12 GHz Proponents Say BEAD Projects Could Still Use Band

Officials with the 12 GHz for 5G Coalition remain hopeful that FCC action in coming months will allow use of the lower 12 GHz band for fixed-wireless deployments, they said in interviews. In addition, should the FCC act soon, the band could still play a part in some state proposals under the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, the officials said. The coalition had hoped for action early in 2024 (see 2312270045).

FCC officials still appear concerned about protecting non-geostationary orbit broadband customers who, in some markets, have only that option for service. In addition, there are concerns about protections for Starlink customers in particular, industry officials said. FCC officials have raised the issue of protecting a Starlink customer who wants to move the service to another location where the band is used for fixed wireless. FCC officials have also expressed concerns that no company receives anything that resembles a windfall profit as a result of rules changes for the band, officials said. The FCC didn’t comment.

The current proposal for fixed-only use of the band was supposed to be the compromise that would allow the FCC to move forward, industry officials said. They also noted an agreement that Dish Network, RS Access and Go Long Wireless have with the Cherokee Nation to make 100 MHz of lower 12 GHz spectrum available to the tribe for fixed wireless (see 2402230037).

“Incumbents in the 12 GHz coalition continue to believe that two-way, high-powered, fixed service in 12 GHz is in the national interest,” Incompas CEO Chip Pickering told us. It's a “tremendous opportunity to provide tribal lands with cost-effective, high-speed broadband services, combined with additional competition and investments in two-way fixed” as part of the BEAD program, he said.

Pickering said the coalition believes it can address “corner" cases, such as Starlink connections moving to a new location, “so that the commission can move forward in a way that frees 500 MHz of prime spectrum” and helps close the digital divide.

“We are hoping the FCC acts quickly,” said Jeff Blum, EchoStar executive vice president-government and external affairs. There is still time for 12 GHz fixed to be part of BEAD submissions, he said: “The timing still works, but it is tight.”

Fixed wireless has been a success and 12 GHz is “a great band … given its speed and the amount of spectrum,” Blum said. The company would be able to deploy it more quickly than fiber “and offer communities a very high quality fixed wireless service,” he said. The Cherokee Nation agreement also applies to other tribes and is a “significant development,” he said. EchoStar in February filed a technical study at the FCC showing that fixed wireless won’t cause interference to other band incumbents, Blum said. “If you know where everyone is, coordination is imminently feasible,” he said. “We believe the record is clear to support sharing.”

The FCC took comment on the lower and upper 12 GHz bands nearly a year ago (see 2308100048). Proponents say the lower band offers FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel an opportunity for a win on spectrum ahead of the November elections and could be done absent restoration of FCC auction authority since the spectrum was auctioned already.

Public interest groups are frustrated with the FCC’s 10th floor's inability to find a compromise on the lower 12 GHz band, Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, said. It shouldn’t be hard to find “a middle ground that allows the satellite and fixed terrestrial services to coexist, he said.

This is about 500 MHz of spectrum “and potential interference that is highly localized and avoidable using database coordination,” Calabrese said: “DirecTV barely uses the band and neither Starlink nor a new fixed wireless deployment really needs all 500 megahertz in a specific location where there is a conflict.”

“Given the right public interest conditions as we have asked for in our comments -- Tribal priority window, rigorous rural build out obligations, and an unlicensed underlay -- this is no windfall,” Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld said in an email. It would also “enhance competition,” he said: “Granting the new terrestrial use rights on these terms would affirmatively serve the public interest in a way far superior than an auction to distribute the licenses to the largest carriers.”

Feld said he has heard that the Office of Engineering has concerns about "corner cases,” particularly over whether a lower-12 GHz licensee serving an apartment building would mean DirecTV and SpaceX couldn’t serve a neighboring apartment. “The odds of this happening are pretty low,” but if OET has concerns it should put out a public notice “to let parties know what the issues are rather than keep parties guessing about what studies might move things along,” he said. Feld hopes OET will consider the policy statement the commission issued last year on enhancing spectrum efficiency “and the need for services to share spectrum in an increasingly crowded wireless world.”

Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer said it’s “extremely concerning that the FCC hasn’t moved at all.” The longer the agency waits, “the longer we have useful spectrum lie fallow,” he said. The commission should let its engineers decide “the best path forward and how to get as much utility out of the band,” Thayer said: It shouldn’t be “a political decision.”