Sony, WISPs Oppose Major Changes to Rules for 3.5 GHz Band

said rules for spectrum access system administrators and others already are settled and changes would mean delays in launch of the much-anticipated band. “The Commission should not undertake rule changes that would result in new or different certification obligations for SAS administrators,” Sony said Friday. “Such changes would waste already invested resources, unnecessarily raise costs, and inevitably delay the SAS certification process.” Broadband Corp., a wireless ISP in Minnesota, said it invested $1 million in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum, but stopped investing in light of recent uncertainty. “That one of the petitioners is a major mobile carrier, and the other is an association of mobile carriers I find concerning, these are the same large companies who have collectively increased the costs of spectrum to the point that only large mobile carriers can afford it, pricing spectrum out of range for companies like ours,” wrote Vice President Anthony Will. Tampa-based WISP Rapid Systems said it also made big investments and needs the band to open. “The ability to access up to 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum is desperately needed to enable higher service tiers for our rural customers,” the company said. The WISP Association called the CTIA and T-Mobile petitions “ill-conceived and destructive” and said the FCC should reject them. The proposals would transform 3.5 GHz into a “5G-only” band and “decelerate the provision of fixed broadband service to those that lack access and choice, foreclose innovative uses, stifle investment, and damage the ability of existing broadband customers to continue receiving service,” WISPA said.