FCC Nominations
Sen. Ted Cruz blocked Senate approval by unanimous consent of the nominations of Tom Wheelerand Mike O’Rielly as, respectively, FCC Chairman and Commissioner. Cruz previously had stated that he would “hold” Wheeler’s nomination unless he is satisfied with Wheeler’s views as to whether the FCC has the “authority or intent to implement the requirements of the failed Congressional DISCLOSE Act.” When this issue will be resolved and the nominees approved and seated at the FCC is unknown.
Category: In the newsFCC Again Extends 800 MHz Application Freeze
The Commission announced in a Public Notice that it has once again extended the 800 MHz application filing freeze for Canadian Border Regions 21, 33, 43, and 55. The freeze is intended to preserve vacant 800 MHz channels for licensees that still are retuning their systems.
Category: In the newsNo Change to October 29 Sprint Vacated Spectrum Filing Date
The FCC confirmed that the October 29th filing window for additional “Sprint Vacated Spectrum” in the 809-815/854-860 MHz band (Channels 231-470) will not be extended as a result of the government shutdown. However, the October 29th date reflects an “opening” of the filing window rather than a filing deadline. EWA understands that the Commission plans to issue a revised Public Notice making this clarification.
Category: In the newsLMCC Board Reviewing 800 MHz MOA
The LMCC Board of Directors is reviewing an updated version of a proposed Memorandum of Agreement that will introduce frequency coordination processes designed to address and resolve mutually exclusive applications in the 800 MHz Expansion and Guard bands. Consensus approval for these processes from participating frequency advisory committees will be necessary prior to implementation.
Category: EWA On Your SideCreate Federal Use Database to Support Monitoring
EWA filed comments in response to NTIA’s Notice of Inquiry seeking information regarding a proposed 10-market monitoring study intended to identify Federal government spectrum that might be available for shared use by non-Federal entities. EWA noted that FCC efforts to rely on monitoring for purposes of identifying usable spectrum have proven less than effective over the years. EWA suggested that the first step toward this objective would be to create a reliable database of Federal government spectrum utilization against which any monitoring data could be compared. In other comments, Microsoft was optimistic but T-Mobile was less than enthusiastic about the potential benefits of a monitoring program designed to facilitate wireless carrier use of Federal spectrum on a shared basis. Of note, neither Verizon nor AT&T participated in this opportunity to file comments.
Category: EWA On Your Side