Wireless Spectrum Auctions

South Korea is poised to jump into the mid-band fray with auction of 3.5 GHz spectrum for 5G starting Friday, as the FCC is working toward finalizing revised rules. CTIA is asking the FCC to move quickly to free more mid-band spectrum. “The wireless spectrum being auctioned by South Korea’s government will be available for commercial use by December of this year,” CTIA said. “Recent research commissioned by CTIA revealed that the U.S. ranks sixth out of 10 lead nations studied in terms of mid-band spectrum availability. China ranked first.” The association noted Spain plans a mid-band auction in July, and Australia and Italy plan to launch mid-band auctions in coming months. The FCC didn't comment. “The leadership of the United States is not guaranteed -- especially when you consider that the FCC is timidly moving to auction spectrum for 5G one band at a time instead of boldly all together," responded Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "It also has yet to put on a public calendar just when additional airwaves will be made available. These are confusing signals to send to the marketplace. We need to fix them.”

CTIA, the Wireless Infrastructure Association and 14 other groups urged Congress Monday to act on the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act. HR-4953/S-1682, filed in the Senate in August, aims to identify spectrum for unlicensed use and free up mid-band spectrum for wireless industry purchase via a future FCC auction (see 1708010069). House Communications Subcommittee Vice Chairman Leonard Lance, R-N.J., and ranking member Mike Doyle, D-Pa., filed the House version in February (see 1802070054). HR-4953/S-1682 “provides the certainty necessary for the U.S. to reclaim global wireless leadership by establishing clear auction deadlines for substantial amounts of low-, mid- and high-band spectrum," the groups wrote the act’s House and Senate sponsors. They praised emphasis on rural connectivity, saying had its provisions “been in place, the previous two spectrum auctions alone would have resulted in a rural broadband investment of more than $6 billion," or more than the FCC Mobility Fund will make available over a decade.

Commissioners were in lockstep Thursday as they approved a high-band Further NPRM, though there was a party-line rift over the pre-auction limit of 1250 MHz of millimeter-wave spectrum that any party can buy at auction. The agency is sending "confusing signals" to industry given those limits and yet not committing to a time frame for making available more spectrum, said sole Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who dissented in part. Her support of the pre-auction limits was unclear (see 1805250058). The FCC said there was no substantive changes from the draft, but the approved item wasn't released Thursday. Commissioners also Thursday approved a telecom discontinuance streamlining order and six other items (see 1806070021).

Between now and the U.S. 5G future sit hurdles ranging from an "urban crunch" of spectrum availability to the morass of dealing with legions of local zoning and permitting steps, speakers said at an Axios event Wednesday. North America “started late” on 5G standardization, behind the Far East, but the country has reversed its position in the past two years and the first large-scale rollout likely will happen within the next 12 months in the U.S., said Ericsson North America CEO Niklas Heuveldop.

Leaders of the Senate Communications Subcommittee and the Congressional Spectrum Caucus filed their Supplementing the Pipeline for Efficient Control of the Resources for Users Making New Opportunities for Wireless (Spectrum Now) Act Wednesday. Senate Communications Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, led the Senate version. Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Doris Matsui, D-Calif., led the House one. Spectrum Now would give federal agencies additional flexibility in use of money from the Spectrum Relocation Fund to subsidize spectrum research and development. Agencies would be allowed to get additional funding than they otherwise could. CTIA believes Spectrum Now “will unlock funds to free up additional spectrum for commercial wireless use that will help spur new innovation and services for consumers,” said Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Kelly Cole. The AWS-3 spectrum auction (see 1806060040) "proved that providing additional funds for spectrum research is money well spent, and reforms included in [Spectrum Now] have the potential to produce positive results,” said Competitive Carriers Association President Steven Berry. The Wireless ISP Association also lauded the bill's filing.

CTIA asked the FCC to act on changes to rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band at the July 12 commissioners' meeting. The Wednesday letter by President Meredith Baker said unless the FCC acts soon, the U.S. will fall behind other countries in the race to 5G. CTIA asked the FCC to approve rules based on its April proposal made with the Competitive Carriers Association (see 1804240067). The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) pushed for small priority access licenses (PALs) in the band, with no major changes from the Obama administration rules.

With less than two weeks before the June 7 commissioners’ meeting, how the votes will shape up on the high-band Further NPRM (see 1805160051) remains unclear. The draft NPRM proposes to eliminate the pre-auction limit of 1250 MHz on the amount of millimeter-wave spectrum in the 28 GHz, 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands that any party can buy at auction. FCC Democrats historically favored aggregation limits, usually opposed by Republicans. FCC Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel is still studying the draft and has reached no conclusions, industry and FCC officials said Friday. The item is one of 12 on one of the biggest agendas in a long time for an FCC open meeting.

Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on spectrum issues, including the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband service band (see 1805220034 and 1805230013), said a filing in docket 14-177. Suri and Rick Corker, Nokia president North America, also met with Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel. “Innovative spectrum policies [have] unlocked the potential of gigabits of spectrum, including the 3.5 GHz and mmWave bands,” the filing said. “The Commission should move more quickly to get those spectrum bands into the market via auction so that they can be put to use. The Nokia Executives asked that the Commission expedite auctioning mid-band and mmWave spectrum bands, and hold auctions that cover more than one band at a time, which will speed deployment of 5G services to American consumers.” The executives stressed the importance of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band “as the centerpiece for nationwide 5G deployment.” A proposal by Intelsat and SES "to unlock only 100 MHz of spectrum for 5G over 3 years is not sufficient to meet the needs of wireless operators, or to keep the U.S. competitive with the emerging 5G plans in China, Japan and Korea,” they said. They encouraged the FCC to approve this year proposals for spectrum access system administrators in the 3.5 GHz band (see 1805220065), including the telecom manufacturer's SAS submission. As the regulator tries to prevent USF from funding equipment that threatens national security, the firm asked it "not be used to cast uncertainty on the entire industry, including longstanding, well-vetted partners of U.S. government and industry."

The 5G item set for commissioners' June 7 meeting proposes to undo some restrictions on spectrum holdings and tie up other loose ends. The FCC released its draft order and Further NPRM Thursday, providing details beyond what Chairman Ajit Pai discussed in a Wednesday blog post (see 1805160051).

Chairman Ajit Pai defended the FCC December order to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules amid criticism Thursday from Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Democrats, a day after the Senate voted 52-47 to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution aimed at repealing the rescission order (see 1805160064). FTC Chairman Joseph Simons, in his first Capitol Hill appearance since becoming the head earlier this month (see 1805010026), faced questions on his vision of the trade commission's policy role on net neutrality, privacy and data security issues.