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
Department of Defense
Webinar: New Developments on Foreign Investment Reviews in the Telecommunications Sector
For decades, parts of the Federal government have examined transactions that introduce and increase foreign investment in United States telecommunications businesses. Transactions that implicate reviews by the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security (collectively, “Team Telecom”) and/or by the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) can face procedural hurdles and delays…
President Formalizes Executive Agency Review of FCC Applications and Licenses; Quick Action on FCC License Revocation
By Chip Yorkgitis & Denise Smith on
For years, there have been critiques about the lack of procedures surrounding the review, by a group of Executive Branch agencies commonly referred to as “Team Telecom”, of applications before the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) for licenses and transaction approvals involving foreign ownership, including the absence of timeframes for completing reviews. The FCC tried to implement limited changes within its jurisdiction by launching a rulemaking, but that never progressed to a conclusion. Now, by Executive Order (“EO”) on April 4, 2020, President Trump established a framework to govern such reviews and clearly include reviews of existing licenses and authorizations even where there are no current mitigations. There are still a lot of unknowns regarding the new “Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector” (the “Committee”). It is too soon to know whether the Committee will bring a welcome measure of regularity to a previously unshackled process or will prove to be an even greater bane to applicants and licensees than the Team Telecom process its work will replace.
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Continue Reading President Formalizes Executive Agency Review of FCC Applications and Licenses; Quick Action on FCC License Revocation