Except for a few major carriers, “the vast majority of commenters” want the FCC to deny designated entity (DE) status to smaller companies that have material relationships with major in-region wireless carriers in the pending advanced wireless services auction, DE Council Tree told the FCC in reply comments. “The only commenters that opposed the Commission’s plan to update its designated entity eligibility rules for the future were 2 national carriers, 2 designated entities associated with national carriers, and CTIA,” Council Tree said. T-Mobile asked the FCC for a quick decision, so as not to delay the auction. “Given that the record support for the recommended changes is flimsy at best, the Commission should do everything within its power to prevent this proceeding from derailing the most important spectrum auction since the mid-1990s,” T-Mobile said. The key is to hew to the auction schedule, equipment maker Ericsson said: “To delay the auction would inject a level of uncertainty that would vastly undermine the upcoming auction and would negatively impact the very same small entities that the Commission seeks to protect in this proceeding.”
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.
VoIP carriers would benefit from passage of pending telecom legislation, because even E-911 compliant companies face too many obstacles to getting linked with public safety access points (PSAPs), said Dana Lichtenberg, telecom aide to Rep. Gordon (D-Tenn.). This is in part because too many in Congress think the FCC’s VoIP E-911 order “is all that was needed,” she said. Lichtenberg -- speaking at an enterprise VoIP conference held Wed. by the Information Technology Assn. of America (ITAA) -- said Gordon wants more resources for PSAPs, since many of the failures to meet the recent deadline were theirs. She said at least some E-911 language, alongside cable franchising issues, will be in a “stripped down” version of coming House telecom legislation. She held out hope the bill would remain bipartisan.
Identities of high bidders in June’s advanced wireless services (AWS) auction would be secret until the sale ends, under rules apparently headed for FCC approval. Sources said despite wireless carriers’ opposition, the Wireless Bureau seems inclined for the first time to embrace nondisclosure provisions. The proposal got backing this week from the FTC’s Bureau of Economics.
Sen. Burns (R-Mont.) urged Chmn. Martin to push for 700 MHz spectrum auction rules specifying that parts of the band be sold in relatively small blocks. “I am convinced of the importance to rural America of smaller spectrum licensing areas,” Burns said. “The increased availability of spectrum licensed on a small geographic area basis will facilitate the offering of competitive wireless services by regional and smaller wireless carriers and help to ensure that wireless services are available and affordable in rural and insular areas across the nation.” The FCC will start auctioning 700 MHz spectrum in Jan. 2008.
Verizon Wireless largely stands alone at the FCC in advocating secrecy for bidder information and package bidding in June’s advanced wireless services auction, T-Mobile said in an ex parte presentation. “Virtually every other commenter, representing the full spectrum of the industry, supports transparency,” T-Mobile said. “Similarly, only one potential bidder (Verizon) supports package bidding -- most potential bidders support a single auction without package bidding.”
The Technology CEO Council Wed. called on the FCC and NTIA to complete a full analysis of which spectrum bands aren’t being put to the highest and best use. The report should look closely at govt. bands that could be used more efficiently by business, public safety or others, the report said.
The FCC will stick with proposed minimum bids for an air-to-ground auction starting May 10 (CD Jan 12 p2). The Wireless Bureau set a reserve price of $5 million for the entire band. Since the FCC is allowing for many possibilities -- licensees could share the spectrum through overlapping licenses, or a single license holder could buy it all -- it set other minimums. Bids for 3 MHz licenses, with 2 MHz shared, must be at least $1.5 million each. An exclusive bid for the 3 MHz license must be at least $2.8 million. Winners of ATG licenses will be able to offer high- speed wireless Internet service on commercial airline flights.
Small and large wireless carriers want the FCC to drop a proposal to allow both traditional simultaneous multiple round (SMR) bidding and experimental “package” bidding in a June advanced wireless services (AWS) auction. Carriers also said they fret over a proposal to keep critical bidder data secret as the auction progresses. But 2 major carriers expected to be in on the auction -- Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile -- did not agree on whether secrecy would help or hinder bidding. The AWS auction of 1,122 licenses and 90 MHz of spectrum is deemed one of the most significant in many years, especially as carriers roll out spectrum-intensive 3G offerings.
The FCC Fri. released a further notice of proposed rulemaking that would block wireless carriers from partnering with designated entities (DEs) to buy spectrum at cut rates in FCC auctions. The FCC said it plans to wrap up the proceeding in time for the rules to take effect before a June advanced wireless services (AWS) auction.
The 90 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum set to be auctioned by the FCC by 2008 probably will be the last big block of spectrum below 2.5 GHz to reach market for many years. A June auction of advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum (CD Feb 2 p5) will draw big firms. But the auction of 700 MHz spectrum to be cleared by the end of analog broadcasting (CD Feb 2 p1) may see the long-rumored entry into that spectrum by nontraditional players. Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, which lobbied hard for the law authorizing the auction, are considered likely participants. The AWS auction is carriers’ first priority now, because it’s “first in the queue,” an industry source said.