The House is set to vote as soon as Monday under suspension of the rules on a bill to extend the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through May 19 (HR-1108), Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday. Lawmakers had been expected to seek a short-term reauthorization of the FCC’s mandate past the current March 9 deadline due to Congress’ slow pace in restarting talks on a broader spectrum package (see 2302220063). A deal to attach spectrum legislative language to the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package fell through in December (see 2212300046). Also on the docket: the Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act (HR-538) and Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act (HR-1123). HR-538, first filed in 2020 (see 2007130063), would require manufacturers to inform consumers about cameras or microphones on internet-connected devices. HR-1123 would require NTIA to report on cybersecurity of wireless networks and vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and surveillance by adversaries. The House previously passed the measure in 2021 (see 2112020050).
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Another short-term extension of the FCC’s auction authority is the likeliest scenario amid a slow return to negotiations on a broader spectrum legislative package earlier this month and dwindling time left before the commission’s current mandate expires, lawmakers and other observers said in interviews. President Joe Biden signed off in December on a renewal of the FCC’s auction remit through March 9 that Congress enacted as part of the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package after a deal to attach spectrum legislative language to the measure fell through at the last minute (see 2212300046).
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel offered limited insight Thursday into the current state of talks to resurrect a spectrum legislative package after a deal lawmakers hoped in December to include in the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus measure fell through at the last minute (see 2212280044). Congress instead extended the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through March 9 as a stopgap (see 2212300046). There has been “lots of talk, lots of back and forth in anticipation of that March 9 deadline,” Rosenworcel told reporters after the commissioners’ open meeting Thursday. The FCC’s auction authority is something “we want to continue and there are lots of people hard at work on that.” The FCC’s auctions “have been a good deal” for the U.S. because “they have helped support our economic and national security,” she said: The sales “put out into the economy airwaves that have helped create so much in wireless innovation” both within the U.S. and “worldwide.”
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that retrofitting radio altimeters (RAs) on commercial aircraft to ensure they're safe from 5G wireless interference may cost airlines at least $637 million. The FAA earlier estimated the cost upgrades at just $26 million nationwide (see 2301100060). Comments were posted this week and last in docket FAA-2022-1647-0001. The FAA proposed in January that passenger and cargo aircraft in the U.S. have 5G C-band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early 2024. “It is unfortunate” the FCC and carriers “refused to accept that any limitations on the 5G spectrum signal around airports were necessary to ensure the continued safe operation of commercial aviation,” IATA said: “This is despite the fact that IATA and other industry representatives raised these safety and interference concerns long before the auction of this spectrum. Now, the aviation industry, rather than the FCC or the telecommunications companies, is being told to pay to upgrade its certified radio altimeters. The unfairness of this cannot be overstated.” Carriers didn't file comments in the proceeding. “The wireless industry continues to work collaboratively with all stakeholders and supports the FAA’s schedule for altimeter upgrades," a CTIA spokesperson emailed. Others questioned timing. The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAW) said the FAA must work with other federal agencies, along with the aviation and telecom industries, “to develop a permanent solution that does not rely upon voluntary mitigation measures from telecommunications providers.” AAAW questioned whether the proposed timeline is workable: “While airports are not in the best position to determine the appropriate timeline for retrofitting existing airplanes, comments from air carriers and manufacturers in response to the proposal and over the past several months are clear: the proposed deadlines are unachievable, and FAA needs to extend them to prevent disruptions to the air transportation system.” The Cargo Airline Association said modifying altimeters “is not a quick process,” the group said: “The time it takes to go from the RA/filter modification development all the way to the end-state of equipage on aircraft is multi-layered and an incredibly complex process. The multitude of paperwork approvals and the complexity of the logistics channels have been further hampered by significant supply chain challenges and lack of available parts.”
NARUC draft resolutions on FCC spectrum auction authority and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) got support from some industry and other groups ahead of this week’s state utilities regulators’ meeting in Washington, D.C. In an interview last week, Nebraska Public Service Commissioner Tim Schram (R) said it’s critical to use auction revenue to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, which repays federally funded carriers required to “rip and replace” equipment from Chinese vendors that may pose a security risk.
The outlook for both the lower and upper 12 GHz bands remain unclear, with the FCC and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel providing little guidance in recent months on next steps in either band. The 5G for 12 GHz Coalition has been relatively quiet this year and there have been few filings in docket 20-443 exploring the lower band.
While the lineup of cable operators providing mobile service grows, with others likely to follow, most will rely on mobile virtual network operators and their own Wi-Fi networks to provide the service rather than become more active in acquiring spectrum for their own wireless networks, wireless and cable experts tell us.
The National Weather Service isn’t well-equipped to keep up with the speed with which spectrum decisions are often made, said Michael Farrar, director of National Centers for Environmental Prediction, at an American Meteorological meeting, streamed from Denver Thursday. Farrar warned against the “drip, drip, drip of changes” as spectrum policy evolves.
The FAA is proposing that passenger and cargo aircraft in the U.S. have 5G C-band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early 2024. The requirement is proposed in a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register, with comments due Feb. 10. Industry experts saw the latest as a net positive for telecom carriers, but some warned of a dangerous precedent being created by the FAA.
Senate Commerce Committee leaders who spearheaded a stymied bid to attach the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (see 2212190069) to the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus bill (HR-2617) are divided on whether they will be able to advance the proposal largely in its current form in the next Congress. The reauth package included modified language from the chamber's version of the Spectrum Innovation Act (S-4117) and other related measures. President Joe Biden signed off Friday night on a continuing resolution that extends the FCC's spectrum auction authority through Dec. 30 (HR-4373) to allow further time for HR-2617's enrolled version to make it to his desk. Congress included language in the omnibus that renews the FCC's remit through March 9, in lieu of the spectrum deal language. The March 9 deadline is spurring lawmakers’ interest in quickly reaching a new deal when talks reconvene at the start of the 118th Congress.