WASHINGTON–Wireless industry trade association CTIA asked the Federal Communications Commission to delay the comment cycle for its re-examination of the service and licensing rules for the 700 MHz spectrum band because the auction for advanced wireless services is still ongoing.
“The timing of the notice of proposed rulemaking and the AWS auction creates a unique confluence of events that may warrant a limited extension. The AWS auction remains ongoing and parties that applied to participate in the auction remain subject to the anti-collusion rule until the down-payment deadline, which falls 10 business days after release of the public notice announcing the close of the auction–thus their participation in the instant rulemaking could be inhibited until the rule is no longer in effect. Even if the AWS auction were to conclude today and the FCC were to immediately issue the public notice the anti-collusion rule would (absent a waiver of the rule) still be in effect until after the comment deadline. More broadly, all interested parties should have an opportunity to review and analyze the outcome of the AWS auction as they consider whether the commission should revise the service rules government spectrum in the 700 MHz band,” said Paul Garnett, CTIA assistant vice president of regulatory affairs, in a filing dated Sept. 8.
CTIA wants the FCC to change the comment date?currently scheduled for Sept. 20?to 14 days after the AWS auction’s down-payment deadline.
The FCC is re-examining the service and licensing rules for the 700 MHz spectrum it plans to auction in 2008, and will consider changing how the spectrum is divvied up as well as when the spectrum licenses will expire.
The 700 MHz spectrum is being returned as part of the digital TV transition.
Under the DTV Act, the commission must begin auctioning licenses by Jan. 28, 2008. However, the licenses that it will auction are currently set to expire in 2015–giving auction winners only a handful of years to operate their services. Thus, the FCC is opening up the expiration date to comment from industry. Most spectrum licenses last for 10 to15 years.
Aside from the expiration date, the FCC is also collecting comments on how to auction the spectrum. The FCC is seeking “comment on the possibility of modifying the size of the geographic service areas and spectrum blocks, and on revising the performance requirements,” said the commission. The agency is “also seeking comment on several issues related to both auctioned and unauctioned spectrum, including modifying the rules related to license renewal, license terms and power limits.”
Specifically, the FCC is considering whether to change the licenses to align with cellular geographic marketing areas or to configure the licenses into smaller geographic areas. The current rules call for the spectrum to be auctioned in six regional blocks based on economic area groups.
Some are asking for the spectrum to be auctioned in smaller license sizes.
In reworking the rules for the 700 MHz auction, the FCC will also consider whether it should reclaim spectrum not being used?especially if someone has indicated a desire to offer service with that spectrum.
It is these issues that CTIA finds troublesome, noting that many of them will be influenced by the results of the AWS auction.
The FCC “seeks comment on particular issues that are directly affected by the AWS auction. For example, the commission seeks comment on whether to modify service-area sizes and generally `asks commenters to consider such factors as the amount of spectrum that will have been assigned over CMAs by the conclusion of the AWS auction this year and assess how much additional spectrum over small areas may (or may not) be needed’ from 700 MHz spectrum. The FCC further asks whether to alter the size of spectrum blocks in the 700 MHz band. In doing so, the commission seeks input in light of `evolving needs and market demands,’ issues that will be influenced by the outcome of the AWS auction. Until the AWS auction is complete and interested parties have an opportunity to review and analyze new spectrum licensees and their respective markets, the record of this proceeding may at best be incomplete and at worst speculative,” said CTIA’s Garnett.
