FCC's 2.5 GHz Auction Seen Unlikely to Start Before December

The FCC appears unlikely to hold a 2.5 GHz auction before mid-December, based on the deadlines in a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register, industry experts said. With the 3.45-3.55 GHz auction expected to start Oct. 5, the 2.5 GHz auction would likely follow.

Comments are due May 3, replies May 17, on the January notice proposing bidding procedures for the 2.5 GHz auction (see 2101130067), in docket 20-429. Asked about that auction after the February commissioners’ meeting, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC is waiting for comments on the January notice. Lawyers who represent carriers said the FCC typically allows at least five months from the time procedures are finalized until the auction start date. Two carrier sources said an auction in early 2022 seems most likely. The FCC declined comment Monday.

The timetable for 3.45 GHz is more expedited. The draft notice on that auction, set for a vote March 17, proposes comments due April 14, replies April 29. That follows a similar approach to the C-band auction.

“Nothing moves a project forward like a deadline,” Recon Analytics' Roger Entner told us. He expects a tight schedule. “Rosenworcel is on a mission to get things done expeditiously,” he said: “This gives her a better shot for permanency and deprives any other potential nominee the necessary fuel to get their aspirations going.”

The agency could hold the 2.5 GHz auction in September, if it uses a single-round format, and finish it before the 3.45 GHz auction, said Sasha Javid, BitPath chief operating officer. If the FCC instead uses the standard simultaneous multiple round (SMR) format, a later auction is likely, he said. “The single-round auction with user-defined package bidding also has some additional … implementation risk, because such an auction has not been run by the FCC before,” he said.

“While SoniqWave is disappointed that the 2.5 GHz auction appears to again be slipping, this does give the FCC time to fully consider the very unique circumstances of this band and to craft an auction mechanism that assures a competitive auction in which taxpayers are properly compensated,” said Paul Sinderbrand, chief strategy and regulatory affairs officer. The swath “is so heavily encumbered in the more populated areas of the country that a creative approach is necessary to avoid a windfall for incumbents,” he said: “The single round, sealed bid approach advanced" in the notice "is a clever, well-considered solution.”

The January notice suggested a single-round design would be quicker to implement and sought comment on SMR (see 2101140019). The FCC gave tribes the first shot at the band last year, with more than 400 applying for licenses to boost broadband in often underserved areas (see 2009030012).

T-Mobile, viewed as the most likely bidder among major carriers, is pushing for a 2021 auction. “Meaningful licensing of that spectrum has been suspended for nearly 30 years, leaving significant portions of the spectrum lying fallow, particularly in rural areas,” it told Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics staff. The carrier didn’t comment now.