Carriers Say They Need More Information on Sharing 3.45 GHz Before Start of Auction

CTIA and major wireless carriers urged the FCC to provide more information as soon as possible on how the 3.45 GHz band will be cleared and the protections that will continue for federal incumbents, in initial comments on the auction procedures public notice. Carriers generally were enthusiastic about the FCC’s next 5G auction, starting in October, but sought some tweaks. Comments were posted Thursday in docket 21-62. The Competitive Carriers Association asked for higher bidding credits.

“Prospective bidders need more detail about the relocation and coordination procedures for existing government operations,” CTIA said: “Making this information available well in advance of when the quiet period takes effect is key to reducing uncertainty regarding the spectrum rights available, generating greater participation, and encouraging more robust bidding for a successful auction.” CTIA also asked the FCC to clear up issues on down payment and final payment dates and clarify those will be in early 2022.

“Bidders making major (potentially multi-billion-dollar) investments need to be fully informed regarding the assets on which they are bidding,” AT&T said: DOD and NTIA haven't released “critical pieces of information.” AT&T also sought tweaks, including rules to protect a bidder from getting stuck with just a 10 MHz block in any market: “A stand-alone 10 MHz unpaired block is unlikely to support a compelling 5G deployment.”

“For a successful auction, prospective bidders must have access to considerably more information about the cooperative sharing regime well in advance of the auction so that they can assign accurate valuations to 3.45 GHz spectrum,” Verizon commented. Bidders need information on the “nature, scope and location of remaining DoD operations, as well as the protection criteria DoD believes are necessary in each” cooperative planning and periodic use area, the company said. “The Commission should make available -- well in advance of the auction -- publicly available data about all federal operations in each” market, T-Mobile said: “Based on the limited time available to prepare for the auction, the emphasis should be on providing … information as quickly as possible.”

One of the FCC’s big calls in the NPRM was to stick with larger partial economic area-sized licenses but offer them in 10 MHz blocks, rather than 20 MHz (see 2103170061).

Smaller carriers represented by the Blooston law firm warned that sticking with PEAs “will effectively preclude many small and rural carriers and entrepreneurs from auction participation.” Blooston proposed a compromise, suggesting the FCC license six of the 10 blocks on the basis of counties and the remaining four by PEA. That would “help to alleviate the lack of meaningful opportunities for small and rural carriers to participate in mid-band spectrum licensing opportunities, and will bring diversity and robust competition to the mid-band marketplace,” Blooston said.

The Rural Wireless Association asked the FCC to delay the start of the auction to give its members more time to raise capital. A delay would also help large carriers, RWA said. “While large carriers are anxious to consolidate additional mid-band spectrum for 5G, many have taken on exorbitant debt to cover” C-band auction costs and “do not currently have access to the amount of capital that they would need to compete” in the 3.45 GHz auction. While facing a congressional mandate to start the auction this year, the FCC “has discretion to delay the commencement of auctions,” the group said.

CCA said 10 MHz blocks and aggregation limits, as proposed in the notice, are helpful to smaller providers. The FCC can promote bidding by increasing the limit for the small business bidding credit from the proposed $25 million to $40 million and the limit for the rural service provider bidding credit from $10 million to $25 million, CCA said. “Smaller carriers often face inherently higher cost structures in serving some of the most rural and remote areas of the country,” it said: “Even increased bidding caps are unlikely to put them on equal footing with larger carriers, but can at least help give them a reasonable opportunity to acquire a critical input.”