft FCC NPRM to adopt consumer broadband labels is expected to be unanimously approved during Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting, aides told us. The item is likely to take up the bulk of the meeting as most agenda items were adopted in advance (see 2201260016).
Verizon and AT&T agreed to a further two-week delay, until Jan. 19, in turning on their C-band spectrum for 5G, while taking other actions to address air safety, consistent with the model for deployments in France. The agreement will protect air safety, President Joe Biden said in a statement. Industry observers said the carriers, government regulators and the airlines appear close to a final resolution, though questions remain.