Private LTE and the citizens broadband radio service won’t be a major factor for in-building connectivity for years to come, speakers warned during the third installment Tuesday of Connect (X), the Wireless Infrastructure Association’s virtual trade show. The FCC is to start an auction Thursday of priority access licenses (see 2007200049).
CBRS
The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is designated unlicensed spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band created by the FCC as part of an effort to allow for shared federal and non-federal use of the band.
The FCC will start the priority access license (PAL) auction Thursday. Among the 271 qualified bidders are AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile; and the biggest MVPDs including Comcast, Charter and Cox, Dish Network. Also qualified are electric utilities, wireless ISPs and enterprise customers including various universities and John Deere.
The FCC approved Key Bridge to be an environmental sensing capability operator in various markets, for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service. “Key Bridge has demonstrated the technical capability to operate its ESC properly and in compliance with the Commission’s rules,” said a Tuesday notice by the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology. The FCC required the company to submit its sensing software to NTIA for retesting.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the American Council of Technology-Industry Advisory Council he has hopes for the citizens broadband radio service auction. In two weeks, “the Commission will begin the auction of 3.5 GHz Priority Access Licenses, making available 70 megahertz of valuable mid-band spectrum for 5G,” said the text of Pai speech in Friday's Daily Digest: “Over 270 applicants have qualified to bid.”
Wireless interests made pitches for requiring 3.7 GHz licensees to make available time division duplexing synchronization with citizens broadband radio service operations in the adjacent band, in docket 18-122 replies posted Tuesday to responses to the petitions for reconsideration of the FCC C-band order. The C-band transition cost catalog is useful only if accurate, and getting additional comment won't delay the move, NCTA said, saying the Wireless Bureau should at least continue to revisit and seek occasional comment on the catalog to ensure the cost amounts stay reasonable. It said the FCC should make clear CBRS operations are entitled to interference protection and new 3.7 GHz licensees need to work with CBRS operators in good faith to prevent and mitigate that interference, including by making TDD available to CBRS operators. The Wireless ISP Association and NTCA also backed requiring flexible use licensees in the C band making TDD synchronization information available to adjacent CBRS band users. Charter said no one disputed the benefit of TDD synchronization, so requiring it would provide certainty. Intelsat said it can't be responsible for interference to earth stations post-transition if rules don't protect against flexible use operations' interference. It urged reconsidering technical specifications for telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) filters. Recapping meetings with staff for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, NAB and content companies urged either all integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) equipment costs be allocated as a satellite cost, with satellite operators paying installation costs to MVPDs, or bifurcated, with the equipment costs a satellite operator expense and costs of installation allocated to the MVPD and in the lump sum. They said the average estimated cost of installation of an IRD is $900 when installed by the MVPD or a contractor. In a back-and-forth over Eutelsat's petition, SES filed. If carriers, which ultimately will pay moving costs, don't object to reimbursement criteria, it's hard to see what legitimate grounds those non-C-band users stand on, it said. Eutelsat said the opposition doesn't refute its core argument the move would proceed more smoothly with the FCC being absolutely clear about what are reasonable and necessary reimbursement costs. T-Mobile urged rejecting recon petitions seeking more protections for incumbent earth station users, TT&C/gateway sites and CBRS.
European regulators may not make decisions for another 10 years on the future of broadcast TV in the UHF band, speakers said Monday at conclusion of the virtual European Spectrum Management Conference. The FCC repurposed 84 MHz of UHF for wireless in a 2016-17 incentive auction. Such a swath in Europe remains hotly contested between carriers seeking low-band for 5G and broadcasters.
The FCC remains concerned about receiver standards, Wireless Bureau Chief Donald Stockdale said at the virtual European Spectrum Management Conference Wednesday. Stockdale suggested the FCC do more to address the issue. Speakers on a second panel said Europe may not follow the U.S. in allocating the entire 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use, which the FCC did in April (see 2004230059).
The citizens broadband radio service band appears to be off to a strong start, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said during a ConnectX webinar Tuesday. O’Rielly expects July 23’s priority access license auction to take place as planned, though he said that’s a decision to be made by Chairman Ajit Pai. Other speakers said CBRS will get wide use.
The citizens broadband radio service auction, scheduled to start July 23, will likely be active, with bids from some that don’t normally play in FCC auctions, Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche told investors. “Cables' interest here will be significant,” she predicted Tuesday: “The more spectrum cable [companies] actually own, the more traffic they can shift AWAY from the MVNO [mobile virtual network operator] network partner they used to carry … non-Wi-Fi traffic.” She noted Comcast and Charter were among potential bidders on the list released by the FCC (see 2006080048).
All signs are the citizens broadband radio service auction will start July 23 as planned, especially with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai concerned about a December C-band auction, industry and FCC officials said in recent interviews. The auction of priority access licenses was delayed once from June 25, because of COVID-19 concerns (see 2003250052). The agency announced Monday that 348 companies or individuals filed short forms to participate; 106 were deemed complete while others require additional work.