Interest is still high in both the House and Senate in including a temporary restoration of the FCC’s auction authority in a continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations past the end of FY 2023 Sept. 30 (see 2309190001), but some on and off Capitol Hill now believe attaching the narrower 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act (S-2787) is a more viable option for breaking the mandate logjam. Lobbyists believe the chances S-2787 will appear in a Senate-side CR improved considerably after the chamber passed the measure Thursday via unanimous consent.
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Latest spectrum auction news
The FCC approved a Further NPRM on launching a 5G Fund, as expected (see 2309200048). Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel noted that because of improved data the agency now knows that 14 million homes and businesses in the U.S. don’t have mobile 5G coverage today. Commissioner Nathan Simington concurred at the FCC's Thursday open meeting, complaining about how the FNPRM proposes to allocate funding.
DOJ sided with Dish Network, against T-Mobile, over whether Dish should get more time to buy 800 MHz spectrum, filing Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which is handling T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint (see 2308170065). The government supports giving Dish until April 1 to buy the spectrum, or pay a $72 million fee for walking away from the deal (see 1907260071). Dish asked for an extension through June 30.
Telecom-focused congressional leaders are voicing interest in including a temporary restoration of the FCC’s auction authority in a continuing resolution to extend federal appropriations past the end of FY 2023 Sept. 30. Lobbyists and observers told us they remain doubtful about Capitol Hill’s appetite for such a move due to the factors that hindered talks on a broader spectrum legislative package (see 2308070001). Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee members sounded alarms about the remit’s lapse during a Tuesday hearing on the FCC’s FY 2024 funding request. House Communications Subcommittee member Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, also raised concerns during a Punchbowl News event the same day.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., filed the 5G Spectrum Authority Licensing Enforcement Act Thursday in a bid to give the FCC clear authority to issue T-Mobile and other winning bidders the licenses they bought in the 2.5 GHz band auction last year. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has repeatedly defended the commission's decision to withhold the 2.5 GHz licenses (see 2309050060), citing the March expiration of its spectrum auction authority. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., are among those on Capitol Hill claiming Rosenworcel is using the licenses as a bargaining tool in slow talks on a broader spectrum legislative package (see 2308140073). “Currently, bureaucratic red tape is standing in the way of Louisianians’ wireless communications,” Kennedy said. “My 5G SALE Act offers a simple solution for providing rural Americans with access to broadband by giving the FCC the authority to finish transferring already auctioned spectrum to companies who offer 5G coverage.” Kennedy is likely to bring up the matter during a Tuesday Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on the FCC’s FY 2024 budget request. That panel will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 124 Dirksen.
AT&T Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches and Verizon CFO Tony Skiadas said at a Bank of America financial conference the companies continue to test soil under the lead-laden wires in their networks and so far have found no evidence of a public health threat (see 2307210004).
Disagreements remain about whether the upper 12 GHz band can be reallocated for exclusive-use licenses, as carriers hope, in reply comments in docket 23-352. Some wireless commenters ignored the proceeding on the lower 12 GHz band (see 2309110061) and filed only on what is also called 13 GHz. Broadcasters and the satellite industry continue to raise objections (see 2308140046).
Officials with the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition still hope for FCC rules allowing use of the lower 12 GHz band for fixed-wireless by the end of the year, in time for the spectrum to be used as part of projects approved under of the broadband equity, access and deployment program. But SpaceX and DirecTV, in particular, which opposed mobile use for 5G, are giving no ground. Replies were posted Monday in docket 20-443.
The Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) meeting last week endorsed the U.S. position for the upper 6 GHz band, approving “no change” to allow international mobile telecommunications (IMT) in the band at the upcoming World Radio Communication conference, industry officials said. But a few nations sided with China's position of China, which the U.S. opposes, to approve a future agenda item on the topic at the WRC in 2027.
The recent promotion of Austin Bonner to deputy U.S. chief technology officer-policy (see 2308180042) could address a recurring concern among Biden administration watchers that there’s no one close to the White House with enough standing to keep tabs on telecom and other communications matters, industry experts told us. But they said it remains to be seen whether the change will have much effect.