The FCC is expected to hand down this week an order prohibiting ties between designated entities (DEs) and carriers. But questions remain about the breadth of the restrictions the FCC. The central question is whether the FCC will agreed to stick with language in a Feb. further notice of proposed rulemaking restricting relationships between DEs and “entities with significant interests in communications services” rather than just DEs and the major wireless carriers (CD Feb 6 p2).
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Latest spectrum auction news
Former FCC Chief Economist Thomas Hazlett and Michael Calabrese, vp of the New America Foundation, disagreed sharply on where the FCC should draw the line in promoting unlicensed spectrum as an alternative to auctions. They faced off in a Catholic U. telecom symposium debate on the advantages of unlicensed vs. licensed spectrum.
Asked what they would do to increase broadband deployment, a panel of attorneys Tues. offered a panoply of ideas, ranging from tax incentives to better consumer education to more reliance on powerline communications. Some panelists at a symposium sponsored by Catholic U.’s law school Tues. also recommended more dependence on the marketplace and less on regulation, although others said regulators better be sure that marketplace remains open to competition.
A group of 7 wireless carrier executives, joined by 2 investors and the Rural Telecom Group, wrote to Chmn. Martin asking he back off a proposal to conceal bidders’ identities in a June advanced wireless services (AWS) auction. Their letter signals what’s expected to be a full court press. Last week Martin said he would ask the Commission to vote on a public notice, though none is required (CD March 24 p3).
CTIA and the major carriers urged the FCC to back away from tentative conclusions in a proposed rulemaking that the Commission no longer should award bidding credits or other small business benefits to “designated entities” that have a “material relationship” with the major national carriers. The FCC earlier this month sought comment on a further rulemaking changing its DE rules before June’s advanced wireless services (AWS) auction (CD Feb 6 p2). DE Council Tree had asked the FCC to bar ties between major carriers and DEs in areas where a carrier already has spectrum (CD Jan 18 p1).
Chmn. Martin wants a full FCC vote on a contentious public notice that would require blind bids in an advanced wireless services (AWS) auction this June, sources said Thurs. The Wireless Bureau had been expected to issue the notice. Now the FCC is expected to vote at its April 12 meeting. In another wireless sector matter, sources said Martin is recirculating a BRS/EBS order. An earlier version was withdrawn.
TerreStar has been making the rounds at the Dept. of Homeland Security, Dept. of Defense and the Hill since winning 20 MHz of 2 GHz spectrum from the FCC in Dec., about 6 months earlier than it expected, pres. & CEO Robert Brumley said. Reason: To tailor its hybrid satellite/terrestrial wireless system to govt. demands and security needs, he said. DHS and DoD reaction has been strong, Brumley told a Washington Space Business Roundtable lunch Wed. “There’s a simple business equation for this govt.,” he said: “ Can you fix our legacy problems, and what’s the next generation system going to be?”
The Wireless Communications Assn., National ITFS Association (NIA) and Catholic TV Network (CTN) are trying to resolve conflicts over the length of leases on spectrum owned by educational groups to be made available for sale in the secondary wireless broadband market. But the groups may not be able to broker a deal, onlookers said Wed.
T-Mobile took its case against opaque bidding in a coming advanced wireless services auction straight to FCC Chief Economist Leslie Marx, widely viewed as a leading proponent of blind bidding. T-Mobile officials, accompanied by U. of Md. economics Prof. Peter Cramton, met Fri. with Marx, according to an ex parte letter. T-Mobile said the FCC should examine the “eligibility ratio,” a measure of supply of spectrum vs. demand, based on upfront bids 3-4 weeks before the auction. If the ratio shows demand is high, it should reveal bidders’ identities during the auction. T-Mobile said, based on the test it suggests, some past spectrum auctions have been competitive while others haven’t. “Although T-Mobile and Prof. Cramton continue to believe that full transparency is the best policy, in the alternative, the attendees discussed establishing a competitive threshold for transparency,” said T-Mobile. “As the auction becomes more competitive, there is a point where full transparency is clearly the best policy, and the above proposals provide an objective, straightforward means of assessing the competitiveness of the upcoming AWS auction so that the FCC can make a reasoned decision on whether to use transparent or blind bidding procedures.”
FCC Chmn. Martin used his first news briefing to push for deregulation of telco video to compete with cable, plus looser media ownership limits. Fiber to the home “should also be free of many regulations… and I think the Commission should act on that,” Martin said: “I am hopeful that we will be able to provide some regulatory relief.” Fiber deployments such as Verizon’s estimated $20 billion FiOS project also help boost broadband deployment, Martin said, calling broadband “the top priority for this Commission.”