Mobile Future congratulated the FCC, NTIA, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies for a successful AWS-3 auction, in a letter Monday to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “The numbers certainly lay to rest any questions raised by the National Association of Broadcasters and others as to whether there really is a spectrum crunch,” the group said. But Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter said the auction also demonstrates the FCC shouldn't impose unnecessary restrictions on future auctions. The FCC last year approved rules for the TV incentive auction that would effectively limit bidding by AT&T and Verizon. “Restrictive and preferential participation rules harm consumers and the wireless marketplace,” the letter said. “In those instances where the FCC has placed its hand on the scale in spectrum auctions, the intended goals have not been achieved, service was delayed to consumers, and valuable spectrum remained unused for several years.”
In the months leading up to the FCC incentive auction, communication and sharing of information among telecom companies will be severely restricted by anti-collusion and conflict of interest rules, likely shutting down mergers and acquisitions within that sphere, said attorneys studying the matter. The concerns are consistent with our report that many major communications law firms face potential conflicts of interest on the first-of-its-kind auction that should raise billions of dollars for the government, giving TV stations selling all or some of their frequencies a cut of proceeds. After the reverse auction application deadline, FCC anti-collusion rules will prevent all Class A and full-power broadcasters from communicating about their auction participation plans or lack thereof, and participants in the forward auction will be barred from communicating anything about auction plans with any TV licensee, the FCC’s incentive auction order said.
A top FirstNet executive defended the network’s progress Tuesday before the House Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee. Lawmakers dug in with questions on timelines and broader interoperability coordination struggles. Democrats worried about a lack of funding for state efforts and called for legislative action.
The FCC has made “great progress” in broadband availability since the release of the National Broadband Plan, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. By 2015, the goal was to bring 300 MHz of spectrum to the market, she said during a Silicon Flatirons event Friday evening. “We’re well on that goal.”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler likely faces more congressional oversight after Republicans won full control of Congress Tuesday. But it's unclear whether the new Congress will have much effect on FCC decision-making, especially on net neutrality, said Washington insiders, including former FCC officials. Industry officials have speculated Wheeler may seek a net neutrality vote on an order in December, before the new Congress is seated (see 1410270055).
Early 2016 may still be too ambitious of a schedule for the TV incentive auction, Credit Suisse said Wednesday in a research report. “Given the forward and reverse structure of the Incentive auction, it is the most complicated of the spectrum auctions so far,” the firm said. “These complications in addition to the broadcasters' challenges are likely to delay the auction further, in our opinion.” The FCC recently delayed the auction's start to early 2016 (see 1410240048). Mid-2016 seems more likely, the firm said. Credit Suisse also said there is a “moderate chance” the FCC will opt for a “full blown” Title II Communications Act reclassification of broadband. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler “could look to apply Title II or some form of Title II to broadband services, but will face much less of a challenge if he can find some middle ground with the broadband providers,” the firm said.
In rewriting the Communications Act, “I would have a very skinny FCC,” said Robert Litan, a Brookings Institution nonresident senior fellow, speaking Wednesday at a Brookings Institution event in Washington on the Communications Act. Litan backs a “very minimalist role” for the agency, focused on its management of spectrum auctions and “I would have them administratively stop discrimination,” whether on the Internet or in traditional media spaces involving network owners blocking content, he said. Robert McDowell, a former Republican FCC commissioner and now partner at Wiley Rein, cautioned about the ease with which the FCC can escape “its congressional tether” and become “oligarchical,” citing the role of the courts in reining the agency in when needed. Litan, a former principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s antitrust division, scoffed at the FCC’s role in approving acquisition deals and said it should be nixed. Larry Irving, a former NTIA administrator and now consultant to telecom and information technology clients, resisted what he viewed as any “straight economic test” or one simply focused on consumer harm, calling communications the “lifeblood of a democracy.” They debated over how prominent the public interest component of the FCC’s role should be, with McDowell cautioning over a potentially “expansive” interpretation. “A straight economic test would frighten me,” Irving said. But the public interest standard should be clearer, he said, noting past challenges in finding the right balance. “It’s impossible,” McDowell said, cautioning against ex ante regulation and noting how much has changed even in the past decade. Irving referred to the many pieces of the FCC puzzle and said “the Communications Act gets most of them right.” But Irving would work to fix certain shortcomings at the agency, he said, referring to a need for expediency on certain fronts. He called efforts to clear federal spectrum “abysmal.” Litan predicted multiple possible drivers of a Communications Act overhaul on Capitol Hill, positing that net neutrality advocates could end up unhappy with the FCC’s rulemaking and ultimately go to Congress seeking a “fix” of the act. Alternatively, Republicans could take control of the Senate, Litan posited: “Imagine a scenario in which they win the presidency in 2016,” Litan said. “Maybe that becomes something the Republicans push because there’s no one to veto.”
The FCC approved on a 5-0 vote Friday an order designed to speed deployment of distributed antenna systems, small cells and other wireless facilities. In a late change negotiated by Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, the FCC reduced from 90 to 60 days the period of review before a collocation application can be deemed granted. In return, CTIA and PCIA agreed to work with local jurisdictions on streamlining the approval process. Commissioners noted that infrastructure buildout is as important to deployment as spectrum for robust wireless networks. The FCC also approved, 5-0, a notice of inquiry examining new developments in technology that could increase the viability of operations in bands above 24 GHz.
The government and the telecom and technology industries must aggressively begin paving the way for the emergence of 5G LTE, said government officials and network operators. Major carriers have begun rolling out enhanced services to meet growing needs of data capacity, while preparing for the advent of 5G and other emerging technologies, they said Tuesday at a 4G Americas event in Washington. The wireless industry is investing in and creating new network technology to increase speeds and use spectrum more efficiently, said wireless executives. The industry also should work to find ways to make handling the next-generation networks less complex, a service provider said.
With two major spectrum auctions in the works, the FCC and the Occupational Safety & Health Administration zeroed in on tower climber safety during a workshop Tuesday. OSHA said in a release 11 tower workers lost their lives in 2014, compared with 13 in 2013 and only two in 2012 (http://1.usa.gov/1trnUGf). FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman opened the event, arguing that worker deaths are not inevitable.