Wireless Spectrum Auctions

LAS VEGAS -- Life for wireless mic operators may grow more complex once TV stations reshuffle frequencies, an engineer at a maker of mic systems said at the NAB Show. Spectrum for such transmissions may grow more scarce and there may be more competing uses, these and other comments Tuesday suggested.

AT&T defended its December proposal for a temporary, voluntary repack of the 38.6-40 GHz band (see 1712120010). Verizon in January told the FCC it supports AT&T’s goal of a timely auction of the spectrum but opposes AT&T's proposed solution (see 1801260041). AT&T reported on a meeting with staff from the Wireless Bureau, including Chief Donald Stockdale, and from the Office of General Counsel. The FCC’s current band plan “is complex with multiple license boundaries and holders, even over the same geographic area,” AT&T said in an accompanying presentation. “Auction with separate assignment round maximizes potential for contiguity across the entire band in a faster and fairer manner to advance the delivery of 5G services for the U.S. Prior to auction, a temporary repack solution is required to create larger, contiguous blocks to support rapid 5G deployments.” The filing was posted in docket 14-177.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Friday on whether it should extend by up to three years 12-year license terms and associated build-out requirements for AWS-3 licenses. It cited “complexities and timing of clearing Federal government operations” from the spectrum. The bureau asked if extension is warranted for all licenses or only those issued the earliest. “If a blanket extension for all AWS-3 licenses is not appropriate, is an extension warranted for AWS-3 licenses in specific geographical area(s) or spectrum band(s) (1695-1710 MHz or 1755-1780 MHz or specific blocks therein) in light of the status of Federal relocation?” the public notice asked. “If an extension is warranted, how long should it be? ... Bear in mind the Commission’s previous indication that it would consider extensions up to 3 years.” Comments are due June 5, replies July 5, in docket 18-104. The auction ended in January 2015 and set records for an FCC spectrum auction with almost $45 billion in provisionally winning bids (see 1501290059).

The FCC should tee up for auction all five of the millimeter-wave bands it has approved for 5G (see 1804040042) and not just the 24 and 28 GHz bands, T-Mobile officials said in a meeting with FCC staff, including Wireless Bureau Chief Donald Stockdale. “T-Mobile recently announced its plans to deploy 5G infrastructure in 30 markets this year using both 600 MHz and millimeter wave band spectrum,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-85. “Yet, more spectrum is required to realize the full potential of 5G networks and to promote competition. That is why the Commission should make millimeter wave band spectrum available, as quickly as possible, in a manner that best encourages competition and will produce the most pro-consumer impact.” Commissioners are to vote at their April 17 meeting on a public notice that will move the agency toward an auction of the 24 and 28 GHz bands (see 1803270052). Of the two bands, only 24 GHz “presents any meaningful opportunity for new entrants,” T-Mobile said: The 28 GHz band “is already heavily encumbered based on acquisitions by Verizon.”

Dish and designated entities Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless amended their agreements, with Dish loosening its control of those companies. The renegotiated DE agreements came after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's August ruling that upheld the FCC withholding the DEs' AWS-3 auction bidding credits due to their too-close connections to Dish (see 1708290012). In an SEC filing Wednesday, Dish said its amended Northstar agreement says Northstar no longer has to consult with it about budgets and business plans and removed the requirement that its systems be interoperable with Dish's. Dish also agreed to exchange $6.87 billion in Northstar debt for 6.87 billion nonvoting shares. It said Dish also agreed to lower the interest rate on $500 million in Northstar debt still outstanding from 12 percent annually to 6 percent, to eliminate the higher interest rate that would apply in a default and to modify or remove some obligations for Northstar to prepay the loan. The satellite service provider said the amended SNR agreement has the same terms, though with Dish exchanging $5.065 billion owed for 5.065 billion nonvoting shares. Dish also said it agreed on identical terms modifications for $500 million in SNR shares still outstanding. The company said that other issues related to the remand remain in negotiation. The satellite-TV provider said SNR and Northstar have put in multiple requests with the FCC for meetings to discuss a cure to the DE control issue but that the agency hasn't granted an audience. The agency didn't comment. The agreements put Dish and the DEs "one step closer" to regaining the $3.3 billion AWS-3 spectrum discount, ultimately giving Dish close to 200 more spectrum licenses atop its close to 100 MHz, which would point to an IoT partnership or M&A, Maquarie analyst Amy Yong wrote investors. She said with negotiations ongoing, the process could run through the second half of this year or into 2019.

The FCC should reverse a Wireless Bureau consent order approving the AT&T/FiberTower deal and auction FiberTower’s terminated licenses, the Competitive Carriers Association said. “The Bureau did not conduct a meaningful analysis of the AT&T/FiberTower Transaction’s competitive impact or public interest benefits, and CCA strongly encourages the Commission to instead auction the valuable spectrum,” said CCA President Steve Berry in a news release. “AT&T fails to provide an adequate defense of the Bureau’s decision and wrongly suggests the public will benefit from the Transaction. Allowing one of the nation’s largest carriers to gain an enormous swath of valuable spectrum resources causes a real threat of additional spectrum aggregation to the detriment of American taxpayers, competition, and the overall economy.” The bureau authorized AT&T to take control of 39 GHz licenses as part of its buy of FiberTower in February (see 1802080055). The FCC and AT&T didn't comment.

The Competitive Carriers Association has major concerns about an NPRM set for a vote at the April 17 commissioners’ meeting proposing to prevent use of money in any USF program to buy equipment or services from companies that “pose a national security threat” to U.S. communications networks or the communications supply chain, President Steve Berry told us Tuesday. “The FCC has injected uncertainty at a time when carriers need certainty most,” as they are getting set for the Connect America Fund Phase II and Mobility Find II auctions and “building out 600 and 700 MHz spectrum,” Berry said. “This will most certainly impact the United States’ efforts to win the global race to 5G.” The Rural Wireless Association and NTCA also expressed concerns (see 1804020054). CCA was preparing for its spring meeting last week when FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated the draft NPRM. “CCA and its members care about national security and support prosecution of those who violate known national security policy,” Berry said. “Nevertheless, the FCC’s proposal to prohibit the use of USF to purchase any equipment or services produced or provided by any company posing a national security threat is incredibly broad and could impact every aspect of the communications supply chain with or without ever taking USF or purchased Chinese or Russian equipment and/or services.” Berry conceded the NPRM raises complicated issues. “CCA members care deeply about the security of their customers and the country and are focused on working towards comprehensive solutions,” he said. “I would hope any action taken by the FCC will move our nation to a broad solution and not a half measure that unduly paralyzes consumers in rural America.” Many smaller carriers have cut deals with Chinese equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, which worked hard to penetrate the U.S. market (see 1803260037).

The FCC released its tentative agenda for the April 17 commissioners’ meeting, and as indicated in a Monday blog post by Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1803260028), it contains proposals on rural call completion and rural business data service (BDS) actions, and a public notice on the 28 GHz and 24 GHz band auctions. Along with the tentative agenda, the agency released draft versions of the items proposed for the meeting. The FCC proposes to use its standard simultaneous multiple-round (SMR) auction format for the upcoming auction of the 28 GHz band and a clock-auction format for the 24 GHz band, the draft 5G PN said. “By initiating the pre-auction processes for Auctions 101 and 102, we take another important step to promote the deployment of fifth-generation wireless, the Internet of Things, and other advanced spectrum-based services at frequencies above 24 GHz,” the FCC said in the notice. “In doing so, we help ensure continued American leadership in wireless broadband, which represents a critical component of economic growth, job creation, public safety, and global competitiveness.” Differences between the bands dictate the need for different auction formats, the FCC said. "For example, the similarities among blocks in the 24 GHz band facilitate using a clock auction with generic blocks, which will speed up the bidding relative to license-by-license bidding, which is needed when blocks in the band are less uniformly available, as in 28 GHz," the FCC said. The agency said it will offer a total of 5,986 licenses through the two auctions. The agenda also includes an NPRM on barring USF recipients from using risky international suppliers, a proposal to streamline commercial satellite authorization, and media deregulation items on broadcast ancillary services and cable channel listings. As expected, the broadcast ancillary services item doesn’t include changes to broadcast notice rules.

The circulation of draft orders three weeks before meetings has apparently led to a big falloff in the number of ex parte visits to the FCC, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said at a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. O’Rielly spoke on a panel with fellow Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr. Both also said more than three months after the 3-2 FCC vote to overturn the 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1712140039) they remain convinced the FCC made the right move. Earlier, Chairman Ajit Pai and NTIA Administrator David Redl outlined various initiatives, including to promote 5G.

Cable and telco executives said Congress should resolve the net neutrality dispute and end policy flip-flops that, one suggested, threaten broadband investment more than heavy regulation. "It's time to put the rules in place and move on," said Comcast Senior Executive Vice President David Cohen at a Free State Foundation conference Tuesday. But the executives expressed more hope than optimism, with some pessimistic about the near-term prospects. Recent revelations and concerns about the use of Facebook data could drive privacy legislation discussions, some said. Others focused on 5G wireless and fiber deployment efforts.