Auctions

A year ago, the Trump Federal Communications Commission announced a proposal to reallocate C-band spectrum for 5G. With much fanfare, the FCC trumpeted a plan to outsource to the satellite companies the process of auctioning these airwaves. Rather than the kind of open and transparent auction process the agency has followed since the first spectrum auction in 1994, the Trump FCC declared it would be “faster” to embrace what they called a “marketplace approach” in which the licensees took over the job traditionally done by the FCC.

Four satellite companies known as the C-Band Alliance have enlisted a spectrum auction expert to develop a plan for an auction of spectrum in the coveted spectrum band known as the C-band.

The chatter about 5G is everywhere. Lost in the glowing headlines is the fact the US is making choices that will leave rural America behind. These choices will harm our global leadership in 5G and could create new challenges for the security of our networks. 

Given its past success and future potential, what challenges do Wi-Fi and its advocates face?

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile were the biggest spenders on a pair of Federal Communications Commission auctions designed to spark investment in next-wave 5G networks. The auctions covered two swaths of wireless spectrum -- the 24 gigahertz (GHz) and 28 GHz millimeter wave bands -- frequencies once considered too extreme for cellphone service. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has made those frequencies a cornerstone of his strategy to spur 5G investments.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the conclusion of bidding in Auction 102, the FCC’s second auction of millimeter wave spectrum suitable for 5G, which is providing licenses in the 24 GHz band.

Recently, President Donald Trump and Federal Communications Commission Ajit Pai held a news conference to announce “two new steps” that together would position the United States as a leader in deploying 5G wireless networks. There were three distinct problems with the announcement: the steps were not new, they did not advance critical 5G deployments, and they did nothing to help American leadership in driving and benefiting from the next big transition in wireless communications.

As expected, the Democratic leaders on the House Communications Subcommittee used the Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing to hammer FCC Chairman Ajit Pai over policies and actions with which they strongly disagree. In his opening statement, Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) said Chairman Pai had yet to explain to Congress or the American people what it was doing about mobile carriers sharing real-time geolocation data. He also slammed the inaccurate and deeply flawed broadband deployment data, old and faulty business broadband data, and warned the FCC not to act on a USTelecom forb

The American Public Power Association, American Water Works Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, and the Utilities Technology Council -- which together represent almost all of the nation's utilities, water, and wastewater facilities -- wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, warning him about the FCC moving too quickly to open up 6 GHz midband spectrum currently used by those utilities. The utilities say they need the spectrum for their mission-critical communications and that the FCC's proposal to open it up for unl

What is the Federal Communications Commission doing to make the future of Wi-Fi brighter? The answer is: a lot!  I know there’s a lot of excitement about what we’re doing in the 6 GHz band—what could be a massive, 1,200-megahertz test bed for innovators and innovation. But first I’d like to talk about its next-door neighbor on the spectrum chart—the 5.9 GHz band. There’s been a lot of debate about this band, and I’d like to share with you today my view on the right way forward.  I believe that the time has come for the FCC to take a fresh look at this band.