Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the April Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, April 12, 2019:
5G Incentive Auction Public Notice – The Commission will consider a Public Notice seeking comment on procedures for the incentive auction of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Licenses in the Upper 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz Bands (Auction 103) for Next Generation Wireless Services. (AU Docket 19-59)

Having accurate broadband deployment data is important to the Federal Communications Commission’s work for a lot of reasons. First, our decision-making should be based on rigorous analysis. Second, good broadband deployment data helps the Commission target our policies and resources as effectively as possible. And third, broadband deployment data empowers consumers. Accurate information on Internet access options can be useful if you’re moving to a new area and trying to decide where you want to live, or if you’re dissatisfied with your current service and want to change providers.

The agenda for the Federal Communications Commission's April open meeting:

From constructing, reforming, and operating more efficient subsidy programs, to installing regulatory flexibility for operators, to striking the byzantine regulatory straightjacket of socalled “net neutrality,” this Commission has taken necessary actions to facilitate nationwide broadband deployment by the private sector. Of course, more needs to be done, but considering the starting point and where we are today, it is fair to say the Commission is on the right path. In reality, the Commission plays a small role in improving broadband deployment.

At the Federal Communications Commission, we’re working to be good partners for broadband builders like you [Wireless internet service providers]. And today, I’d like to mention a few of the ways we’re trying to do that: through modernized infrastructure rules, fair support programs, and smarter spectrum policies. In 2019, I am taking another look at the federal rules governing wireless infrastructure deployment. We will look to fully and faithfully implement the decisions Congress has made to streamline the deployment of next-generation technologies.

I'd like to give a brief high-level overview of the Federal Communications Commission's priorities and activities since I became Chairman in January 2017. In 2019, if you can’t get online, the field is tilted against you—whether you’re a student, entrepreneur, a farmer, or someone with a chronic healthcare issue. To highlight this digital divide, I’ve made it a point to get out of Washington (DC) whenever I can. I’ve seen firsthand the ways that digital technologies are transforming communities.

For Fiscal Year 2020, the Federal Communications Commission is requesting the budget and personnel amounts that are summarized in the bullets below:

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to reconfigure the 900 MHz band to facilitate broadband via a market-driven, voluntary exchange process to allow existing licensees to agree to a voluntarily plan for relocating incumbents and for transitioning the band. The 900 MHz band (896-901/935-940 MHz) is designated for narrowband private land mobile radio (PLMR) communications by Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) licensees and for Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) providers, with deployed systems primarily used for two-way communication by land transportation, utility, ma