Google Hopes for FCC Stability, 5G Consistency

Getting “stability” and clear political leadership at the FCC tops Google’s regulatory wish list, said Michael Purdy, senior counsel-commercial, product and policy, during an FCBA wireless webinar Tuesday. “Hopefully, that will resolve by year-end.” The U.S. needs “some consistency in 5G policy,” he said. All the speakers said U.S. leadership on 5G must remain a top goal. The Biden administration hasn't named a permanent chair at the FCC or nominated Democrats to fill two commissioner slots.

Dish Network sees 5G as “opening up a lot of interesting opportunities” to serve business customers “and offering some things that kind of go beyond powering an iPhone,” said Alison Minea, Dish Wireless vice president-regulatory affairs. Dish is interested in the 2.5 GHz auction, the next 5G auction after 3.45 GHz, she said. There’s “a big opportunity there, when the auction does start, to get more mid-band spectrum in the marketplace,” she said. Dish hopes the FCC will do a single-round auction, she noted.

The 12 GHz band “is one of Dish’s top spectrum priorities right now,” Minea said. It offers 500 MHz between mid- and high-band, she noted. As a satellite TV provider, Dish wants the band to be protected for TV downlink, she said: “But it is also prime spectrum that can be released to add to the 5G spectrum resources.” Dish hopes the FCC will take the next steps on the band “in the very near future,” she said: “We’re not the only ones who think that.”

A lot of the “very cool stuff” Google wants to bring to market in the next few years depends on 5G, Purdy said, citing ambient computing, smart cities and connected homes. “You’ve got to have [5G] or these products cannot come to market.” Google has been working with the FCC, NTIA and DOD on wireless issues, he said. “DOD is the incumbent user in a lot of prime spectrum” and “building trust and building relationships there” is “a really important goal for us from a regulatory perspective,” he said.

“A lot of heavy lifting” remains on rules for the unlicensed 6 GHz band, Purdy said. Google hopes policymakers will at least look at a sharing model for the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, he said: “There are likely incumbencies there that will be very difficult to ultimately clear” for an auction, he said.

The FCC has done a lot to bring spectrum to market and is “getting more creative,” said Kara Graves, CTIA assistant vice president-regulatory affairs. CTIA is “focused on ensuring” the C-band transition “remains on track,” she said. Tough discussions loom because “there isn’t a lot of green-field spectrum left,” she said. She would like further exploration of 3.1-3.45 GHz band for licensed use.

Graves said the U.S. must lead the world on 5G. 4G led to the first smartphone developed in the U.S., she said. The two major cellphone operating systems and the app industry are headquartered in the U.S. “and we want that economic impact, especially as we turn to post-pandemic recovery,” she said.

Building a stand-alone 5G network is “incredibly exciting and ambitious,” Minea said: “There are many challenges, but if we succeed, great benefits to come.” Other carriers built a nationwide footprint over many years, often through buying smaller providers, she said: “Dish is doing all of it, all at once, really fast” and through open radio access network technology, “which none of the big wireless incumbents are doing.”