The Federal Communications Commission’s planned 600 MHz incentive auction has been tipped as the template for all future spectrum auctions, especially those that are to include spectrum already occupied by users. That template includes the promise of financial compensation for those entities that agree to give up those assets, both in terms of a strict cash payment or in terms of funding needed to assist in relocating users in the case of federal entities.
Emphasizing that notion were comments made this week by FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who, speaking at a mobile industry event, laid out five predictions for the future of the industry, with the first noting that clearing additional federal spectrum “will be slow going unless we provide federal authorities with incentives to relocate.”
“We need to develop a federal spectrum policy that is built on carrots, not sticks,” Rosenworcel noted. “Across government, we need to consider incentives for more efficient use of federal spectrum. These incentives should be combined with adjustments to existing laws such as the Miscellaneous Receipts Act to streamline our efforts. Minor tweaks to laws like this could speed transition to commercial use by providing updated spectrum for equipment.”
Rosenworcel also said the FCC needed to look at all possibilities when it comes to freeing up new spectrum resources for the wireless telecommunications space, including looking outside the current range between 600 MHz and 3 GHz; that there needs to be a greater focus on making more efficient use of current spectrum assets; that Wi-Fi will become a greater component of commercial wireless services; and that the government needed to do more to entice youth into taking up careers in engineering.
—Earlier this year, the FCC considered abolishing the decade’s old practice of net neutrality and enacting regulation under Title II, which would allow Internet access to be regulated as if it were a regular utility. Internet providers such as Comcast and Time Warner have supported this proposal, as it could greatly enhance providers’ revenues allowing cable companies to charge Internet providers and consumers a fee to use Internet “fast lanes.” Across the board, this proposal has only provoked hostility from the general public.
The public comment period for the FCC’s proposed changes to net neutrality is officially over, but the comments continue to pour in. The FCC has received an estimated 3.7 million comments through its website, surpassing the previous record of 1.4 million comments regarding Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl 2004 wardrobe malfunction.
Of the comments received, less than 1% favored doing away with net neutrality in favor of a more regulated Internet, while the remaining 99% where against any changes to net neutrality.
In addition to the backlash from its own public comment site, the FCC and Chairman Tom Wheeler have been subjected to more creative forms of criticism. Comedian John Oliver, who hosts HBO’s comedy show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” delivered a personal call to all Internet “trolls” to contribute to the FCC public comment page. The government’s site crashed shortly after Oliver’s address. Furthermore, popularresitance.org has set up a video billboard opposite the FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C., to play a steady stream of slogans condemning the proposed changes to net neutrality.
In addition to criticism from Internet freedom groups and late night comedians, the FCC has faced backlash from Internet firms and lawmakers. Netflix, Mozilla and Vimeo earlier this month launched a protest by deliberately slowing down their service to protest the proposed Internet fast lanes, which Internet providers would be allowed to enact if the FCC opted to nix net neutrality.
On Capitol Hill, regulating Internet service under Title II as if it were a phone line has found little support with both Republicans and Democrats delivering harsh statements against changing net neutrality. While Title II’s most prominent supporter, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was mute on the subject, Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) summed up the general mood toward net neutrality stating “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
—AT&T has asked that the FCC move cautiously in rulemaking around the 600 MHz incentive auction plans, specifically those plans linked to allowing the use of unlicensed devices in spectrum bands adjacent to licensed plans expected to be put up for bid.
In a post on AT&T’s Public Policy Blog, VP of federal regulatory Joan Marsh, asked that the FCC look carefully at allowing the use of unlicensed devices in the “duplex gap” that separates licensed spectrum licenses. The FCC has said it was confident that with the right rules, devices would be able to use this unlicensed spectrum without causing interference with nearby licensed spectrum.
“But I must be honest; we do not, at this time, share the commission’s confidence that unlicensed devices in the duplex gap in the configuration and at the power levels identified in the order can operate without creating interference to the adjacent licensed allocations,” Marsh explained. “Indeed, at least one technical analysis has concluded that a 600 MHz LTE device would be unable to properly receive if it was within 20 meters of an adjacent unlicensed device operating at 40 mWs.”
In rolling out initial rules for the 600 MHz spectrum auction, the FCC noted that up to 28 megahertz of spectrum in guard bands could be used for unlicensed use. The 600 MHz spectrum auction is currently scheduled to begin in mid-2015.
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