Auctions

Perhaps the biggest news of the week was the agenda for the Federal Communications Commission's July 10 Open Meeting, which FCC Chairman Ajit Pai laid out in a blog post on June 18, 2019. I'm traveling to New York this week; below is a shorter-than-usual weekly that takes a look at how Chairman Pai plans to take education out of the Educational Broadband Service -- and broadcast television.

On October 25, 2018, President Donald Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum ordering federal agencies to review their existing spectrum usage, forecast future demands, and prepare a plan for research and development that will enable better use of spectrum in the future.

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) led his colleagues in introducing the “Supporting National Security with Spectrum Act” to fully fund the “Rip and Replace” program to remove Chinese components from US wireless communications systems. Without full funding, wireless and broadband providers across the United States will be saddled with billions of dollars in costs that could result in service blackouts and companies closing down, including many in eastern Montana. The Rip and Replace program was created in 2020 to remove Chinese components from our wireless communications systems.

On March 21, Public Knowledge joined 24 other public interest and consumer advocacy groups in a letter to congressional leaders about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The groups urged Congress to renew the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) spectrum auction authority and use some of the projected revenue to help fund the ACP. "Congress has a unique opportunity to advance our national spectrum goals while simultaneously generating sufficient revenue to support the connectivity needs of millions of Americans," said the letter.

The National Spectrum Strategy released November 13, 2023, charts a course for sustained US leadership in advanced wireless technologies and services. The radio spectrum provides numerous forms of connectivity to the American public, from the voice and data communications that fuel smartphones to critical government services that depend on spectrum access, and it therefore serves as a key foundation for the digital infrastructure on which the modern American economy runs. The Implementation Plan provides a public roadmap for this effort.

Spectrum is a hot topic in Washington these days, as lawmakers, lobbyists, regulators and others look for advantage ahead of the release of an implementation plan for the Biden administration's national spectrum strategy. The latest: A new bill from two top Republican Senators would require the government to reallocate at least 600MHz of midband spectrum for commercial use within three years.

Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Thune (R-SD) unveiled legislation to expand commercial access to mid-band spectrum. Ahead of the expiration of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) spectrum auction authority in March 2022, Sens.

For more than thirty years, the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction the nation’s airwaves proved to be an indispensable tool for harnessing the promise of new wireless technologies while also spurring economic growth, creating jobs, and strengthening our national security and international leadership. However, in light of the reality the agency has faced for almost a year, we are now compelled to ask what we can do with our current unassigned spectrum in order to keep innovation moving ahead in a global market for wireless that is not slowing down.

T-Mobile announced it’s adding new capacity to the country’s leading 5G network by activating the 2.5 GHz spectrum it won in auction 108, expanding its Ultra Capacity 5G coverage to new communities and significantly increasing Ultra Capacity 5G bandwidth in many places across the US. That means tens of millions of the Un-carrier’s 5G customers, primarily those in rural areas, will get an immediate performance boost when spectrum comes online. Wondering if you will get a taste of the added capacity? The answer is very likely a resounding yes.

Now that Dish Network has said it will not be buying the 13.5 MHz chunk of nationwide 800 MHz spectrum from T-Mobile that it was entitled to for $3.59 billion, all eyes are on the upcoming auction. Technically, Dish has until April 1 to exercise its option to buy the 800 MHz spectrum. Should April 1 come and go without Dish exercising its option, T-Mobile is obligated to take the spectrum to auction with a floor price of just under $3.6 billion. “We haven't commenced that auction yet, but should they choose not to exercise it, that'll be the next step for us,” he said.