FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel cautioned House Communications Subcommittee members that some sales from upcoming auctions of the 2.5 GHz band and “construction permits for new full power television stations in communities with no license for the allotted station” will be on hold “pending reauthorization” of the commission’s auction authority if the current statute lapses Sept. 30 without a renewal. CTIA CEO Meredith Baker, meanwhile, urged the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees to adopt a stopgap renewal due to the limited legislative time before Sept. 30. The issue was a major focus of House Communications’ FCC oversight hearing last week (see 2203310060).
House Communications Subcommittee members largely but not completely avoided using a Thursday FCC oversight hearing to make partisan points, amid the commission’s focus on bipartisan issues during the ongoing 2-2 split, as expected (see 2203300001). Lawmakers instead focused on questions about the FCC’s work to produce improved broadband connectivity data maps, its handling of the affordable connectivity program and Emergency Connectivity Fund programs, and how commissioners believe Congress should structure a renewal of the commission’s spectrum auction authority.
House Communications Subcommittee members are continuing to wrestle with whether and how to package legislation to reauthorize the FCC’s spectrum auction authority with other related policy matters. Witnesses at a Wednesday hearing on those issues urged Congress to quickly renew the FCC’s sales authority and cited a range of other matters lawmakers should simultaneously consider, including directing proceeds to pay for other telecom projects and addressing interagency disputes on frequency allocations (see 2203150069).
Telecom-focused lawmakers are trying to beat the legislative clock as they seek a way to renew the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, currently set to expire when FY 2022 ends Sept. 30. The House Communications Subcommittee is eyeing a March 16 hearing on auction authority reauthorization and potential ways to spend revenue from additional auctions, Hill aides and lobbyists told us. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently asked Congress to authorize the agency to use proceeds to pay for next-generation 911 tech upgrades (see 2202220057). Congress last extended the FCC’s auction authority via the 2012 spectrum law.
The FCC got some support for use of an ascending-clock auction for the 2.5 GHz band, the only imminent auction of spectrum for 5G, in comments filed at the FCC, mostly posted Thursday. AT&T and groups concerned about bidding by the smallest players, prefer a single-round, sealed-bid auction. The agency is trying to start and end the sale before its auction authority expires Sept. 30.
Public interest and consumer groups proposed that the FCC allocate revenue from future auctions to endow a Digital Equity Foundation to help close the digital divide. The groups announced the initiative on a webcast Wednesday, the day after FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urged that some auction proceeds be used to pay for improved 911 (see 2202220057).
Speakers at the Incompas Policy Summit expressed hope Tuesday that the FCC will act soon to allow use of the 12 GHz band for 5G. Incompas has been a leading member of the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition, which seeks new rules for the band (see 2107080055).
Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn told the FCC Thursday she will, if confirmed, recuse herself during the first three years of her term “from any proceeding before the Commission where retransmission consent or television broadcast copyright is a material issue.” Sohn’s recusal pledge appears to be the result of negotiations with Senate Commerce Committee leaders aimed at securing support from all 14 Democrats before a planned Wednesday panel vote to advance her nomination to the full chamber, lobbyists told us. Some panel Republicans pressed for concessions from Sohn over ethics concerns about her role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition (see 2201130071).
The FCC’s 3.45 GHz auction ended Tuesday after 151 rounds, closing at nearly $21.9 billion (see 2111160070), the third-highest spectrum auction haul in FCC history. Bidders won 4,041 of the 4,060 available generic blocks. Analysts disagreed about how much interest there will be in the second phase where winners now have the opportunity to bid for frequency-specific licenses. The bids reflect an average price of 72 cents/MHz/POP, tweeted LightShed’s Walter Piecyk. “Assignment phase won't likely add much more $ or take too long,” he said: “We could find out who won this stuff by January.” The end was “anticlimactic” since bids rose above $21 billion Oct. 28 “which means that 78 rounds have passed where the incremental dollars gained were relatively small (at least for spectrum auctions),” blogged Sasha Javid, BitPath chief operating officer. The assignment stage shouldn’t mean significant extra dollars “given the way the auction is structured (typically less than 1% in additional proceeds),” but “we may see a little more activity than usual,” he said: “The coordination requirements with the DoD have created some differences between the blocks that were not fully captured in the categories created by the FCC.” Which big bidder dropped out in round 10 remains a mystery, though it looks increasingly less like Dish Network, he said. It also took longer than any other clock auction, and it’s unclear why the FCC didn’t do more to speed up bidding, Javid said.
Department of Commerce hires J.D. Grom, ex-New Democrat Coalition, as senior adviser-legislative affairs for Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo ... Center for Strategic and International Studies adds Remco Zwetsloot, who remains a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology until December, to immediately be CSIS International Security Program trustee fellow, working on the U.S. technology workforce, research security, and tech competition with China.