Auctions

House Communications Subcommittee members appeared to be clearly favoring a Federal Communications Commission-led public auction of C-Band spectrum rather a private sale.

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers dropped a bill directing the Federal Communications Commission to hold a public auction of coveted midband airwaves. The Clearing Broad Airwaves for New Deployment (C-BAND) Act is led by House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Rep Greg Gianforte (R-MT).

In the C-Band, the satellite licensees are willing to relinquish a good portion of the 500 megahertz between 3.7 to 4.2 GHz, while accommodating their customers receiving video and audio content in the remaining satellite spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission is close to completing its review of the C-Band, and an item should be voted in the next month or two to repurpose part of the band.

Donald Trump’s push to roll out 5G internet as quickly as possible has sparked a series of disputes over who should get access to parts of the telecoms spectrum, involving groups as large and varied as Facebook, Google, AT&T and National Public Radio. The Federal Communications Commission has pushed forward with a string of spectrum sales in the past few months as it rushes to fulfil the US president’s pledge to “win the race” to establish superfast internet across the country.

As the big wireless companies roll out super-fast 5G technology, they're facing a significant crunch in airwave spectrum to cover the whole country. There's a possible swath of airwaves that they're eying to solve the problem, but other communications industry players don't want to surrender the space easily. The years-long battle, which is now playing out at the Federal Communications Commission, pits some of the most powerful players in Washington, D.C. on opposite sides.

Senate Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy (R-LA) lit into Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for even considering private spectrum deals with foreign owned satellite companies, which say they can free up C-Band spectrum for 5G faster than an FCC auction. Chairman Kennedy told Chairman Pai that his mind could be changed, but he was currently biased for a public auction so that the American taxpayer, not "Luxembourg" (where some of the satellite operators are based) should reap the profits from repurposing some of the band for 5G.

Sen John Neely Kennedy (R-LA), the top Senate appropriator overseeing Federal Communications Commission funding, will bring in FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for a hearing Oct 17 to grill him about whether the agency will run its own, likely slower, auction of the 5G airwaves known as the C-band or, as Sen Kennedy fears, allow the satellite companies holding the spectrum to conduct a private sale. “They say we’ve got to do a private deal because it’ll be faster,” said Sen Kennedy. “You ever heard of courts? Duh, you don’t think anybody’s going to file suit over this?

The Federal Communications Commission voted to seek comment on proposed application and bidding procedures for the auction of Priority Access Licenses (PALs) in the 3550-3650 MHz portion of the 3.5 GHz Band. The 3.5 GHz band holds the potential to be prime spectrum for 5G services, and the FCC is planning to auction PALs to increase innovation and investment in this band. Bidding in this auction, which is designated as Auction 105, is scheduled to commence on June 25, 2020.