The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation heard mostly from concerned aviation witnesses about safety issues related to the rollout of 5G wireless services in the C-band in a marathon hearing Wednesday (February 2) titled “Finding the Right Frequency: 5G Deployment & Aviation Safety.”

Federal agencies came under withering fire for failure to communicate over the issue. One legislator, though, suggested that it was a case of two sets of engineers at two different agencies — the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration — not speaking the same language when they were speaking at all.

Legislators also pointed out that the C-band interference issue had been identified years earlier, but there was still a last-minute scramble and talk of catastrophic consequences.

The telecom industry and the FCC were hammered by committee leadership for putting the telcos’ bottom line before safety — and not just in regard to aviation, but also to automobiles and GPS reliability.

Also: Wireless Companies Agree to Modified C-Band 5G Rollout

Democratic and Republican senators set the contentious tone by saying there had been an extraordinary lack of communications and coordination among the FCC, the FAA and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration. The result, the lawmakers said, was ridiculous, embarrassing and inexcusable. AT&T and Verizon Communications delayed their 5G rollouts twice over fears towers close to some airports could cause interference to altimeters, and then had to agree not to light up 5G towers in proximity to airports with low visibility issues while the FCC and FAA attempted to resolve an issue legislators said they had years to hammer out.

Full committee chairman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) put much of the blame on the wireless industry, saying it had kept key data on tower heights and positioning proprietary — refusing to share that data even though it was requested by the FAA — and then only late in the process releasing data on its “secret towers and powers.” Only then did it become clear that 5G and altimeters were going to be a big problem, DeFazio said.

He also blamed the FCC for auctioning the C-band spectrum, adding it had also sold off half of the vehicle-to-vehicle spectrum despite arguments from the transportation industry that it was needed for auto safety. He suggested it was much more important to the FCC that consumers could stream HD while walking down the street. DeFazio pointed out that the FCC’s V2V decision had been taken to court and he hoped it would lose. 

Adding in a third FCC decision — to allow Ligado to launch a satellite-delivered broadband system near GPS spectrum — DeFazio suggested the agency was ignoring any consequences beyond the telecom industry‘s bottom line. “That has to change,“ he said, then clearly angry, he argued the country does not even regulate telecom anymore, “which is why we have the crappiest cell phone service in the world.”

“Having a dropped call is way less serious than having a dropped airplane out of the sky,“ DeFazio said.

After AT&T and Verizon paid billions for C-band spectrum — and after the FCC engineers cleared their 5G services for takeoff adjacent to bandwidth used by aviation — the telcos agreed to delay and adjust their use of that spectrum. They were responding to airline industry and FAA concerns that 5G could cause “catastrophic” interference to avionics systems, specifically altimeters used to tell planes how close they are to the ground while taking off or landing in poor weather.

As a result, and under strong pressure from the Biden administration, the wireless broadband providers also agreed to some “exclusion zones” around those airports until the issue can be resolved, including via the adoption of new altimeter standards.

In his testimony, FAA administrator Steve Dickson said the telecom industry was cooperating and providing data, and that he was confident the issue could be resolved. He said the wireless industry and aviation were working on new flight test data that will help going forward, including retrofitting avionics to make sure they are C-band resistant.

That will likely include informal and formal methods as more 5G is rolled out and as the FCC frees up more spectrum for 5G.

Testifying for the wireless industry, among the eight airline industry witnesses, was CTIA president Meredith Attwell Baker. Baker is arguably uniquely qualified to weigh in, since she has seen the spectrum issues from the various vantages currently in the mix as former head of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA).

Baker said the industry was committed to both safe flights and robust and reliable C-band 5G. But she also suggested that the rollout delays of AT&T and Verizon came despite “all available real-world evidence” that 5G and altimeters could coexist.

She also put some of the blame on the media, saying “the press tried to pit the future of wireless versus aviation,” which she said was “always a false choice.”

Baker said that millions of Americans are both getting 5G service and flying safely thanks to hard work in the past few years and weeks, with engineers working together.

Dickson had said that based on the new data from wireless companies, the FAA was now refining the exclusion zones. Baker pointed out that, as of January 28, the FCC had cleared 90% of the commercial fleet for low visibility landings in the vicinity of C-band 5G networks, proving “coexistence is attainable.” She said she was committed to being a good partner with aviation and to getting the other 10% of the fleet cleared for takeoff and landing.

But Baker's bottom line was that "[t]he wireless industry remains confident that 5G poses no risk to air traffic safety but has taken these steps to allow the FAA time to evaluate altimeter performance with C-Band 5G."

Also: Airline CEOs Say C-Band 5G Rollout Could Mean Chaos

As to providing data, she said that AT&T and Verizon last fall had provided “vast and unprecedented access to their 5G network deployment designs, radiofrequency planning, and equipment performance.”

Playing something of the peacemaker, Dickson suggested that the delay in getting the data was that there was a “lack of understanding” of what data the FAA needed because the telcos had never had to produce it for the government before.

All sides agreed that 5G would continue to roll out, that aviation needed to be protected, and that such protection would require better coordination and communication going forward. That“s something they said was happening but with still "a lot of work to do."

Asked about what lessons the industry had learned, Baker said that they had followed the FCC rules back in March 2020 and how the altimeter issue did not get resolved before the C-Band auction she did not understand. She pointed out that she had worked at NTIA and that the interagency coordination process had worked on some "hairy spectrum issues."

She said that perhaps now that the FCC and NTIA have permanent leadership — NTIA administrator Alan Davidson and FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel — they could “take a fresh look at what is working and what is not.” She said she hoped they would do that.

“NATE welcomes the leadership and testimony of Meredith Attwell Baker, President and CEO of CTIA before the House Subcommittee on Aviation," said Todd Schlekeway, president and CEO of NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association. "Ms. Baker’s testimony made clear that the wireless industry and the Federal Communications Commission followed the science and real world usage of 5G services and the impact on aviation. “NATE urges policy makers to continually work together to advance 5G services and maintain America’s global leadership in wireless telecommunications that have allowed for telework and telehealth services and many other technologies that have helped Americans cope with a global pandemic.” ■

President Joe Biden said during his press conference Wednesday (January 19) that his administration “doesn’t deal with 5G,” by which he appeared to mean indirectly, since he has also signaled the administration has been a key player in a key 5G issue.

The president was asked what he has done to restore the public’s faith in the competence of his administration on issues including 5G and the potential that the rollout of the technology by AT&T and Verizon in C-band spectrum adjacent to aviation systems could cause harmful interference to radio altimeters that planes use in bad-weather takeoffs and landings.

Biden said as to “whether or not there is competence in dealing with 5G,” the fact was that the issue was between two “private enterprises” — one promoting 5G in the wireless industry and the airlines — though he conceded both are regulated by the government.

Also: Biden: Cable Looks Like It‘s ’Going South‘

He said his role was to push as hard as he could for a delay in the 5G rollout that was requested by the airlines so they could “modernize.” Wireless carriers have said the airlines have already had a couple of years to do so.

But as to his administration not dealing with 5G, Biden has issued statements coinciding with the two voluntary rollout delays by Verizon and AT&T, as well as their decision to provide airport buffer zones, at least for the time being.

In the president’s January 18 statement, issued after the agreement on the buffer zones, the administration for all appearances seemed definitely to be dealing with the issue.

“My team has been engaging nonstop with the wireless carriers, airlines, and aviation equipment manufacturers to chart a path forward for 5G deployment and aviation to safely coexist,” he said, “and, at my direction, they will continue to do so until we close the remaining gap and reach a permanent, workable solution around these key airports.”

The president said “he gets” that anything that happens that is consequential is supposed to be government’s responsibility. ■

Broadcasters and cable operators have peppered the Federal Communications Commission with requests to add to the list of band-related equipment that they want protected from interference in the C-band spectrum repack, arguing waivers were warranted to make sure they could deliver uninterrupted programming to millions of viewers. 

They also argued there was “widespread confusion” about which co-located antennas had to be registered.

The FCC is moving incumbent earth station operators out of the lower 300 MHZ of the 500 MHZ spectrum band, or C-band, to auction it off for 5G wireless use. Cable operators and broadcast networks use the band to receive network programming and local programming from remote sites.

The FCC signaled it is not looking to boost broadcast or cable relocation expenses for the added antennas, saying one of the considerations in granting the waiver would be “whether grant of the waiver would require reimbursement of additional relocation expenses to the applicant.”

After NCTA: The Internet & Television Association and the National Association of Broadcasters jointly sought waivers to add colocated antennas to the list of covered earth stations, which it released by the International Bureau on Aug. 3, the FCC earlier this month agreed to provide “a limited opportunity to correct their filings and register additional existing antennas — colocated with existing registered antennas — for the limited purpose of obtaining interference protection on par with that accorded their registered antennas.”

Turns out there was plenty of pent-up demand to add to that list of protected antennas. Among those seeking new registrations were Comcast, The Walt Disney Co., NBC Telemundo, Capitol Broadcasting, AMC Networks and a bunch of public broadcasters. There were multiple requests within companies as well. Disney, for example, included antennas for ABC, ESPN and Disney Streaming Services, as well as for owned TV stations.

Mindful of the money issue, most waiver applications spelled out that they “disavowed any claim to reimbursement for the antennas for which a waiver is sought.”

The FCC said it thought waivers to make sure that nearby co-located antennas — within 150 meters — had sufficient interference protections were likely in the public interest, but that it was unlikely to add antennas to that list for any waivers filed beyond the deadline it set of Sept. 25. 

The C-band auction is scheduled to launch Dec. 8. 

Starting a new “accelerated relocation payments” process, Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai has proposed a C-band spectrum auction that would trigger up to $9.7 billion in payments to incumbent satellite operators that use the bandwidth, with initial payouts beginning by late next year. That sum is in the middle range of predicted amounts for reallocating and repacking the bandwidth to accommodate both new 5G wireless services and traditional satellite video delivery.

The auction will begin Dec. 8. In a speech, Pai predicted the plan would be greeted with challenges about whether the projected auction target revenue is too high or too low.

He was right about the challenges, although many of the groups involved in the looming proceeding are withholding official responses until the FCC adopts the proposal on Feb. 28.

Details About the Draft Rules

Pai's draft rules would make the lower 280 megahertz of the C-band (3.7 to 3.98 GHz) available for flexible use, including for 5G. The 20 MHz above that (3.98 to 4 GHz) would serve as a guard band. Existing satellite operations (delivering video programming to cable headends and broadcasters) would be repacked into the upper 200 MHz (4.0 to 4.2 GHz) of the band, with relocation costs covered by the auction and paid directly by winning bidders to the satellite carriers.

Satellite operators could receive accelerated relocation payments if they can clear the lower portion of the C-band on a speeded-up timeline, thus advancing the national priority of making spectrum available for 5G deployment more quickly.

In a Feb. 6 speech at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Pai said the payments "would create powerful incentives for incumbent operators to expedite the transition." His accelerated time frame calls for clearing the lower 100 MHz of the C-band in 46 of the nation’s top 50 "Partial Economic Areas" ( about 55% to 60% of U.S. households) by September 2021 and reclaiming the remaining spectrum by September 2023.

“Satellite companies don’t need the entire C-band to provide the same services they are providing today,” Pai said. “This creates an opportunity for a consumer-friendly transition."

He said the agency considered a private auction to sell off the spectrum, but concluded that “bidders would be less likely to participate in an untested private auction, one that was described in our record as 'fiendishly complex.’”

Pai said the goal is for funds to be transferred "quickly in order to free up spectrum for 5G sooner rather than later."

"This transition will be much faster if we can create powerful incentives for incumbent operators to expedite the transition,” he said. "And to make sure they follow through — they would only be paid the full amount if in fact they did so. That is why I favor targeted accelerated relocation payments.

“I don’t favor accelerated relocation payments because they are in the private interest of satellite companies,” Pai added. “I favor accelerated relocation payments because they are in the public interest.”

Predictable Responses About Fees

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who has opposed a big payout to satellite providers, characterized Pai's plan as “much too high,” referring to the “foreign satellite companies” that operate C-band services.

The plan also was quickly challeng e d by the Democratic chairs of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and its Communications and Technology Subcommittee. Committee chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and subcommittee chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), in a joint statement, insisted that the plan "only reiterates the need for legislation."

"The questionable legal basis for the satellite incentives will likely result in litigation, which will delay the deployment of 5G," they said. "Moreover, without Congressional action, this auction will not fund critical public safety infrastructure or bridge the digital divide."

They said they will "continue to work with our Republican colleagues to achieve that end.”

The C-Band Alliance, which includes satellite operators Intelsat, SES and Telesat, called Pai's comments "significant" but otherwise noncommit tally acknowledged that the "draft order reflects the tireless efforts of many over the past several years to ensure that this critical spectrum comes to market U.S."

Pai's Republican FCC colleagues, Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr, support his plan.

But Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel fretted that Pai's plan ignores congressional intent and is “putting the future of 5G service on shaky legal ground.” A spokesman for commissioner Geoffrey Starks said his office has just received the proposal and is "reviewing it closely."

On the cable front, ACA Connects said it would withhold comment until after it reviews the FCC's official proposed order. NCTA-The Internet & Television Association also had "no comment.”

By Gary Arlen

Initiating a new "accelerated relocation payments" process, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai previewed his proposal today for a C-Band spectrum auction that would trigger up to $9.7 billion to incumbent satellite operators who use that bandwidth, with initial payments beginning by late next year. Pai said the auction will start on December 8, 2020.

In a speech at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, Pai offered a preview of the proposed rulemaking, which he will unveil in full tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 7) in preparation for an FCC vote at the Commission's February 28 open meeting.

Pai's draft rules would make the lower 280 megahertz of the C-band (3.7-3.98 GHz) available for flexible use, including 5G. The 20 megahertz above that (3.98-4 GHz) would serve as a guard band. Existing satellite operations (primarily used to carry video programming to cable TV headends) would be repacked into the upper 200 megahertz of the band (4.0-4.2 GHz). band, with relocation costs covered by the auction proceeds, and paid directly by winning bidders to the satellite carriers.

Satellite operators could receive accelerated relocation payments if they are able to clear the lower portion of the C-band on an speeded-up timeline, Pai explained, thus advancing the national priority of making spectrum available for 5G deployment more quickly.

Pai said that these payments "would create powerful incentives for incumbent operators to expedite the transition." His accelerated timeframe calls for clearing the lower 100 MHz of the C-band in 46 of the nation’s top 50 Partial Economic Areas by September 2021 and reclaiming the remaining spectrum by September 2023.

WASHINGTON — Alaska-based cable and broadband provider General Communication Inc. (GCI) has said its home state should be excluded from the Federal Communications Commission’s planned repack of C-band spectrum.

GCI made that pitch in meetings with advisers to FCC chairman Ajit Pai and other commissioners. It told the FCC that Alaska’s harsh weather and unique topography, as well as federal land regulations, pose unique problems. The operator also faces demands for critical communications in remote areas, such as distance learning and telehealth, that require special regulatory treatment.

GCI wants the FCC to exclude Alaska from any reallocation of C-band spectrum now or in the future, to make it clear access to the full 500 MHz of spectrum remains for video distribution and to ensure satellite operators will maintain the “status quo” when it comes to delivery. Translation: No fiber transition.

GCI also wants the FCC to reimburse it and other Alaska earth station operators for any impact that reallocation in the Lower 48 might have on their operations.

After congratulating the New America think tank for running "the most unbalanced panel in the history of panels," C-Band Alliance lobbyist Preston Padden accused the American Cable Association of demanding a $200,000 per system payment to "go away" from the current FCC plan allowing private sale agreements for use of the C-band spectrum, especially for 5G wireless ventures.

Ross Lieberman, ACA's senior vice president of government affairs, dismissed Padden's charge.

"It's just a lie," Lieberman said. "You've never suggested any number. You weren't even in the room the last time we met. You said there was no harm. That was the end of the discussion. I have no idea what you're talking about."

The FCC is contemplating allowing wireless carriers to compensate incumbent satellite operators for giving up spectrum, as the C-Band Alliance has proposed, but ACA says cable ops should get a piece of that pie if that is the way the commission goes.

Charter Communications vice president of regulatory affairs Colleen King, another panelist at the Feb. 5 session, offered that, "We think the best way for us to get access to spectrum ... is through an FCC auction." She acknowledged that Charter "will continue to meet with you" because "we like 5G. We'll talk to everybody."

Veteran lobbyist and TV exec Padden is now executive VP, advocacy and government relations for the C-Band Alliance, a new association representing four European-based satellite carriers -- Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat and Telesat -- that control large swaths of the spectrum used to transmit network programming to cable headends and TV stations. Padden was the first to grab a microphone during the Q&A session after the panel presentation; he directed his comments to Lieberman.

"We have told you a hundred times that we'll cover all of your members' costs. We put it in writing," Padden said. "You came to see us and said you'd go away for $200,000 per cable system. "There's a word for that. It's 'shakedown,'" Padden said with a flourish.

His accusation triggered Lieberman's adamant reply.

In response to another question about a possible FCC auction, Lieberman added, "Parties involved in the process have made it incredibly difficult for the FCC to find a path forward. There has not been a coalescing of support for the private sale."

Incendiary Title But No Easy Solution

The New America program, provocatively titled "The Great Airwaves Robbery II," featured four speakers: Lieberman and King plus spokespersons for Google and Citizens Against Government Waste. All of them questioned the current FCC plan to reallocate the C-band spectrum in ways that could -- as New America's organizer put it -- send "$15 billion-40 billion" to the four companies that now control that spectrum.

Michael Calabrese, director of New America's Wireless Future Project and moderator of the panel session in Washington, explained that he put together the session because of growing attention to the underutilized C-Band (3700-4200 MHz), which is widely sought as a resource for emerging 5G wireless services. The FCC proposed last July to reallocate at least the bottom 200 MHz of C-Band for exclusive licensing to mobile carriers and others triggered a wave of criticism about who will benefit financially from the sale.

"The comment cycle is completed," Calabrese told Multichannel News. "Presumably an initial staff recommendation and Chairman’s input could occur soon [although] we don’t really expect an Order before May or June at the earliest."

"But now that they have a record, the Chairman will likely chart a course forward for the staff," he continued. "All the groups on stage (and others) are also encouraging Congress to get interested. ... That has been the case in parallel situations in the past when this much revenue is at stake."

During the panel discussion, Thomas Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, insisted that the carriage license "is not a property right" and that funds from any sale "belong to taxpayers, not broadcasters." He urged that, "Congress must decide where proceeds should go."

In his opening remarks, Lieberman opined that the situation requires FCC action soon to achieve "full optimization of capacity." He warned that the C-Band Alliance members "will act as if they are monopolists" if they control and benefit solely from the spectrum sale.

"Their only restraint is that they [could] drive prices so high that programmers go to terrestrial," that is to non-satellite distribution, Lieberman said. He noted, however, that high-capacity internet distribution is not currently an option to many rural and small-town cable headends, ACA's member base.

Charter's King concurred that the FCC should make a decision about spectrum sale. "Not the private satellite companies," she said. "The FCC should focus on the easiest, quickest way" to resolve the reallocation.

But Lieberman's last word was that, "It will take a lot longer than anyone expects."

The satellite operators providing the majority of C-band satellite services to U.S. customers have banded together to create the C-Band Alliance, which will advocate for their proposal to clear portions of the band for 5G wireless while pledging to protect the broadcasters, cable operators and others who currently use the band.

The C-band is currently used for satellite delivery of cable and broadcast network programming to TV and radio stations and cable head-ends. The FCC wants to open it up to wireless broadband to help close the digital divide and promote 5G, both prime directives for the commission.

Related: NAB Says C-Band Sharing Isn't a Given

The FCC voted unanimously in July to find ways to open up the C-band spectrum (3.7-4.2 GHz) for terrestrial wireless use, either all of the 500 MHz or some portion of it, and through either an incentive or capacity auction, a market mechanism where incumbents voluntarily strike deals to reduce their footprint--the alliance's proposal--or some other means. 

Related: FCC Opens Door to C-Band Sharing, Auction

The alliance, which comprises Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat and Telesat--says it will strike secondary market deals for the spectrum within three years of an FCC decision.

It argues that secondary market transactions are the only way to repurpose the spectrum. "An FCC auction of mid-band spectrum could not take place until 2021-2022 or later. Litigation with current satellite operators could push that date much further into the future. By that time, the United States would be a small object in China’s 5G rear view mirror."

It also says they are in the best position to protect incumbents.

"Only the proposal of the C-band carriers begins with the question 'How much spectrum do we need to retain to serve our customers and their consumers?,' it says. "Every other proposal puts at risk C-band service to existing cable, broadcast and programmer customers and their more than 100 Million U.S. television households and radio listeners."

Related: Broadcast, Cable Tell FCC C-Band Needs More Study

Broadcast and cable trade associations have cautioned the FCC to slow down a bit and consider the impact of sharing the band on what is essentially the distribution backbone for their respective video services. Both want the FCC to consider whether the band can be shared at all given the potential for interference, particularly if the FCC wants dynamic sharing. 

The National Association of Broadcasters declined comment.

Bill Tolpegin, who is CEO of independent TV operator OTA Broadcasting, will be CEO of the C-Band Alliance and former Fox and Disney top exec Preston Padden will advocate for the consortium in Washington. Padden was also head of an alliance of independent stations that sought to give up spectrum in the broadcast incentive auction.

“The 3.7 to 4.2 GHz band, or C-band downlink, is a key component to having a solid U.S. mid-band spectrum play for 5G services," said FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly. "This announcement appears to be a great step to quickly and orderly reallocate the spectrum to commercial wireless use.  It also further establishes the private market option as the lead proposal to do so.  I am impressed and pleased to learn the new alliance will be run by an experienced hand, Preston Padden, who knows how to get projects completed.”

CTIA's annual wireless survey found significant growth in data use, cell sites and data-only devices as the industry prepares to transition to 5G and continues to search for spectrum to meet consumer demand.

The survey found that Americans used a record 15.7 trillion megabytes of mobile data in 2017, almost four times the traffic in 2014 and 40 times the volume in 2010.

Or as CTIA put it, that record data usage is the equivalent of "nearly 250 million people simultaneously binge-watching every episode of Game of Thrones in HD." Not to mention, though CTIA did, 2.2 trillion voice minutes and 1.5 trillion texts.

Related: CTIA Wants FCC to Designate July Midband Month

Other big numbers were the 323,448 cell sites in operation at the end of 2017, up more than 50% in the last decade; the $25.6 billion in capital expenditures by wireless providers; and the 400 million mobile devices in service (or 1.2 for every American).

CTIA put in a plug for modernized rules that allow for that big spectrum pipe.

“This year’s report shows that wireless is on the cusp of a transformation to tomorrow’s 5G networks and the Internet of Things, underscoring the need for continued efforts to modernize infrastructure rules and create a spectrum pipeline that ensures continued U.S. wireless leadership in the global race to 5G," said CTIA president Meredith Attwell Baker.

That call comes as the FCC is preparing this week to propose opening up more spectrum -- the C-band used for broadcast and cable network delivery -- for wireless broadband, one of many such efforts to expand the pipeline.

Remember those huge 10-foot dishes that popularized home (mostly rural) satellite TV reception?

When the Federal Communications Commission launches its Notice of Inquiry on Wednesday (Aug. 2) into the fate of the mid-band spectrum, it will unleash arguments about the role that C-band technology -- the airwaves used for the decades-old satellite video signals -- plays in rural connectivity and other "opportunities for next-generation...wireless broadband" services.

"Under-utilized" is the term that has popped up most frequently in the ramp-up to the forthcoming proceeding. In fact, the FCC's August meeting agenda, which includes the C-band issue, comes just prior to the deadline for comments on a petition, filed in June, from the Broadband Access Coalition which seeks to "modernize" rules that would enable the use of the 3700 to 4200 MHz (3.7 to 4.2 GHz) band for licensed Point-to-Multipoint Fixed wireless broadband service.

The petition, filed by the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, the Open Technology Institute at New America (formerly New America Foundation) and Mimosa Networks Inc., contended that new rules can protect incumbent fixed satellite service (FSS) operations while allowing other fixed broadband providers to provide "near-gigabit broadband in rural and underserved areas, fill urban connectivity gaps, and promote competition among ISPs in suburban and other areas as well."

In its advance notice about the propose NoI, the FCC said it recognizes the "growing need for additional spectrum for flexible wireless use" and that the new examination "bridges the gap" between previous actions involving low-frequency and high-frequency bands.

The agency said it intends to determine "whether spectrum in this range can be made available for wireless broadband use and will explore various options for doing so." The FCC examination will include a review of "potential opportunities in the mid-range bands allocated for exclusive non-federal use and for shared federal and nonfederal use."

The FCC said it "will work closely with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to evaluate the potential operational impacts, costs, benefits, and resource considerations associated with any new or expanded non-federal use of shared allocations."

According to the FCC's advance notification, the NoI will seek detailed information about three mid-range bands: 3.7-4.2 GHz; 5.925-6.425 GHz; and 6.425-7.125 GHz "that have already garnered interest from stakeholders—both domestically and internationally—for expanded flexible use." It will also seek comments on other "suitable" flexible use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, and look for "long-term strategies that would enhance efficiency and promote flexible use" while protecting existing non-federal services.

Preparing for a Fight
The petition to "modernize" midband uses is expected to face "opposition (or at least great skepticism) from FSS and mobile/cellular" organizations, Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Project at New America (formerly New America Foundation), told Multichannel News. He said that those companies want the 3.7 GHz band to be auctioned for exclusive mobile licensing, although others contend that mobile carriers have lost their appetite (and wallets) for buying spectrum.

The newly formed Broadband Access Coalition, which filed the petition, consists of about two dozen organizations, including equipment makers, wireless Internet Service Providers and advocacy groups (such Public Knowledge and the Consumer Federation of America). In its petition, the Coalition pointed out that last year there were only 10 new registrations and licenses issued in the C-band, and only a few dozen each year for the previous two years. That is down from 900 to 1,000 per year in the early 1990s, when C-band dishes where sprouting like mushrooms across rural areas.

The FCC's new proposed spectrum inquiry also comes on the heels of the recent Microsoft proposal to use broadcast white spaces spectrum (in the 600 MHz band) for rural connectivity. Although that plan seeks to serve a similar rural audience initially, the capabilities of the lower and mid-band spectrum segments are significantly different, according to technology analysts.

A seminar last week in Washington organized by the Open Technology Institute at New America focused on "shared spectrum as a fiber extension," with special attention to rural applications. New America characterized its program as focusing on "the feasibility of sharing the FSS band and [showing] how wireless fiber can immediately enable more affordable high-speed connections to homes, small businesses, libraries and other institutions."

Andrew Clegg, spectrum engineer lead at Google, said that the 3.7-4.2 GHz spectrum "can be used more intensively," pointing out that it has more bandwidth than the combined range of 600 MHz, 700MHz, AWS and other frequencies that the FCC has recently auctioned. He said it is "possible to get limited use for mobile in the band," acknowledging that, "As the band evolves, there will be more opportunity for mobile services."

Repeating the mantra of the seminar, Kalpak Gude, president of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance and a former satellite video executive, said, "The ways that satellites now use C-band leaves spectrum underutilized." He said that the ways "we make spectrum more available" is the major question, noting that he doesn't believe "clearing and auctions" are the best options.

"We need a better understanding of the actual use" and in the longer term "a dynamic approach will drive more utilization," Gude said. "Technology is already available."

As for the looming fight with mobile carriers who see uses for this spectrum, Gude said it will be "a battle to delay the inevitable." He expects that eventual regulation will "protect incumbent" FSS providers but not grandfather all users.

"Sharing is the wave of the future," Gude said. "It benefits all side of the equation."

And as a reminder of Google's all-knowing role in the telecom ecosystem, Clegg also explained how his company is using its tools for finding out just about anything, including where those old C-band satellite dishes are located. He described how the company has used its Google Earth geomapping technology in connection with its review of satellite dish construction permits.

"Twenty-nine percent of the sites were never built of have been removed," Clegg said. "We can tell from imaging (if) dishes are there," but he has no way of knowing if they are unused or just rusting away.

He reminded seminar attendees that Google and others have "very detailed information" about buildings, foliage and other features that will affect the propagation of signals in the soon-to-be-contested spectrum.

Photo by VisionsofAmerica/Joe Sohm/Getty Images

This blog was updated on Aug. 2 to fix the reference to 10-foot diameter satellite dishes.