Auction economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. They “studied how auctions work” and “used their insights to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequencies,” the committee said Monday: “Their discoveries have benefited sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday “their work has made possible the extraordinary success of U.S. radiofrequency spectrum auctions.”
Silicon Flatirons dove into the importance of evidence-based spectrum policy during the start of a two-day conference Tuesday. Speakers said there are no easy answers, and it can be difficult to figure out where decisions are based on the evidence. The virtual conference continues Thursday.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance said there's no evidence a successful T-band auction is possible, urging the FCC lift the T-band freeze, in replies in docket 13-42. “Bidding in spectrum auctions typically is driven by commercial wireless providers such as nationwide or regional carriers, by cable operators, and by” wireless ISPs, EWA said: “There is no indication that the latter two categories have any interest in this spectrum. Commercial carriers have described in detail why such an auction should not be expected to produce revenue anywhere near the amount needed to fund even [public safety] relocation costs.” Other replies, which were due Tuesday, agreed an auction won’t work, consistent with initial comments (see 2009010023). Los Angeles “continues to hope that Congress will enact legislation to repeal the T-Band Claw back” and would “welcome any relief that the Commission might offer to preserve the … ability to rely upon the T-Band for our public safety needs,” the city said. The band “supports emergency communications for frontline emergency responders in eleven major metropolitan areas,” said the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
The Senate Commerce Committee jettisoned the Rural Connectivity Advancement Program Act from its agenda for a Wednesday markup session (see 2009100031). NARUC leaders still warned committee leaders against what they called a “crucial omission." S-4015 would set aside 10% of net proceeds from FCC spectrum auctions through Sept. 30, 2022, for broadband buildout (see 2006180062). Senate Commerce didn’t comment on why the bill was pulled. S-4015 “laudably seeks to encourage programs to cover the gaps that remain in broadband internet access coverage in high-cost rural areas,” said NARUC President Brandon Presley and Telecom Committee Chair Karen Charles Peterson in a letter to Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. “But unfortunately” the measure omits the eligible telecom carrier designation procedure, which provides “critical oversight of these subsidies which acts to block fraud and abuse.” That’s “a significant departure from the existing statutory scheme,” the NARUC leaders said. “There is no question that this inadvertent omission of” the ETC designation procedure “encourages abuse" of the Rural Connectivity Fund created by the legislation.
A Thursday Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing on the FCC and NTIA roles in spectrum policymaking is likely to at least partially focus on the dispute between the two agencies over Ligado’s L-band plan, lawmakers and officials said in interviews. The hearing is also likely to be a venue for lawmakers to address other related policy matters, including FCC disputes with other federal agencies on the 24 GHz auction and other frequencies, and bids to allocate proceeds from the coming auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, lobbyists said. The panel begins at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell (see 2007160054).
The FCC needs to work with NTIA and other stakeholders to develop “specific and measurable performance goals … to manage spectrum demands associated with 5G deployment,” the GAO said in a report released Monday. Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees and the House Science Committee were among those who requested the study. The report noted recent FCC actions to make more spectrum available for 5G services but said the commission “has not developed” “performance goals with related strategies and measures to assess how well its actions are mitigating the added effects 5G deployment will have on the digital divide.” The plan “notes that FCC’s actions on the 2.5 GHz, 3.5 GHz, and 3.7-4.2 GHz bands could make up to 844 MHz available for 5G, but these strategies are not related to any identified performance goals or measures,” GAO said. The FCC “neither agreed nor disagreed with our recommendations,” GAO said. The regulator “described the challenges associated with developing performance goals for managing the spectrum demands associated with 5G deployment. Specifically, FCC stated that such goals could limit the options available to manage spectrum demands. Instead, FCC stated that it adopts specific and measurable performance goals -- with related strategies and measures -- during ongoing rulemakings, which allow FCC to establish engineering, economic, or other technical outcomes.” The FCC "has made substantial progress in expediting the deployment of 5G" in the U.S., a spokesperson emailed. "On the spectrum front, we've already held three auctions and will be holding two mid-band spectrum auctions later this year. On the wireless infrastructure front, we've adopted many orders to make it easier to deploy the physical building blocks of 5G networks, including this year's 5G Upgrade Order, and small cell deployments have skyrocketed. And on the fiber front, thanks to our reforms, the United States set records for fiber deployment in both 2018 and 2019."
There’s “emerging consensus” the next Senate-side COVID-19 aid bill will include funding to bolster E-rate and other broadband initiatives, Incompas CEO Chip Pickering said Thursday. Some GOP lawmakers voiced growing interest in including broadband funding in coming pandemic legislation since House passage last month of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act. HR-6800’s broadband funding includes an $8.8 billion Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund and $5 billion for E-rate (see 2005130059). President Donald Trump’s administration recently narrowed the scope of their desires for a fourth major aid measure (see 2006050058).
President Donald Trump’s administration and the all-Democratic House Rural Broadband Task Force are teeing up proposals that include connectivity money, Capitol Hill aides and lobbyists told us. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and some lawmakers, meanwhile, used a Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on the commission’s spectrum auctions program (see 2006160030) to highlight the need for additional telecom funding as part of COVID-19 aid legislation, including for broadband.
A Tuesday Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee hearing on the FCC’s spectrum auctions program was a venue for subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., to again dig into his longstanding concerns about the plan for 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, as expected (see 2005270034). Kennedy and other subpanel members discussed the issue throughout three rounds of questions for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Kennedy forecasted another hearing soon. Pai and some subcommittee members highlighted the need for additional telecom funding as part of COVID-19 aid (see 2006160049).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is to testify at a Tuesday Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee on oversight of the FCC’s “spectrum auctions program,” including the planned auction of frequency on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, as expected (see 2006040060). Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., earlier signaled interest in exploring the auction implications of Intelsat's filing for bankruptcy (see 2005140028). Lobbyists expect Kennedy and other members to have questions about the FCC’s approval of Ligado’s L-band plan. The Ligado issue drew the ire of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, including a push for related language in the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (see 2006110026). The hearing begins at 10 a.m. in 124 Dirksen, Senate Appropriations said.