In the wake of the recent completion of the 3550-3650 MHz auction of Priority Access Licenses (“PALs”) in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (“CBRS”) making 70 megahertz of so-called mid-band spectrum available, and the adoption of the regulatory framework in the 3700-4200 MHz band that will make available another 280 megahertz for flexible use commercial wireless operations, the FCC has announced its intention to take significant steps in realigning the 3450-3550 MHz range for non-federal flexible fixed and mobile use on a shared basis with existing federal radiolocation operations. On September 9, 2020, the FCC made available a draft Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Order and FNPRM”) on which it will vote at its September 30 Open Meeting. This document follows closely on the heels of the FCC’s June 2020 notification to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) of a plan to commence an auction in December 2021 for flexible use licenses within the contiguous United States (“CONUS”) in the 100 megahertz of the 3450-3550 MHz band. In July 2020, the NTIA issued a report concluding that 3450-3550 MHz “is a good candidate for potential spectrum sharing, including at the commercial system power levels sought by the wireless industry.” For its part, the Department of Defense (“DoD”), a primary user of the 3450-3550 MHz band, announced earlier this summer that it had devised a sharing framework for this spectrum and will undertake the work needed to prepare the spectrum for auction in this very aggressive time frame.
Continue Reading FCC Opens New Chapter in Repurposing Spectrum in the 3 GHz Band
CBRS
COVID-19: What Communications Service Providers Need to Know – April 13, 2020
As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly unfolds, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has been active to keep communications services available through various waivers, extensions, and other regulatory relief. Kelley Drye’s Communications Practice Group is tracking these actions and what they mean for communications service providers and their customers. CommLaw Monitor will provide regular updates to its analysis of the latest regulatory and legislative actions impacting your business and the communications industry. Click on the “COVID-19” blog category for previous updates.
If you have any urgent questions, please contact your usual Kelley Drye attorney or any member of the Communications Practice Group. For more information on other aspects of the federal and state response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as labor and employment and other issues, please visit Kelley Drye’s COVID-19 Response Resource Center.…
Continue Reading COVID-19: What Communications Service Providers Need to Know – April 13, 2020
FCC Postponing 3.5 GHz Auction on Account of COVID-19; Agency Hopes to Keep 3.7-4.2 GHz Auction on Track
On March 25, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission announced a one-month postponement of the 3.5 GHz auction (3550-3650 GHz) in the Citizen’s Broadband Radio Service (“CBRS”), a.k.a. Auction 105. The Commission cited the need “to protect the health and safety of Commission staff during the auction and [the ancillary benefit” that parties have additional time to prepare to participate.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reiterated the agency’s commitment to hold the auction this summer. The band is the first in the so-called mid-band, a range of spectrum seen as critical to the roll out of 5G wireless applications. Commissioner Michael O’Rielly tweeted today that a further delay would be unlikely absent absolutely compelling circumstances. The start of the auction has been postponed to July 23, 2020, (from June 25, 2020), and the new short-form application filing window is April 23 through May 7, 2020.
The Commission also postponed indefinitely its Auction 106, which was set to begin April 28, 2020, and was selling through competitive bidding construction permits in the FM broadcast service.…
FCC Adopts 3.5 GHz Band PAL Licensing Changes
By Chip Yorkgitis on
Posted in Federal & State Regulatory, Wireless
The Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC’s” or “Commission’s”) vote at its open meeting on October 23, 2018 on a Report and Order regarding the 3550-3700 MHz band (“3.5 GHz Band”) was split along party lines. This was hardly surprising given the criticism of the original order in 2015 by the then-Republican minority. As the now-Republican majority approved changes sought by the commercial mobile industry to the Priority Access License (“PAL”) rules, the lone Democratic Commissioner, Jessica Rosenworcel dissented. Spectrum in and around the 3.5 GHz range is often touted as a lynchpin for initial 5G deployment internationally. The FCC, in response, seeks to promote greater investment in the band, by 5G proponents in particular by making PALs, which are to be auctioned, more attractive to commercial mobile service providers. The Order hopes to accomplish this by, among other things, increasing the size of PAL license areas from census tracts to counties, and extending license terms from three to ten years with a renewal expectancy. Commissioner Rosenworcel casts the action as a missed opportunity for spectrum policy that promotes innovation by favoring instead the same old, same old.
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Continue Reading FCC Adopts 3.5 GHz Band PAL Licensing Changes
October 2017 FCC Meeting Recap: Can We Be Better PALs? The FCC Seeks to Modify the Two-Year-Old Rules in the 3.5 GHz Band Citing the Need to Bolster Investment Incentives.
By Chip Yorkgitis on
Posted in Federal & State Regulatory, Wireless
At its Open Meeting on October 24, the FCC took a major step in recrafting the licensing and other rules for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (“CBRS”) in the 3550-3700 MHz band (the “3.5 GHz band”) and promote 5G rollouts. Early in his tenure as FCC Chair which began in January of this year, Ajit Pai tasked Commissioner Michael O’Reilly with reexamining the regulatory framework in the band adopted in 2015, particularly as it applied to Priority Access Licenses (“PALs”). Within months, CTIA and T-Mobile filed petitions for rulemaking to make the licensing rules, from commercial wireless’s perspective more investment friendly. Now the Commission has moved ultra-rapidly to act on those petitions and issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) to consider making rule changes largely consistent with those sought by those proponents. The Commission hopes to bolster commercial investment and deployment in the band convinced that, for large scale 5G deployments, providers need greater certainty than the Wheeler-era rules afford.
Continue Reading October 2017 FCC Meeting Recap: Can We Be Better PALs? The FCC Seeks to Modify the Two-Year-Old Rules in the 3.5 GHz Band Citing the Need to Bolster Investment Incentives.