Some Spectrum Sales Could Be on Hold if FCC Auction Authority Expires, Rosenworcel Says

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel cautioned House Communications Subcommittee members that some sales from upcoming auctions of the 2.5 GHz band and “construction permits for new full power television stations in communities with no license for the allotted station” will be on hold “pending reauthorization” of the commission’s auction authority if the current statute lapses Sept. 30 without a renewal. CTIA CEO Meredith Baker, meanwhile, urged the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees to adopt a stopgap renewal due to the limited legislative time before Sept. 30. The issue was a major focus of House Communications’ FCC oversight hearing last week (see 2203310060).

The current authorization in Communications Act Section 309 “does not permit the issuance of licenses” past Sept. 30 except for pending sales of spectrum on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band and “30 megahertz to be identified” under the 2015 Spectrum Pipeline Act, Rosenworcel told lawmakers in letters released Thursday. “The timeline for completing an auction and the associated post-auction licensing process depends on a number of factors and varies between auctions,” with the actual sales process lasting “from a few days to several months.”

“It is prudent to adopt a short-term extension as soon as possible to preserve the FCC’s ability to continue all ongoing activities related to spectrum auctions and licensing,” Baker wrote House and Senate Commerce leaders in a letter released Thursday. That “will provide sufficient time to develop a new spectrum pipeline that leads the U.S. into the next decade of wireless innovation.” Some House Commerce lawmakers eyed a two-year renewal to buy more time to work on a broader legislative package (see 2203040073). A “pipeline of future defined auctions would also provide significant funds with which Congress can support important congressional priorities like next-generation 911 funding, additional rip and replace money, and rural wireless deployment,” Baker said.

Rosenworcel urged lawmakers to include the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-5378), which would authorize an auction of at least 200 MHz on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, in renewal legislation. HR-5378 “would provide much needed certainty about the near-term availability of mid-band spectrum to support next-generation wireless networks, which is crucial to U.S. innovation and closing the digital divide,” she said. Congress should also “consider updating” the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act “to make it an even more effective tool for repurposing spectrum.”

A CSEA update should “ensure that a full range of costs are covered to provide federal agencies adequate incentives and assistance, including up-front planning, technology development, and staffing to support the relocation effort,” Rosenworcel said. Congress “could revise” the law “to provide for payments of relocation funds to federal users in adjacent spectrum that may be impacted by repurposing activities or to federal users that vacate spectrum and make use of commercial networks instead of alternative dedicated federal spectrum.” Lawmakers should also revise the statute “by revisiting statutory requirements for clearing federal spectrum,” she said.

Congress “should explore how receiver performance may constrain spectrum access, Rosenworcel said. “Historically, our discussions about spectrum efficiency have been a one-way effort,” but in several recent proceedings “receiver performance associated with incumbent services operating near new users or services has been a major consideration.” The FCC will wait to give Congress legislative recommendations on that matter until it completes a new inquiry set for a commissioner vote April 21 (see 2204040052), she said.

Lawmakers “should consider the broader use of incentives” to ensure “that federal authorities see gain -- and not just loss -- when their airwaves are reallocated for new commercial use,” Rosenworcel said. “We could begin by developing a spectrum currency with the assistance of the Office of Management and Budget. With a uniform system of valuation for federal spectrum assignments, Congress could explore the development of incentives for efficiency and better understand the opportunity cost of federal use.” She said Congress should allocate future spectrum proceeds “to do the very infrastructure projects this country so desperately needs,” citing next-generation 911 tech upgrades (see 2202220057).