CTIA asks Federal Communications Commission to take action in July on finalizing CBRS rules, repurposing additional mid-band spectrum
CTIA is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to take action in July to open up more mid-band spectrum, through finalizing the rules for the use of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum at 3.5 GHz and setting a 2019 auction date for CBRS licenses, and to fast-track its efforts to re-purpose spectrum at 3.7-4.2 GHz.
In a blog entry written by Scott Bergmann, CTIA’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs, wrote that it’s been more than five years since the FCC first proposed making use of 150 megahertz of spectrum at 3.5 GHz for commercial wireless services, and that it’s time to move forward.
In an ex parte filing on the same topic, CTIA asked the FCC “to address the United States’ international deficit with respect to mid-band spectrum availability.”
Over the course of CBRS’ journey toward commercialization, the FCC developed a three-tiered, shared-spectrum framework for CBRS and ecosystem development is well underway. Recent developments include the launch of the OnGo brand for CBRS and an OnGo certification program and tests by Verizon in its live network in Florida. Devices are expected to begin emerging by the end of this year, but some regulatory loose ends remain. The biggest issue yet to be resolved is the terms under which the Priority Access Licenses — the middle tier of the three-tier framework, with priority over General Authorized Access users but less priority than incumbents such as naval radar systems — will be auctioned.
“We’re pretty much down to one issue,” FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly told an audience at the recent ConnectX event in Charlotte, N.C. “It’s really the geographic licensing size. It’s something that we’re working really hard to finalize.”
Bergmann called on the FCC to make CBRS “investment-friendly” — which in the case of mobile network operators, means a desire for larger license sizes and longer license terms. Originally, the FCC had proposed licenses that were the size of census tracts, of which there are about 70,400 in the U.S.; however, mobile carriers have pushed the conversation toward license sizes built around the 440 partial economic areas (PEAs) that make up the U.S.
“As the FCC puts the finishing touches on the rules for the 3.5 GHz band, the agency should keep in mind the capital investment at stake,” Bergmann wrote. “Adopting investment-friendly rules—longer license terms, larger geographic area licenses, and an expectation that licenses will be renewed—for the licensed spectrum in the band will be critical to making the most out of this 5G-ready spectrum.”
There won’t be just one Priority Access License auctioned in each area. Seven PAL slots that will receive — as the name suggests — priority access to the spectrum. Multiple PAL blocks of 10 MHz each can also be aggregated, up to 40 MHz of spectrum. Most speakers at a CBRS workshop at ConnectX said that they expect that the FCC will come to some kind of compromise with a combination of larger and smaller license areas, but they anticipate that license terms (currently three years with one three-year extension) will be extended — most likely to 10 years with more options to renew them.
“Acting on the 3.5 GHz band is the next important piece of our shared work together to ensure the U.S. continues its wireless leadership,” Bergmann concluded.
In terms of 3.7-4.2 GHz, CTIA praised the FCC in its ex parte filing for “announcing its intent to take the next steps to repurpose the 3.7-4.2 GHz band in July.
“This band is the largest mid-band spectrum band available for future mobile broadband use and should be a clear Commission priority as it is for regulators around the globe,” CTIA added, urging the commission to “maximize the amount of spectrum available for mobile broadband and set aggressive target goals in the hundreds of megahertz,” take comments on procedures to transition incumbents in those bands and to “set an aggressive timeline for a final decision and push stakeholders to work collaboratively on how best to accommodate incumbent satellite and video interests.”
