Spectrum

While our universities and tech firms still lead in cutting-edge innovation — from artificial intelligence to 5G wireless technology — it is China that has deployed them. The US is losing the commercialization race, a failure of our own making. America has no domestic manufacturer of 5G equipment, so it must rely on European or Chinese suppliers.

The Federal Communications Commission will conduct a transparent public auction that allows all bidders the opportunity to buy what the mobile industry deems prime real estate in their effort to roll out 5G networks nationwide. The sale could yield an estimated $20 billion to $40 billion for the US Treasury, help mobile carriers build 5G networks, and offer wireless internet service providers the opportunity to bring high-speed broadband to rural and hard-to-serve areas—if policymakers get this moment right.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission  Chairman Ajit Pai concerning the troubling lack of transparency, and an apparent lack of appropriate process, leading up to the FCC’s approval of the T-Mobile/Sprint merger.

Whether Americans will pay more for cellphone service is at the center of arguments made by both sides battling last week over T-Mobile's purchase of Sprint. The coalition of state attorneys general that filed the antitrust lawsuit challenging the $26 billion merger fear consumers will pay more if the No. 3 and No. 4 U.S. carriers by subscribers combine, and that wireless industry competition will suffer.

In the race to 5G, American wireless companies are sorely lacking one essential ingredient: mid-band spectrum. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that  the FCC will pursue a public auction of a portion of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz spectrum band – also known as the C-Band – by the end of 2020. Senate Commerce Committee approved S. 2881, C-Band legislation that would modify the automatic Treasury deposit.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to take a fresh and comprehensive look at the 5.9 GHz (5.850-5.925 GHz) band, proposing rule changes to ensure that this spectrum supports its highest and best use for the American people. For the past two decades, the entire 75 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band has been reserved for use by Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC), a radio service designed to enable vehicle-related communications. However, after 20 years, DSRC still has not been widely deployed, and this spectrum therefore generally remains unused.

2020 looks like it will be your year to get 5G—but only in the sense of having that signal on your phone, not in the sense of knowing quite what it’s supposed to be or using it to its full potential. A new report from the network analysis firm Opensignal advises that while this revamp of mobile broadband is poised to reach far more of the US, it will do so in ways that may leave both carriers and their customers feeling some wireless whiplash.

The bipartisan leaders of the House Science Committee have requested government investigators examine why federal agencies disagree so starkly about the risks 5G communications technology poses to weather forecasting. In a letter to the comptroller general, House Science Committee Chairman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Rep. Frank D.

On Aug 7, 2019, House Commerce Committee members Billy Long (R-MO), Fred Upton (R-MI), John Shimkus (R-IL), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to commend the FCC on its progress of the Facilitate American's Superiority in 5G Technology (the 5G FAST Plan). They particularly supported efforts to make mid-band spectrum available for 5G connectivity.

On Aug 2, 2019, Reps Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai about a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the 5.9 GHz band, urging the FCC to take a technology neutral approach to allow for testing of the Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) communications platform.