Auctions

House Science Committee Leaders Seek FCC Delay in 5G Spectrum Auction

House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay a radio frequency spectrum auction for next-generation 5G wireless communications, which is scheduled for March 14. The , committee leaders cited concerns that the spectrum under consideration could interfere with signals for sensors related to weather and climate forecasting, and said such interference could impact public safety.

Critical weather data threatened by FCC ‘spectrum’ proposal, Commerce Dept and NASA say

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed policy that could jeopardize the collection of vital information for weather prediction, the heads of the Commerce Department and NASA say. This data is disseminated across wireless radio frequencies known as “spectrum.” It enables transmission of information from satellites, weather balloons, ocean buoys, weather radars and other technologies that are used by government agencies and the private sector. But some of this same spectrum is coveted by commercial wireless providers for their next-generation 5G networks.

Lawmakers Leery of Satellite Companies’ 5G Airwaves Plan

The Federal Communications Commission will soon decide whether to side with foreign satellite companies, and allow them to sell their rights to a swath of public airwaves to speed the deployment of 5G technology.  Such a sale to the nation’s biggest wireless providers could bring in as much as $40 billion—and now Congress is threatening to step in and prevent the FCC from allowing the satellite companies to pocket the money.

Chairman Pai Remarks on 5G at Mobile World Congress Latin American Roundtable

By now, most of you have already had two days of non-stop talk about 5G. So, I was trying to think of a way to mix things up—to keep it fresh. And I came up with an idea. I will deliver my remarks in Spanish. [Chairman Pai proceeded to deliver the remarks in Spanish. Below is a brief translation.]

FCC Commissioner O'Rielly Remarks Before NAB State Leadership Conference

Quadrennial Review: The Commission may have to acknowledge that the current media marketplace can no longer be defined solely by traditional media voices stovepiped into discrete categories, such as television and radio. If done properly, this action will allow the Commission to jettison its myopic vision that broadcasters experience little competition in favor of one that recognizes the fulsome competitive forces in the current marketplace. 

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for March 2019 Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 15, 2019:

Chairman Pai Remarks on Broadcast Engineering

It's great to be with the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE). I’d like to briefly walk through the latest developments on three key issues where our interests overlap: the transition to ATSC 3.0, the next-generation broadcast television standard; the post-incentive auction repack; and interference involving FM translators.

Behold the Ides of March: March 2019 FCC Meeting Agenda

On March 15, we’ll aim to make progress on many of the issues core to the Federal Communications Commission’s mission: promoting US leadership on 5G, closing the digital divide, advancing public safety, modernizing our media rules, helping rural consumers, and more.

White House Office of Science & Technology Highlights in the Second Year of the Trump Administration

During the second year of the Trump Administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) has made great strides in supporting America’s bright future. In January 2019, OSTP welcomed the confirmation of Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier as its new Director. Other highlights:

Remarks Of Chairman Ajit Pai At The National Association Of Tower Erectors Annual Conference

I’m constantly meeting with the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) and its members for a very practical reason. Actually, make that two practical reasons: One is the race to 5G and the other is the broadcaster repack stemming from the FCC's incentive auction.

Sponsor: 

New America

Date: 
Tue, 02/05/2019 - 18:00 to 19:45

Senator John McCain once described the free grant of digital TV channels to broadcasters as "one of the great rip-offs in American history. They used to rob trains in the Old West, now we rob spectrum."



FCC Reschedules February 2019 Open Meeting and Announces Tentative Agenda

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the February Open Commission Meeting has been rescheduled and will take place on Thursday, February 14, 2019. Chairman Pai also announced the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting. These items were originally circulated for the January meeting but were withdrawn due to the lapse in appropriations.

T-Mobile’s new 600MHz hot spot is intended to provide broadband to rural customers

T-Mobile announced the launch of the Coolpad Surf, a 600MHz mobile hot spot that’s aiming to bring service to rural areas. It’s the first mobile hot spot to support Band 71, or 600MHz LTE, which T-Mobile recently won the spectrum license for from the Federal Communications Commission Broadcast Incentive auction last April. A number of phones have been released with Band 71 support since then, including the iPhone XS and XR, Samsung Galaxy S9, and the OnePlus 6T.

Auction 101 Bidding Concludes

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the Office of Economics and Analytics report that there were no bids, withdrawals, or proactive activity rule waivers placed in round 176 of Auction 101, the FCC’s auction of licenses in the 27.5–28.35 GHz (28 GHz) band. Therefore, bidding in the FCC’s first auction of Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service (UMFUS) licenses has concluded under the simultaneous stopping rule. Auction 101 raised (in gross bids) a total of $702,572,410 with a total of 2,965 28 GHz UMFUS licenses won.

Commissioner Rosenworcel: 2.5 GHz spectrum key for 5G in rural areas

Wireless carriers would benefit if the Federal Communications Commission were to conduct an incentive auction for the 2.5 GHz airwaves that were allocated years ago for educational purposes, according to FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC in 2018 adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking to consider updating the framework for licensing Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. Even though Sprint touts a boatload of 2.5 GHz spectrum, there’s a lot of EBS spectrum that lies fallow across about half of the U.S., mostly in rural areas.

FCC 28 GHz Spectrum Auction Moves to Stage Three

The Federal Communications Commission will move the 28 GHz auction to stage three beginning Jan 14. It will stay with the same number of six rounds per day, and the same half-horu duration, but instead of bidders having to bid on 95% of the licenses for which it is eligible, they must now bid on 100% of those licenses.

FCC Adopts Rules for Major 2019 5G Incentive Auction

The Federal Communications Commission took a step toward holding a major 5G spectrum auction in 2019 by adopting new rules that will promote the availability of high-band millimeter wave spectrum for the next generation of wireless connectivity. The airwaves in the combined Upper 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands are the largest amount of contiguous spectrum available for wireless service in the millimeter wave bands—2,400 megahertz in total—while the 47 GHz band provides an additional 1,000 megahertz of spectrum. Specifically, the Fourth Report and Order in the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding:

Sponsor: 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology

House Commerce Committee

Date: 
Thu, 12/06/2018 - 16:00

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED

Witnesses

Mr. Curtis LeGeyt 
Executive Vice President, Government Relations, National Association of Broadcasters

Mr. Tim Donovan 

Senior Vice President, Legislative Affairs, Competitive Carriers Association

Mr. Jeff Cohen 
Chief Counsel, APCO International

Mr. Bohdan Zachary 

General Manager, Milwaukee Public Broadcast Station

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED



A big auction is the latest in America’s race to 5G

A brief Q&A with Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. 

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for December 2018 Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, December 12, 2018:

The FCC’s Thanksgiving Menu: 5G, Rural Broadband, and Stopping Unwanted Robocalls

What will wake America up from its Thanksgiving day food coma? Here's the Federal Communications Commission’s December 2018 open meeting agenda:

The top 10 owners of 600 MHz spectrum licenses

The Federal Communications Commission's 600 MHz incentive auction of TV broadcasters’ unwanted spectrum was a noteworthy event. It was the culmination of years of work by officials at the FCC—it initially arose from the National Broadband Plan in 2010—and it featured “beachfront” low-band spectrum ideal for long-distance connections. Further, the auction itself sported a unique “reverse” auction that paid TV broadcasters for their unwanted spectrum licenses, and then made that spectrum available to wireless carriers and others through a traditional “forward” auction.

Once-Worthless Radio Waves Get New Life in Spectrum Auction

Cellphone carriers often call their most valuable radio-wave licenses “beachfront” property. As with real estate, it pays to be in a prime location. Government officials will test that thinking this month by selling some once-barren tracts of that virtual real estate in the upper reaches of the wireless spectrum. How much companies are willing to pay for them remains to be seen. The Federal Communications Commission began the first of two auctions for extremely high-frequency spectrum licenses, raising cash from a type of radio wave once considered useless for wireless service.

FCC Should Undertake Efforts to Better Promote Tribal Access to Spectrum

The US Government Accountability Office was asked to review spectrum use by tribal entities—tribal governments and tribally owned telecommunications providers. This report examines (1) tribal entities' ability to obtain and access spectrum to provide broadband services and the reported barriers that may exist, and (2) the extent to which the Federal Communications Commission promotes and supports tribal efforts to obtain and access spectrum. GAO interviewed 16 tribal entities that were using wireless technologies.