WASHINGTON—The details for how interested parties can apply and participate in the C-band spectrum auction have been finalized by the FCC.

The FCC, during its August open meeting, finalized the application and bidding procedures for the auction of the lower 280 MHz of the C-band spectrum for 5G and other advanced wireless services. As a result of this, the spectrum’s current occupants, which include satellite operators, are being relocated to the upper 200 MHz of the mid-band spectrum.

The C-band auction will offer 5,684 new flexible-use overlay licenses based on Partial Economic Areas (PEAs) for the spectrum in the 3.7-3.98 GHz band.

This public notice establishes:

• Bidding procedures for the clock and assignment phases of the auction, including two clock phase categories of generic blocks in the 46 PEAs where certain blocks are subject to the first early clearing deadline of December 2021; 
• An assignment phase in which winning bidders for blocks subject to the first early clearing timeline will be assigned both interim and final contiguous frequency-specific license agreements; and 
• Upfront payment and minimum opening bid amounts for bidding on the licenses as well as bidding credit caps for rural service providers and small businesses, including a cap on the overall amount of bidding credits a small business bidder may apply to winning licenses in smaller markets.

With these procedures set, as well as the FCC releasing its official Cost Catalog, the C-band auction is set to proceed with its scheduled starting date, Dec. 8.

"The C-band auction is a massive undertaking, offering up to 5,684 new flexible-use overlay licenses for 5G. And this Public Notice brings us one step closer to launching this auction on December 8," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "It establishes clock phase categories for each Partial Economic Area, which will be determined based on whether incumbent earth stations in a PEA are subject to a Phase I or Phase II relocation deadline.  It establishes clock and assignment phase procedures.  It establishes upfront payment and minimum opening bid amounts for the new flexible-use overlay licenses.  And it sets auction deadlines, as well as bidding credit caps for small businesses and rural service providers."

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted against these procedures, gave the following statement:

"For the first time the value of spectrum assigned in a Federal Communications Commission auction will not be determined by an efficient and effective market. Instead, bids in this auction will be distorted by a nearly $10 billion payment to incumbent satellite operators that was negotiated outside the light of day. Whatever hazy deal this agency cut with existing licensees is hard to square with our clear statutory duty to deposit auction proceeds in the United States Treasury. Moreover, this mandatory payment set by the agency falls outside of the traditional Emerging Technologies Framework, which permits voluntary, market-based transactions to repurpose spectrum for new uses. That means the public foots this $10 billion bill without the traditional tools of accountability that our auctions have relied on in the past. 

"We should have worked with Congress on a more transparent path. By doing so, we could have cleared up these ambiguities. Not just for this auction but for spectrum efforts in the future." 

For more information on the procedures surrounding the C-band auction, visit the FCC’s summary page. 

WASHINGTON—Seeing the handwriting on the wall, the C-Band Alliance reworked plans for splitting the coveted mid-band spectrum by offering 300 MHz of bandwidth to the cellular industry for 5G expansion into U.S. markets.

Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, a new bill was introduced late last week that would force the FCC to conduct a public C-band auction in the major markets, with profits earmarked for rural broadband expansion, and not satellite operators.

The proposed bill muddies the waters, since the C-Band Alliance was feeling fairly confident that, by reorganizing the mid-band spectrum one more time, they could deliver a solution that works for satellite operators and broadband.

Previously the CBA had offered 200 MHz to 5G, but the FCC has made it well known that more spectrum for 5G was required. The increase includes a 20 MHz guard band, leaving 5G with 280 MHz of usable space.

HOW WOULD THE PROPOSED CBA SPLIT WORK?

I know what you’re thinking: How can a mere 200 MHz for C-band’s incumbent users now be adequate, when earlier this year CBA’s “line in the sand” was 200 MHz for 5G/300 MHz for C-band users? According to the CBA, it’s a perfect storm scenario which includes:

• Migrating more non-CONUS clients to lower frequencies;
• A number of customers choosing not to renew their space segment contracts (the CBA noted the natural migration of customers to SD multiplexes, terrestrial, etc.);
• Efficiency gains at the uplink level via encoders and modulators.

WHY CONGRESS AND WHY NOW?

Don’t doubt for a second that broadband (and their lobbyists) have been quite active on Capitol Hill.

This being said, at least a few members are concerned that their “vision” of a 5G America may be stymied by the FCC. In a joint statement, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), Energy & Commerce Committee chairman, and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), chairman of the Communications & Technology Subcommittee, stated they believe legislation may be the only way to “reduce uncertainty and benefit Americans.’’

In a nutshell, the Clearing Broad Airwaves for New Deployment (C-BAND) Act:

• Requires the FCC to hold a public auction of C-band spectrum;
• Allow for no less than 200 megahertz and no more than 300 megahertz of C-band spectrum [with 20 MHz set aside for guard bands];
• Ensures that incumbent C-band users will be protected by mandating that they get as good or better service than before.

Of course, this eleventh hour grandstanding is concerning to satellite operators. If this bill passes, who picks up the tab for the new filters, repoints and—in some cases—antennas that broadcasters will need to operate with 5G sharing the spectrum? Who will finance the launch of several new satellites?

All of these expenses would be covered under the C-Band Alliance proposal, but are not even addressed by the proposed bill.

DUSTING OFF THE CRYSTAL BALL

Will the FCC accept the CBA proposal? We’d like to answer with a definitive “yes,” but with legislation pending, who really knows?

But what we do know is that the clock is ticking. The mid-band issue has been in limbo for two years, and both C-band operators and 5G advocates are hoping for a decision, and soon. If the bill fails to pass, all indications point to the FCC making their decision in December.

We believe the CBA will be a part of the transition in some fashion, since the alliance has been very vocal in their intent to implement the safe and efficient clearing and repurposing of C-band spectrum. It only makes sense that you should have the owner/operators of the orbital antennas involved, right?

Let’s hope the FCC commissioners agree.

WASHINGTON—The C-Band Alliance has shared its idea for paving the way for 5G, providing the FCC with a plan that would free 300 MHz of C-band spectrum. However, the proposal is being criticized by ACA Connects as potentially burdensome and insufficient.

C-band spectrum is used by broadcast and satellite operators to help deliver network programming. That spectrum is being proposed as a way to assist with 5G wireless deployment, and the FCC is currently determining the most effective plan to do so.

This most recent proposal from the CBA, which was issued on the eve of a C-band hearing by Congress, commits to clearing 300 MHz of spectrum, including a 20 MHz guard band that would protect existing satellite services from 5G interference. In previous plans, CBA had proposed clearing 200 MHz for 5G. There is 500 MHz in total available as part of the C-band spectrum.

Also as part of the plan, CBA said that it would make 100 MHz available in the top 46 metropolitan areas within 18 months of the official FCC order and 280 MHz available all across the country within 36 months. The spectrum would be made available through a CBA-led private auction.

“The CBA remains committed to ensuring that existing customers continue to enjoy the quality of service they experience now, with no interference from 5G services deployed in the future,” reads the CBA’s press release detailing the proposal. “The CBA member companies will maintain continuity of all current C-band customer services and maintain the value of the continental U.S. C-band video distribution neighborhoods.”

ACA Connects, a trade organization representing smaller and medium-size providers of broadband, quickly came out against the CBA’s proposal.

“At the eleventh hour and fifty-ninth minute, CBS has finally come forward with the rough outlines of a proposal to clear 300 MHz of the C-band,” said ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. “It’s three-page submission affirms that CBA would rely on the use of video compression to cram all satellite operations into a mere 200 MHz.

“This would saddle rural operators and their customers with higher prices to use a less reliable C-band that is more prone to interference and is unable to meet future demand for high-definition video.”

ACA Connects’ own plan does consist of freeing up 300 MHz, but to do so by transitioning satellite delivery to fiber and repurposing the spectrum through an FCC-led auction. An auction would put money back into the U.S. Treasury to help fund things like rural broadband deployment.

“At any rate, the skeletal outline that CBA has provided is far from a sufficient basis for FCC action to reallocate a multibillion dollar spectrum asset,” Polka added. “Nor does the filing remedy core defects of the CBS plan, including the proposed reliance on an untested, legally unsound private sale of licensed spectrum.”

Polka also said that the proposal is too late to be incorporated into the FCC’s rules by the end of year.

PARIS—Eutelsat, one of four satellite firms that make up the C-Band Alliance announced today that it is withdrawing from the organization. The C-Band Alliance, which includes remaining members Intelsat, Telesat and SES, advocate a private auction of C-band spectrum for 5G.

The company did not state why it was resigning, only saying that it wished to “take a direct active part in the discussions on C-band clearing and repurposing.”

The remaining members said Eutelsat’s departure won’t change a thing.

“The CBA remains committed to delivering its expeditious, market-based proposal and the departure of Eutelsat does not impact the CBA’s ability to do so,” CBA said in a statement. “The remaining members of the CBA, which represent approximately 95% of the affected revenues of the U.S. C-band market, are aligned and committed to the process of engaging with the FCC on the proposal of rapidly clearing C-band spectrum to support the deployment of 5G services in the U.S.”

WASHINGTON—Preston Padden, head of advocacy for the C-Band Alliance, which advocates for marketplace deals to repurpose C-Band spectrum, has exited the organization as of today (March 5).

"Since mid-September I have been in D.C. full time working for the C-Band Alliance - 1661 miles from my home and family in Colorado," he said in an email. "Because my family and I simply cannot maintain that schedule anymore, and because my position requires a full-time presence in D.C., I have decided to step down from my position as Head of Advocacy and Government Relations for the CBA effective today.

But Padden will still be keeping his hand in. He said he will work with his successor on a C-Band transition plan that will "silence our critics," and consult with CBA from his home base in Colorado.

"The CBA plan is the only practical and workable plan to fulfill the twin public interest objectives of repurposing spectrum for 5G wireless while fully protecting existing C-band customers including TV programmers," said Padden. "Because of the National urgency to get mid-band spectrum to U.S. wireless providers there is no doubt that the CBA plan, or something extremely close to it, will be adopted."

Charter has called the C-Band plan a case of backroom deals and windfall profits for CBA members.

The FCC in July voted unanimously 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, or some other means.

The C-band is currently used for satellite delivery of cable and broadcast network programming to TV and radio stations, satellite radio services, 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.

The new 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 re-purpose 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."

Padden is the former president of the Association of Independent Television Stations; president, network distribution, for Fox Broadcasting; chairman and CEO, American Sky Broadcasting; president, the ABC Television Network; and EVP, government relations, The Walt Disney Company. He was also executive director of the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition of stations looking to sell spectrum in the 2016 FCC incentive auction.

"Preston's leadership, prudence and pragmatism will be missed," said Adonis Hoffman, chairman of Business in the Public Interest. "His experience and commitment in creating a workable solution on spectrum allocation has been invaluable."

Sounding like broadcasters almost a decade ago facing the incentive auction and repack, cable operators are calling on the FCC to make sure incumbent services are protected in the commission's effort to open up more spectrum for wireless broadband.

That came in reply comments due this week on the FCC's proposal to open up the C-band (3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band) satellite spectrum for terrestrial 5G, one of many such spectrum band-opening efforts the FCC is undertaking in the race with China to be first with 5G.The FCC voted unanimously back in July to find ways to open up the C-band spectrum (3.7-4.2 Ghz) — either all of the proposed 500 Mhz or some portion of it — for terrestrial wireless use.

Those ways could include an incentive or capacity auction, a market mechanism where incumbents voluntarily strike deals to reduce their footprint, or some other means.

The C-band is currently used for satellite delivery of cable and broadcast network programming to cable head-ends, TVs and radio stations. The FCC wants to open it up to wireless broadband to help close the digital divide and promote 5G, both prime directives, so cable operators and broadcasters are on the same page when it comes to ensuring they are protected in the rush to 5G.

In its comments on the FCC's plan, NCTA said it needs to get more data about how those incumbent services are protected before it makes any final decision about modifying the band because it could "significantly disrupt the television content distribution ecosystem to the detriment of more than 100 million U.S. television households."

NCTA is particularly concerned about a proposal from the C-Band Alliance, comprising fixed satellite service operators who say their market-based proposal to negotiate secondary-market agreements for up to 200 MHz of C-band spectrum is the win-win solution the FCC is looking for.

NCTA sees it quite differently. “CBA’s incentives are to maximize their own profits, rather than to ensure that the amount of spectrum repurposed for terrestrial mobile use is socially efficient or to ensure robust protections for C-band customers and earth station operators," it told the commission. "Furthermore, those incentives may not align with policies designed to encourage competitive entry in either the marketplace for C-band satellite services or the marketplace for mobile broadband spectrum. The Commission should be wary of adopting an approach in this proceeding that could limit competition for spectrum in any portion of the C-band reallocated for flexible use. The unsupported assurances that the CBA proffers in its comments do little to allay these concerns.”

Whatever else the FCC does, says NCTA, it should do the following:

1. "The Commission should ensure there is no adverse impact on or disruption to any of today’s existing C-band services and that such services have room for growth, technological evolution, and requisite back-up capacity;

2. "Technical rules, validated by appropriate studies and testing, must fully protect earth station operators from harmful interference that could result from new adjacent mobile services and any new in-band fixed point-to-multipoint (P2MP) services;

3. "Earth station operators must be made whole for the costs that they incur in any transition to accommodate new services; and

4. "The Commission should retain its full-band, full-arc policy to accommodate the operational needs of 3.7-4.2 GHz earth station operators, including the flexibility to re-point antennas and change frequencies, sometimes on short notice."