FCC Should Look at Removing Huawei Tech from All US Networks, Carr Says

If Huawei equipment is enough of a threat to warrant barring USF funds to networks using it (see 1911220033), the FCC should look further into having that hardware removed even from networks where carriers aren't getting USF funds, Commissioner Brendan Carr said at Tuesday's Practising Law Institute conference. Legal issues could arise with that approach, but the topic should at least "be on the table," he said. He said the FCC is working "with other three-letter agencies" on such issues. Huawei didn't comment.

The draft NPRM on segmenting the 5.9 GHz band for use by unlicensed devices and intelligent transportation systems shows a shift from the agency's original approach that stems from discussions with the Transportation Department, said Matthew Berry, chief of staff to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. The agency “meaningfully” changed its approach to reach the current draft, Berry said. Maintaining the status quo on the 5.9 GHz spectrum would be “failure,” he said. The agency will “certainly want to have an order next year,” on the matter, Berry said.

Recent FCC disagreements with arms of the executive branch on the 5.9 GHz spectrum, Ligado, and the 24 GHz band (see 1908300057) “prove” the commission is an independent agency, Berry said. The FCC ends up agreeing with executive branch agencies on “the vast majority” of issues, he said. “There are some high-profile issues where the executive branch has expressed some disagreement,” Berry said. “The process is not set up to work that the executive branch gets to dictate the outcome on these proceedings,” he said. “At the end of the day, statutory authority lies with the FCC to make a decision on what's in the public interest.”

Telecom officials and experts said part of the problem with Mobility Fund Phase II broadband coverage maps (see 1912040037) lies with the FCC. Competitive Carriers Association General Counsel Alexi Maltas said what the agency seeks isn't going to generate reliable data, and incorporating parameters like load factor could improve the accuracy of the agency's model. He said carriers are interested in the details of the proposed 5G Fund, which will require a new mapping process.

For the maps to be more accurate, a better understanding of what carriers are filing is needed, Commissioner Mike O'Rielly's aide Erin McGrath said. Phoenix Center President Larry Spiwak said fixing the mapping is difficult since some carriers don't want to provide some required information for competitive reasons.

The FCC should do more to address the digital divide in tribal areas and communities of color, said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Getting fixed broadband to underserved areas is “absolutely imperative,” he said. Starks slammed the FCC majority for not addressing problems with data collection on broadband deployment. “I've been very frustrated,” he said. If companies providing data to the FCC misrepresent their information, “that should be taken up in an enforcement capacity,” said Starks, formerly of the Enforcement Bureau. Spending billions of dollars on rural broadband deployment based on data known to be flawed is a bad idea, Starks said. “What I am going to be choked with rage on is if in ten years we wake up with $20 billion spent, and we still don't fundamentally understand how to get broadband to these communities.”

Spectrum

Expectations of a C-band auction starting in 2020 should be tempered, with Administrative Procedures Act hurdles and the inevitable calls for spectrum set-asides ensuring the process won't be easy, Spiwak said. Adding to the complexity is the challenge of getting incentives to incumbents correct and the politics at play when members of Congress see big potential proceeds coming to the Treasury, he said.

AT&T Vice President-Federal Regulatory Hank Hultquist said the auction could start next year, though external issues, litigation or Capitol Hill activity could upset that FCC time frame. McGrath said one issue that needs to be resolved is how proceeds will be distributed among C-band satellite operators and whether the FCC makes that decision or some other party.

The regulator also needs to look at the 3.1-3.55 GHz and clearing the 3.45-3.55 GHz band, with DOD presumably doing the studies it needs to, said O'Rielly's aide.

"Work on this issue is ongoing," DOD emailed. McGrath said there also needs to be a look at ensuring macro towers can expand their facilities to allow for 5G coverage, particularly rural.

The C band is getting big attention, and it will be a major FCC focus in 2020, but there also are other spectrum needs, Carr said. He said other nations like China have focused solely on mid-band for 5G, but the U.S. mixed spectrum approach is sounder.

Courts and Clocks

McGrath said the FCC needs to stick to the shot clock or some other mechanism in mergers and acquisition to move the transactions through faster. The FCC should only rarely take a year or more to decide on a deal, and usually it should be less than that, she said. She said due to FCC efforts to smooth the path to 5G, the incentives for industry to roll it out "are there," though the agency can always do more on infrastructure and spectrum availability in preparation for future generations of networks.

Asked about the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refusal to hear the agency's en banc appeal of the Prometheus IV decision (see 1911200063), Carr said media ownership changes are "worth fighting for." Discussion needs to be more nuanced than just "media consolidation is bad" since the current rules can hurt localism, he said.

The Media Bureau is expected to release guidance in “a couple weeks” on how broadcasters should proceed under the rules restored by the decision, said Pai's media adviser, Alex Sanjenis, on a separate panel. Berry declined to comment on whether the FCC has decided to seek certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court for an appeal of the 3rd Circuit decision. He said the agency is deciding what to do about the related 2018 quadrennial review (see 1911220049).

The 2019 World Radiocomunication Conference was overall good news for satellite, with it getting additional fixed satellite service spectrum and earth station in motion flexibility, said Jennifer Manner, Hughes Network Systems senior vice president-regulatory affairs. It was a success that spectrum allocated for 5G contained footnotes making clear satellites operating there have rights and need protection, she said. Spectrum for IoT came up at WRC-19, and that's a growing concern because it's dictating how spectrum should be used, Manner said. WRC-19 didn't accept it, "but it's going to keep coming up" and the ITU will have to face the issue again in 2023, she said.

National Space Council Executive Director Scott Pace said too little attention is paid to satellite companies seeking licenses overseas because of onerous regulatory hoops in the U.S., and those barriers must be lifted. Lockheed Martin Vice President-Technology, Policy and Regulation Jennifer Warren said one challenge the U.S. faces is the "huge amount of competition" internationally to be a licensing regime -- which the wireless industry doesn't face. She said the FCC often requires a level of visibility into business particulars that could affect competition, and often other nations seek information about business plans but don't make that public because of such confidentiality issues.