Enterprise Wireless Insider, Volume 14, Issue 2

Reducing Application Return Notices

The Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA) and other business/industrial land transportation (B/ILT) frequency coordinators  (FACs) met last week with representatives of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to discuss a more collaborative effort to reduce application return notices, which have increased of late. Positive outcomes included an agreement to share information which should limit policy misunderstandings, enhance application accuracy, and accelerate processing times benefitting license applicants. The details of the information sharing process is still being finalized but will be extremely helpful for all parties. 

Crosby to Present at GLMSS

• February 6 — Mark will provide an update on the status of the Congressional mandate to repurpose T-Band, introduce details associated with  the 900 MHz relocation incentive program limited exclusively to EWA members; and

• February 7 — EWA will update the audience on a variety of spectrum and licensing developments. 

Band Manager Reports Due March 2

In a Public Notice dated January 28, 2020, the FCC has reminded 700 MHz and 220 MHz Band Managers of their obligation to file timely annual reports on or before Monday, March 2. In these reports, band manager licensees provide information about how the spectrum in each of their markets is being utilized, the current level of service, coverage information, and any spectrum lease agreements. The FCC’s notice also stated that “failure to file an annual report may result in an enforcement action.”(!) 

EWA’s subsidiary Spectrum Equity, Inc., is a 220 MHz band manager, and has for years timely filed its annual activity reports without the need to be threatened with an FCC enforcement action. (Editor’s Note – Heaven knows why the FCC felt compelled to bully entities operating under the band manager regime originally created by the FCC, which is instrumental in promoting the efficient use of spectrum for a myriad of technologies, but the use of intimidation tactics by the Commission in this instance is excessive and unwarranted.) 

SAS Administrators Open for Business

Via a Public Notice released on January 27, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) and Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) certified CommScope, Federated Wireless, Inc., Google and Sony, Inc. as Spectrum Access System (SAS) Administrators in the 3.55-3.7 GHz band (3.5 GHz band). The WTB and OET, in consultation with the Department of Defense and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, reviewed each SAS Administrator’s Initial Commercial Deployment report. Each SAS Administrator has met the requirements in Part 96 of FCC rules and is authorized to make their SAS available for commercial use for a five-year term.

Capitalize on Your Time at IWCE...Visit EWA

• EWA President Mark Crosby will talk about the latest on T-Band and the 900 MHz transition in sessions on March 30 and 31. 

• Stop by Booth 1724 to learn about the new services EWA will offer in 2020 or get advice on your latest spectrum project.  Staff will also be available to discuss the pending FCC proceeding on 900 MHz transitions and how it may affect you.

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FCC Denies Nemont Construction Extension Request

Nemont Telephone Coop, a long-standing provider of wired and wireless service in the State of Montana  was denied an extension of the build-out requirement for 700 MHz cellular spectrum it acquired, but on which it had not yet begun providing service. The decision was consistent with previous FCC action, but again raises the question of how the public interest is served when the FCC recovers spectrum from a tested service provider and then holds it in inventory for an unspecified, but typically very lengthy period until it can be reauctioned.