Wireless Spectrum Auctions

DOD is focused on making 3.1-3.45 GHz available for 5G, but doing so won’t be easy, said Vernita Harris, director-spectrum policy and programs, at the virtual NTIA Spectrum Policy Symposium Tuesday. Others said after the fights during the last administration, the Biden administration is improving coordination on sharing between federal agencies. The 3.1-3.45 GHz band is widely viewed as the most promising mid-band spectrum on the horizon for 5G.

Competitive Carriers Association member executives said they're interested in emergency broadband and other subsidies being made available by the federal government to build out their networks, warning that new market entrants may not have viable plans. Nsight is working with about 500 governments in its service territories on broadband grants, CEO Mark Naze said during a panel Tuesday. Rural broadband “is not a cookie cutter, it’s not a one size fits all,” said Eric Woody, Union Wireless chief technical and operations officer: “It’s not even a one size fits most. … Wireless is key to getting the last mile and sometimes that middle mile done.” There “are a lot of new parties coming to the table to participate in this industry,” said Maureen Moore, GCI chief customer experience officer. “There’s a tremendous focus on building and maybe not enough on operating,” she said: “What happens once you fund something and it’s built, then how do you maintain it going forward?” Woody agreed, saying his company is in the Rocky Mountains where “things break and you have to fix them.” For too many years, the focus was “we need to reduce funding … and now look at our infrastructure,” Woody said. Too much focus at the federal level is on fiber, said Cellular One CEO Jonathan Foxman: “The amount that looks like it’s heading to wireless to us seems really insufficient.” Naze agrees with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr that big tech should have to pay into USF (see 2109150055). “It was very encouraging to see" Carr "say last week that he supported that as a solution to the problem,” Naze said. The executives said they're deploying spectrum as they move to 5G but have concerns about FCC auctions. Nsight is adding spectrum to about 25% of its cellsites this year, Naze said: “For us to continue … we need to have more affordable spectrum.” The large license sizes sold by the FCC don’t work “west of the Mississippi” because “they’re too big,” Woody said: “They don’t [match] the existing licenses that we have today. It’s screwed up.” The execs said their companies weathered this pandemic. At the peak, his company had more than $800,000 past due on its books, from 2,700 customers, Foxman said. “I was a little freaked out -- are we going to collect any of that?” The company had to write off only about $10,000, he said. Union offered Wi-Fi outside schools and in less affluent areas, so kids could go to school remotely, Woody said. Union never closed stores and continued to do in-premise installations, he said. The discussion was streamed from CCA’s annual show in Phoenix.

With C-band deployments starting this year, aviation concerns about protecting radio altimeters aren't expected to be an initial big impediment, experts said in recent interviews. Aviation safety advocates expect the FCC and the FAA to continue watching closely for any issues. The FCC’s record-setting C-band auction was of licenses at 3.7-3.98 GHz; altimeters are at 4.2-4.4 GHz.

House GOP lawmakers want to place additional limits on China’s access to U.S. networks via amendments to the Armed Services Committee-cleared FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-4350). House Armed Services advanced HR-4350 earlier this month with language that would improve DOD implementation of its October 2020 spectrum strategy and the department’s adjustment of its systems before the FCC’s planned auction of spectrum on the 3.45-3.55 GHz band (see 2108250075). Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., wants to attach language to HR-4350 from the Defending America’s 5G Future Act, which would codify the Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security's placement of Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei to its export entity blacklist. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., proposes barring exports of telecom equipment “that would serve the primary purpose of assisting, or be specifically configured to assist, the People’s Republic of China in acquiring the capability to carry out censorship, surveillance, or any other similar or related activity.” Other tech and telecom-focused amendments include one from Rep. Van Taylor, R-Texas, to create a White House-led Technology Competitiveness Council aimed at keeping the U.S. competitive on tech issues. Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., wants to attach her American Freedom and Internet Access Act (HR-5123), which would require the Air Force to implement Operation Starfall, which would give other countries wireless access via balloons and satellites. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., wants the State Department to report to Congress on the “national security implications” of open radio access networks. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, wants to bar DOD from spending money with tech companies DOJ or the FTC determines have an “unlawful monopoly.” Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., seeks to prohibit federal agencies from requiring or supporting tech companies’ efforts to add backdoors or other security vulnerabilities to their products and services. The House Rules Committee will meet Monday at noon to consider which proposed HR-4350 amendments will get floor votes.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington and other chamber Democratic leaders told us they haven’t signed off on the House Commerce Committee’s portion of the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package because of what they consider an underwhelming amount of money for broadband. Senate Republicans we spoke with appeared unified with their House colleagues in opposition to the language.

Telecom and consumer protection language in the House Commerce Committee’s portion of the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package got limited attention Monday, the first day of the committee’s markup. Democratic leaders highlighted potential benefits, including the proposed $10 billion for next-generation 911 tech upgrades, $4 billion for the FCC emergency connectivity fund and $1 billion to fund a new FTC privacy bureau. Some GOP leaders criticized the additional ECF money, as expected (see 2109100063).

House Commerce Committee Republicans are unlikely to make the $4 billion in broadband money included in committee Democrats’ portion of the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package a centerpiece of their opposition to the measure but are expected to file at least some amendments to it, Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists told us. The legislation includes $10 billion for next-generation 911 tech upgrades, $1 billion to fund a new FTC privacy bureau and authorizes an FCC auction of at least 200 MHz of spectrum on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, as expected (see 2109090067). House Commerce said it will begin marking up the measure at 11 a.m. EDT Monday in 2123 Rayburn.

AT&T asked the FCC to adopt a spectrum screen for 2.5 GHz-6 GHz. In 2016, AT&T opposed FCC decisions to impose low-band and high-band spectrum screens (see 1607080026). “It makes no sense to maintain them and not apply a similar screen for mid-band spectrum,” the company petitioned Wednesday. “Mid-band licenses are the most important input in any wireless provider’s portfolio of 5G spectrum assets -- and, not coincidentally, are also the most likely to become the subject of anticompetitive foreclosure strategies.” Current rules “do little to prevent” the potential for anti-competitive behavior involving mid-band since “they apply only the highly diluted overall spectrum screen to acquisitions of additional mid-band spectrum, inaccurately treating that spectrum as though it were fungible with other spectrum, while applying more granular scrutiny to acquisitions of spectrum below 1 GHz even though that spectrum actually is fungible with other bands,” AT&T said. Nothing “stops” carriers “from overpaying for yet more mid-band spectrum” because the existing screen “cannot prevent providers with outsized mid-band assets from engaging in a foreclosure strategy designed to keep rivals from obtaining the mid-band assets they need.” So “act through provider-specific review of post-auction long-form license applications, not through ex ante, provider-agnostic caps on spectrum acquired in any given auction." A new screen “is not a cap on how much spectrum any entity can hold,” blogged Executive Vice President-Federal Regulatory Relations Joan Marsh. “It is a filter that the FCC can use to identify spectrum acquisitions that trigger more detailed consideration of the potential for competitive harms.” The petition criticizes the FCC for “not requiring any spectrum divestitures” by T-Mobile in buying Sprint, which “trivialized its overall spectrum screen.” AT&T and T-Mobile trailed Verizon in bidding that ended in February for C-band spectrum (see 2102180041). The FCC, T-Mobile and Verizon didn’t comment.

With the FCC setting up processes for challenging C-band accelerated clearing certification (see 2108040060), satellite and wireless interests made suggestions in docket 21-320 Monday. Verizon, warning of delayed deployment of 5G, said concerns need to be raised now with the relocation coordinator instead of via certification challenges. It urged the Wireless Bureau to clarify that the 30-day period in the challenge and reply process for announcing cert deficiencies applies to initial and refiled certifications. T-Mobile said the bureau should clarify when overlay licensees can use the 3.7 GHz spectrum in the partial economic areas where they won the auction, since there's potential for approval of different certifications at different times by various satellite operators. It said if one satellite operator submits a validated cert by the relevant accelerated relocation deadline, auction winners should be allowed to access their licensed spectrum by that deadline. It argued against challenges to refiled certs being limited to the new information, since the amendment is to replace the original. Make clear that if a C-band satellite operator can address a challenge without amending that cert, it may do so, Eutelsat asked. It said the bureau should require each challenger to demonstrate how it qualifies as a “relevant stakeholder,” and staff should let satellite operators and challengers seek confidential treatment for eligible information that's in their agreement. Intelsat said there seems to be no requirement that challenges focus on potential deficiencies specific to the C-band order's requirements and not to matters outside of phase 1 C-band clearing implementation. It sought clarity on how the bureau will screen for the entities that are “relevant” and have standing to challenge satellite operator certs. Not making that clear could "open the door to abusive challenges based on competitive or commercial motivations," it said. The process the FCC proposes could stretch the time frame for determining the validity of a certification by weeks to years, SES said, urging instead sticking with 60 days for resolution. It said amended or refiled cert shouldn't trigger a new challenge cycle.

Bidders may not have all the data they want, but likely what they need, to assess bids in the upcoming 3.45 GHz auction, experts told us. The FCC and NTIA have been working behind the scenes to provide more data on DOD radars that must be protected after the auction, which starts Oct. 5. CTIA has continuing concerns. Analysts said uncertainty could mean lower bids.