Any plan for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band that doesn’t include census-tract-sized priority access licenses (PALs) likely faces a divided vote at the FCC. Commissioners indicated potential disagreements during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Wednesday (see 1807250043). Chairman Ajit Pai said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly gave him analysis of proposed changes for rules for the band but no firm recommendations.
NTIA is starting a feasibility study for the 3450-3550 MHz band, though making the spectrum available for commercial use is no slam dunk, said Paige Atkins, outgoing (see 1807230049) associate administrator-spectrum, at the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday. NTIA is targeting the band as the next candidate for wireless broadband, Administrator David Redl announced in February (see 1802260047), noting DOD needs to find another location for military radar systems in the segment of frequencies that carriers may use for 5G.
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly is keeping his plans for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band close to his chest. O’Rielly said last week he has started to share his long-awaited proposal with Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1807120033). Some industry officials who favor smaller geographic license sizes for the priority access licenses that will be offered in the band are hearing that O’Rielly is proposing a plan similar to what was proposed by CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association. Other industry and FCC officials urged caution before drawing conclusions but said the proposal seems unlikely to get the full support of the commission, especially Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly split with fellow FCC Republicans Thursday to partially dissent from an order on emergency alert system testing and false alerts, over concerns about alert fatigue. Since lone FCC Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel voted in favor, it was approved 3 to 1. “If people come to expect that when those alert signals go off they may not be real, there is a very high likelihood that they will ignore potentially life-saving information.” O’Rielly said.
Commissioners approved 4-0 an NPRM and order Thursday that moves the U.S. a step closer to opening the C-band, key mid-band spectrum for 5G. The FCC will start by taking a snapshot of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, though as expected the agency relaxed its reporting requirements for satellite companies from what was in the draft order (see 1807060025). Rather than asking for additional data from fixed satellite service earth stations, the FCC will require them only to certify that the information the agency has is up-to-date. Space station operators will have to provide basic information. The NPRM asks whether the FCC should seek additional data from satellite operators, officials said.
A possible FCC compromise on the draft kidvid NPRM didn’t materialize and the item was approved with a 3-1 party-line split Thursday (see 1807110051). Though Commissioner Mike O’Rielly acceded to a request from Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to edit the item to be free of tentative conclusions, Rosenworcel said Thursday the two sides couldn’t come to agreement. She praised O’Rielly’s willingness to negotiate and didn’t identify any other concessions she requested. “I was informed that even with these edits it was not sufficient to garner a bipartisan vote,” O’Rielly said. The version approved Thursday contains the same tentative conclusions as the draft item, O’Rielly and Media Bureau staff said.
A heated dispute over FCC changes to informal complaint procedures overshadowed commissioners' 3-1 approval of an order to streamline formal complaint processes. Dissenter Jessica Rosenworcel said the order effectively removes the agency from working to resolve informal complaints against companies, forcing consumers unsatisfied by company responses to file a formal complaint costing $225. "This is bonkers. No one should be asked to pay $225 for this agency to do its job," she said at Thursday's commissioners' meeting.
The FCC should approve larger geographic license sizes for the priority access licenses it sells as part of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band (CBRS), CTIA said in docket 17-258. Under current rules, the licenses would be sold as census tracts. “A new report by Analysys Mason shows that the current licensing scheme … with 74,000 separate license areas … and an average population of 4,400 per area, is significantly smaller than the license areas used for comparable spectrum in the rest of the world,” CTIA said. “The Commission should move expeditiously to make mid-band spectrum available for flexible use, and it should release the spectrum with rules that will support next-generation networks. Nations around the world are adopting larger license sizes as a way to promote prompt and efficient buildout of 5G networks.”
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said he's nearing a recommendation on the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, speaking Thursday to reporters after a speech at the Free State Foundation on process changes. The 180-day shot clock on deal approval “should be more than aspirational,” O’Rielly said, with several takeovers still pending before the regulator. “We can make decisions with a set time frame.”
ATIS and the Citizens Broadband Radio Service Alliance announced a development they say will make use of the 3.5 GHz band more commercially viable. The work was done by ATIS’ International Mobile Subscriber Identity Oversight Council. The IMSI council oversees U.S. assignment of IMSI numbers, a 15-digit international identifier that allows for network roaming. In collaboration with the CBRS Alliance, “ATIS developed an innovative new IMSI code that is specifically allocated for use by CBRS spectrum operators," they said Tuesday. The council “will also begin administration of an IMSI Block Number (IBN), under the oversight of the IMSI Administrator, iconectiv,” they said. “The IBN will be assigned to CBRS spectrum operators to support the implementation of network services. This work is essential for utilizing CBRS for LTE services while also advancing IoT applications.”