The U.S. is stuck in the starting blocks of the 5G race as it awaits an FCC decision on how to free up C-band spectrum, former Chairman Tom Wheeler blogged Friday for the Brookings Institution. He said European nations over the past year have done 5G spectrum auctions, but a C-band decision looks to come late this year. He said substantial time has been spent on debates about various potential auction processes, but the technical specifics of what to auction in terms of such issues as power levels, out-of-band emission levels and geographic and spectrum license sizes are far more difficult. "We are behind where we would have been if the FCC had stepped up and done their public interest job in the first place," he said. The agency didn't comment.
Wireless ISPs need more and better spectrum to succeed, WISP Association officials said in a briefing for Capitol Hill staffers Wednesday. WISPA officials are especially hopeful about the 2.5 GHz band, a likely target of the FCC at its July 10 meeting.
Bidirectional sharing, a top Pentagon policy priority, got some support in comments on an FCC public notice, launched in response to a requirement of Ray Baum's Act (see 1905010205). DOD sees bidirectional sharing as important to its future as it gives up more spectrum (see 1806250049). The department's concept is that under bidirectional sharing, federal agencies could use spectrum in remote areas that otherwise is going unused. Carriers and other wireless groups say any such sharing must be voluntary. Comments were due Friday in docket 19-128 and posted through Monday.
Bidding has concluded in Auction 102, the FCC’s sale of 24 GHz spectrum for 5G, said an FCC release Tuesday. Along with Auction 101 -- the 28 GHz auction completed in January -- the FCC “has now completed its first set of high-band airwaves auctions to make spectrum available for 5G wireless, Internet of Things, and other advanced spectrum-based services,” the announcement said. “The successful conclusion of our nation’s first two high-band flexible, mobile-use spectrum auctions is a critical step,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in the release. Bidding in Auction 102 ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday, and raised more than $2 billion in gross bids, it said, adding that bidders won 2,904 of the 2,909 licenses on offer. Auction 101 raised $702.6 million in gross bids with bidders winning 2,965 of the 3,072 licenses offered. A public notice with detailed results for Auction 102 will be available “in a few days” the release said. Auction 101’s results have remained nonpublic but a PN on them will also be released “soon,” the announcement said. Auction 103, which involves spectrum from the upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands, will start Dec. 10.
Officials in President Donald Trump's administration and the FCC spoke optimistically about the U.S. path forward on rural broadband and spectrum policy during a Monday NTCA event, citing 2018 successes and actions slated for this year. The FCC's plans to follow up the USF Connect America Fund with a new $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (see 1904120065) received some attention at the event, but more focus was on upcoming spectrum auctions and ways to increase rural broadband deployments.
That the US is losing on 5G “just is not true,” said Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, at a CTIA 5G summit Thursday. “Basically, we’re winning." Kudlow said he met with President Donald Trump about 5G Wednesday. CTIA President Meredith Baker said the C band (see 1904040076) offers the best opportunity for making more mid-band spectrum available.
Though it's not clear how much midband spectrum 5G will require, the U.S. is clearly lagging compared with midband availability in other nations, said CTIA President Meredith Baker at a Media Institute event Wednesday. When we asked her what's needed at minimum, she said the possibility of 180 MHz from the C band, as proposed by the C-Band Alliance (CBA), and 70 MHz from the 3.5 GHz band would still leave the U.S. 50 MHz shy of the global average of what other nations have dedicated to 5G.
CTIA sought a “comprehensive national vision” on spectrum, meeting an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Smart spectrum policies -- including setting a five-year schedule of spectrum auctions, emphasizing free market principles such as exclusive flexible-use licenses, and modernizing government policies and procedures -- will unlock the enormous promise of 5G and spur U.S. global technological leadership,” CTIA filed, posted Tuesday in docket 18-122.
The Technological Advisory Council urged the FCC to take a deep dive into the new generation of dynamic antennas and the future of sharing spectrum. The group also heard an update on 5G and the IoT Tuesday, as it held its long-delayed final meeting for 2018. The meeting originally was scheduled for December and then twice postponed. No reports approved Tuesday were immediately available. TAC, launched when 2G was transitioning to 3G, celebrated its 20th birthday.
President Donald Trump’s administration again proposes to cut funding to CPB in its FY 2020 budget proposal as part of its “plan to move the Nation towards fiscal responsibility and to redefine the proper role of the Federal Government.” Trump signed off in October on a FY 2019 federal spending law that maintained CPB’s annual funding at $445 million through FY 2021, despite having proposed in that year’s budget request to draw down the program’s funding (see 1809280043). The budget increased proposed money for the FCC and NTIA from what the administration proposed in its FY 2019 request. The FCC’s figure is down from its funding level under the spending bill passed in February (see 1902150055).